Business and Dealings

Q: The question is: do we qualify to take up a new mortgage for a new home under the fatwa issued on mortgage for ONE house from the European council for fatwa and research?

The background is that we live in Norway and we own a house (apartment/ flat) of about 76 square meter equivalent to 820 square feet. Two thirds of the mortgage of the current house is paid of.

We have 3 children and we think that the house is too small for us. We are thus thinking of selling this one and taking up a new mortgage to buy a bigger (separate) new house.

As per the fatwa, it is allowed to buy/own ONE house with a bank mortgage. At the same time we don't wish to wage a war against Allah Ta'ala, as it is stated in the Holy Quran, about ribaa.

So do we qualify under this fatwa to do this? Shall we go ahead with our plan? 

Q: FNB offer a service where one can invest in Kruger Rand gold coins through them. They then store it for you at a fee of 0.86%pa.

-If one wants to sell the coin back to them, its done at the click of a button.
-If one wants the physical coin, they can arrange for it to be delivered to you at a cost.
-Prior to requesting the coin, I'm not sure if they keep the physical coin or not.

Please advise if it will be permissible to purchase a coin through them in this manner.

Q: There is space for 4 tenants on a property. Is it permissible to rent out portion A of the property to a garden company, with the rental due being a service, e.g. the tenant of the area A will tend to the initial landscaping and then gardening of the entire property long term, as long as they occupy the area A as a tenant.

There will be no rental payments due apart from the gardening service they will offer. In essence, is ijaarah permissible in exchange of a service rather than money?

Q: My question is regarding children giving charity. From what I know, it is not permissible for them to give Sadaqah etc. from their own wealth. What about giving gifts from their own wealth? Also, what if they buy sweets with their own money, and then decide to to share them? How does it work?

I’m teaching, and the above topic came up. They were quite disappointed that they cannot give until they are baaligh, and it sounded like a lot of them had given before. They were asking if they got any reward for what they gave, or does it not count? Is it a sin? What must I tell them?

Q: When renting a house to tenants, who pays the

1. Rates and taxes (property rates)
2. Water and Sewer
3. Refuse

Does the tenant pay all of the above?

Does the land lord pay rates and taxes (property rates) and tenant pays for the rest?

Q: I am an outsourced employee in a bank and working as a software developer. I have been assigned a desk in the bank. Usually I consume water and tea provided by the bank. Are these water and tea halaal to use for me as these facilities are provided by bank?

Q: When a couple are divorced, then all gifts are to remain with the person they were given to, but what about the wedding ring? This is given as a recognition of being married. Thus, on termination of the marriage, should the wedding ring be given back to the husband?

Q: I want to start a print on demand store that sells tshirts and hoodies, etc. All the marketing will be done by them, the only thing I'll need to do is design the items and upload my designed item on their store.

I want to know if it's permissible for me to design the hoodies, etc without marketing the product (which uses images of people wearing the item).

Q: My supplier sends me pictures and specifications of items that he is selling via WhatsApp. Whatever items I want, I order via WhatsApp. Is it permissible for my supplier to put a condition that once I order an item, the order cannot be cancelled, or is stipulating such a condition zulm (oppression and extortion)?

Q: What is the ruling of Shari’ah in regard to a person who is in financial constraints and people (e.g. his creditors) take advantage of his situation? They are well aware that due to his situation, if they offer him an extremely low price for his goods, he will accept due to his desperation and sell it to them. An item worth R50 will easily be sold to them for R5. Is it permissible for them to ‘squeeze’ him in this manner, due to which they will get much more money from him than he actually owes them?