Business and Dealings

Responsibility of fixing a car that broke down while test driving it

Q: Please advise me on how to go about this problem: 

I smashed my brothers car so I decided to replace him with a very similar car. I saw the car in some pictures which was being sold by a reputable trustable person. After speaking to the seller on the phone I was happy with what he told me about the car. But the seller told me its better I first have a look at the car, drive the car then we will speak about method of payment. We agreed on a meeting point. 

The seller drove for about 150km. My brother went to pick up the car and drove it for another 200km and as he entered the town before reaching home, the car broke down. 

Am I responsible for the breakdown? Please advise on whats the way forward.

Informing the customers regarding the approximate thickness of the commodity

Q: I wanted to find out a fatwa regarding weights and measures in my business. 

We are steel traders. We buy steel a certain thickness say 0.2mm but the factories that produce it can’t get the exact thickness due to the production process. So the thickness varies from 0.195 to 0.205mm, sometimes more sometimes less. 

What is the ruling on this because we sell the product as 0.2mm. We sell as per the thickness that we order. We don’t order a lower thickness and sell as a higher thickness. This is purely a production tolerance level as the machines can never get it exact.

Accepting a car which is insured as a gift

Q: A person’s parents bought and gifted him a car. The car is under insurance. This person does not want the insurance and told his parents to take it out. His parents do not want to remove the insurance. 

1. Is it permissible for him to use and drive the car? 

2. If he meets in an accident and the insurance pays for the damages of the car and the car gets fixed, will it be permissible to drive the car after it has been fixed. This person does not want the insurance and he told his parents to remove it but they don’t want to.

Confirming with the supplier the payment term for early payment discount

Q: I was receiving a 2.5% early payment discount. I contacted my Sales Representative and explained regarding the 2,5% discount not being allowed for me and to amend my pricing structure. 

1. I wanted to know if I should continue to make payment deducting that amount and then paying it over to the poor or some other institute that takes interest monies while my pricing structure is being amended? 

Handling haraam products in one's work

Q: I would like for a detailed explanation to hand to my manager. 

I started working for a company and they asked me the other day if I could help set up for a meeting. I said sure but I’m not touching the food as it was meat etc. bought from woolies which is haraam. They said okay that’s fine but I said I would put the fruit in the bowl because I’m allowed to eat that and it’s not haraam. 

After the meeting was over I was called in by my manager and she said that it’s my job to do it so isn’t there another way, but I don’t want to touch this haraam food because I never have and I don’t want to compromise my religion. 

Also an important thing to note is that there are two Muslim ladies at the work and they do not wear hijab, they allow the men to touch and hug them and they touch this haraam meat and just wash their hands after but I do not do this and don’t want to do it. So I think they probably think I’m being a snob and trying to get out of doing my job but that is not the case. 

Please can you give me a detailed explanation so that I can provide them with the proper reasonings so I don’t ever have to touch the haraam meat even with the gloves.

Islamic profit share of an Islamic FNB cheque account

Q: I have a Islamic FNB cheque account that comes with an Islamic pocket savings account that gives me an Islamic profit share every month. 

1. Is this Islamic profit share halaal? 

2. I use this Islamic pocket savings account to store my money and to keep it safe, and every month I transfer what money I need for the month into my main account from it, so if anyone steals my card they can only steal that month's money and not all of my money, and this also helps me budget my money. If the profit share from this account is haram, do I have to close down my main account (the pocket savings account is tied to it), or must I not have any money in the pocket savings account and leave it empty, or can I just not use the Islamic profit share but keep all my money in the pocket savings account? 

3. If the Islamic profit share is haraam but I can keep the account but just not use the profit, can I use the profit share to pay taxes?