Valid & Invalid transactions

Q: Where I work, we offer the 2.5% settlement discount for all customers if they pay their account within 30 days. This is a practice followed by the business over 30 years and all major customers take this if the ones that pay by the 7th of the following month. we allow this although it is not within the period. is this 2.5% also not allowed. Also, with our holding company (foreign based), we get a 3% discount if we pay the invoices within 14 days from when goods are invoiced. if we pay after 14 days, we cannot take the discount and our credit terms intra group is 60 days. Please let us know whether the practices are allowed as I am in charge of the payments.

Q: If any shopkeeper is taking extra charges i,e commission on the price written on company product. i.e If the rate of product is 20rs written by the company and he is receiving 30rs. Is he doing Haraam or Halaal?

Q: I am in retail and many suppliers state their terms similar or as follows: COD 10% 30 Days 7% 60 Days - No discount This is the general practise amongst most wholesalers and it is clear when an account is being opened. If there is a change we are informed well in advance. I sometimes take the full 60 days without a discount but on occasions where my cash flow is better, I do take advantage of their different settlement discounts. Is this permissible?

Q: Will it be permissible for one to make an agreement with the supplier, at the onset before purchasing, that for example, the terms will be 30 days with a discount of 5%? There are a few suppliers with whom we have an agreement such as the one described above and we keep to the arranged terms. However, the time period and discount differs from supplier to supplier. If this is not permissible, then what is the solution to rectify the situation?

Q: I bought a property from friend. We agreed to close our deal a year later. I paid him 40,0000 $ advanced. We signed a legal binding agreement. All good. After one year I asked to close our deal and he started asking more money. Property value gone up. I told him no, you are breaking your promise and agreement. He put pressure on me. Literally black mailing me. Otherwise I go to court and suffer more financial hardship. I surrender and promise verbally to pay 40k extra by taking a loan and paying him off. Now the deal is closed and I feel I should not give extra money that I don't even have but I feel bad that I am breaking my promise. Also I felt I was cornered. Please help me what should I do?

Q: A person wishes to purchase some goods from a certain furniture store but does not have the money at present. The seller tells him that he can buy the furniture on lay-by. Will it be permissible for him to purchase the goods on lay-by and how does lay-by actually work? Through lay-by, does one become the owner of the goods immediately or only when the goods are completely paid for?

Q: A person took his watch to a repair shop. Thereafter, the repair shop accidentally sold his watch to someone. What should now be done? Should the repair shop pay the owner the value of the watch or should they get the watch back from the customer and return it to the owner?

Q: I went to buy some jewellery. A salesman there told me that there is a scheme where I have to pay 11 instalments in advance and the 12th instalment will be paid by the jewellery company as a bonus or discount. I can then buy any gold jewellery of my choice after 11 months. Is this allowed in Islam?

Q: What is the ruling regarding the following situation:

At the time of Qurbaani, certain stock farmers sell sheep and goats to the public. They charge a stipulated fee for providing the services of skinning the animal, slicing and parceling the meat for all those people who wish to do Qurbaani at their farm. Before the days of Qurbaani, people go to the farms, and after selecting the animals, purchase them from the farmers. After purchasing the animals they leave the animals on the farms to be slaughtered during the days of Qurbaani.

Other people merely phone the farmer and purchase their animals over the phone without going to the farm and selecting the animals. At times, the farmer selects and marks an animal for the client (e.g. sheep, goat, etc.) and concludes the transaction over the phone on the specific marked animal. At times, the sale is concluded over the phone, however the farmer does not select and mark any animal at the time of concluding the sale. Since the farmer knows that he has extra animals in the pen, he concludes the transaction on an unspecified animal with this in mind that on the day of Qurbaani, he will select an animal for the client and carry out his Qurbaani.

Is this method of purchasing the animal and carrying out the Qurbaani correct where the animal is not selected by the purchaser but by the farmer himself according to both situations explained (i.e. where the farmer concludes the sale on a specific marked animal or on an unspecified animal and only specifies it at the time of slaughter)? If this is not the correct method of purchasing, then what is the correct Shar’ee method of purchasing the Qurbaani animal and asking the farmer to slaughter it on one’s behalf?

Q: I bought something from a person and then saw that it was slightly damaged. When I complained to the seller, he offered me a discount. Can I accept the discount?