Business and Dealings

Q: I have received a huge box of chocolates from my neighbour and it has the words "Merry Christmas" written on it. Is it permissible to eat the chocolates or not?

Q: What is the position of a phone contract in Islam? Is it regarded as a sale or ijaarah (hire) as one is buying a phone and also paying for minutes, data, and SMS?

Sometimes, if the person doesn’t use all the minutes, he will lose the remainder and it will not carry over to the next month. Are such contracts permissible?

Q: I am a post graduate student. My question is regarding a scholarship which I applied for and wanted to ask if it is ok for me to take.

I am presently studying in a different state and this scholarship is from the central govt. but I needed a proof of residence of this state for the application. So I got in contact with an agent and he managed to get my application approved for which he is taking a part of the scholarship money.

Anyway, generally I never applied for scholarships in my schooling or college or bachelors but because I have a few unplanned heavy expenses related to my education course, I applied for it thinking it would help. But I am in a dilemma whether to use it or dispose it or just use it for this particular purpose and dispose the remaining or use it for my other personal expenses and if not, then how do I dispose it?

Q: I want to invest my savings in a commercial bank which is offering a profit rate of 10%-12%. It is to bring to your notice that the profit rate will vary each month depending on the market and also it will change if we deposit more. Shall I invest in it?

Q: When our customers pay using credit cards, is it permissible for us to allow them to choose the “budget” option?

Q: My daughter is a small baby and doesn't have her teeth yet. Recently, someone sent some sweets for her as a present. However, due to her age, she cannot eat the sweets, and by the time she is old enough to eat them, the sweets will be expired. What should I do with the sweets? Is it permissible for me to eat them or give them to others?

Q: I am a car salesman. At times, people come to me and wish to purchase cars from me. However, since they do not have the finance, they want to buy the car through the bank financing the deal. Can I assist them through submitting the application and arranging the finance for them from the bank?

Q: What is futures and is it permissible?

Q: What is the ruling regarding selling a used item as a new item? There is a woman who sells only new clothing. However, she wore a certain dress for a few hours in a wedding and thereafter dry cleaned and sold the dress without telling the customer that the dress was used. Is this permissible? 

Q: How should interest money be disposed of?

1. Is tamleek (passing of ownership) necessary i.e. does it have to be given to an individual person or can it be given to madaaris or for digging of wells, etc.?

2. Can it be given to non Muslims?

3. How poor must a person be to give him interest money?

4. Can interest money be used to pay tax, fines, bank charges, etc.?

5. If a person has bank accounts at multiple banks, does he have to withdraw the interest from each bank separately or can he just give the amount in sadaqah from his cash on hand?

6. If a person is in debt, can he be given interest to help him settle his debts?

7. Is interest money regarded as dirty wealth for the recipient?