Business and Dealings

Q: My mom is kafir and is asking about Islamic finance. I to be honest don't know much about this subject and have heard that it is not actually so Islamic after all. I live in Australia. Please advice on this matter.

Q: I do not stock a certain brand of permissible underwear products. When customers query regarding these products, I refer them to a non-Muslim competitor who stocks these brands. I have found out that this competitor is openly gay and has a husband. He also sells a number of lewd underwear products and gay lingerie. He does not have a physical store. His products are shipped to customers. Is it correct to refer people to purchase from such a person?

Q: A Muslim relative is known to have been involved in taking drugs and alcohol. I do not know the source of his income i.e. whether he even deals in drugs or not. He has been in and out of rehab many times. I do not know his current condition. He sends a gift for me.

(1) Is this gift permissible for me?

(2) If it is not permissible, must it be given in charity without the intention of reward?

Q: A young aalim mentioned that it is permissible to take back a gift, although undesirable and in the hadith it is likened to a dog swallowing it's own vomit Is this correct? If I give someone a gift and give full ownership to the person I can take it back at any time?

Q: I work with non-muslims where we sit four in a room. They have a radio and music is played for the entire duration of the day. This off course has a huge affect on my concentration, ability to perform zikr and on my heart as I do not listen to music Alhamdulillah. This at times becomes intolerable but I cannot do anything about it as this will not be understood by anyone. I so desire to find myself in a work environment where it is peaceful and where the praises of Allah Ta'ala can be made in abundance. What is my position and your advice. Please make dua for me for Allah Ta'ala to change my condition. Ameen.

Q: I took/stole some money when I was much younger and I am not sure whether I took zakaat or lillah money. Now when I am going to put the money back, what must I write on the envelope (because I'm not sure what money it was).

Q: What is the solution to long terms and conditions? I need to make a PayPal account but before I can register it says something like "I confirm I have read, consent and agree to the User Agreement and Privacy Policy" but these I read contain 36,000 something words! It is a waste of time and I want to know if I am allowed to just tick "Yes", because I don't want to lie, but I need to use the service, please give me your advice. Is being ambiguous ok? Like, if I find a program that "reads" the terms and conditions, for example if I click "Read" and the program "reads it" so technically I could say ambiguously "I have read ... " and so on.

Q: In Saudi Arabia, the Toyota Cars company will sell the car on installment and the procedure is as follows: (1) First of all they will make an agreement, that they are giving this car on rental basis and fix some amount as a monthly rent. (2) After completing 4 or 5 years, they will sell the car to the same person who took for 4 to 5 years on a rental basis, by considering that now, this car is second hand car and hence they will take some lumpsome amount of SAR 15,000/- or SAR 20,000/- etc. Lastly they will transfer the car to that party. (3) Is it permissible to take the car as above said procedure based on Islam. (4) Please clarify and reply me.

Q: A layperson says that even though copyright is haraam, it is nevertheless unethical and against Islamic spirit to copy and freely distribute copyright materials. As in doing so, the company that had produced such copyrighted material in fact loses large numbers of potential customers who had rather opted for the free, pirated copy instead. He says that such behaviour is Islamically unethical as many companies are being deprived of business and customers. His issue is not with copyright, but with those people who freely distribute otherwise costly copyrighted materiel or resell it cheaply. His says such people are unethical and un-Islamic in spirit - but not that there actions are impermissible. He then cites a 2010 report that claims the global loss to software piracy is over $50 billion as a support of his argument. Is there any substance to his claims on the basis of taqwa, ethics, and Islamic spirit?

Q: Is my income haraam if my husband is unhappy with my business?