Business and Dealings

Q: In Pakistan, different banks provide discount offers at different restaurants. E.g. Standard Chartered Bank provided 25% discount offer at Domino's Pizza in all outlets of Pakistan on 9th June, 2018. In some cases its up-to 50%, and sometime discount offered is for both debit and credit card. And few times the card category is restricted i.e. only Platinum and Gold Debit/Credit card holders can avail this offer. Is it halal or haram to avail the discount offer.

Q: My family in the recent years have developed this habit of distributing eid gifts amongst the entire family. Whilst it is totally permissable and sunnah to exchange gifts, the family gathers together and each gift is opened and ooohs an ahhhs are shared.

My concern is this practice may mimic the Kuffar when done on the festive days and secondly with every passing year the gifts somehow need to become more elaborate than the year before since it is presented in a formal gathering of the entire family being present.

Can Mufti saheb please provide some direction of how this sunnah should be practiced when presenting a gift and should this existing practice be kept or done away with?

Q: I have made my bio-data, salary voucher, experience letter, etc., in my previous office without taking permission from my boss. I have used the office printer, computer, internet, paper and other things for printing these documents. While doing this, I was aware that it might be haraam.

Can I use these documents for any interviews, jobs or even any other work in future? If I do so, will my job and the income from this job be halaal or haraam? What should I do? 

Q: Can we do a job in which we get employed through recruiting offices/agencies who take some commission (usually some percent from their first salary) from the candidates they employ and the company whom they recruit these candidates. Sometimes they take commission from the company only and keep totally free from the candidates, they do not take commission from the candidates.

In both the above scenarios, will the job for the candidates be haraam? Will the income, etc or anything be haraam? Will it be a sin? And what if they take fees and not commission from the candidates and may take commission from the company then what will be the answer? It's not impossible but it is quite difficult to find jobs without the help of recruiting agencies/companies. 

Q: I am a publisher of magazines and have now entered into newspaper publishing. There are businesses that wish to have their adverts appear in our publications e.g. haraam butcheries, supermarkets advertising alcohol and the people that claim to “bring back lost love” and other claims to the supernatural. Am I allowed to publish these kinds of adverts?

Q: We have a business and one of our products is bottled water. We were using a supplier to bottle water for us, who was renting a plot from someone else. The owner of the plot passed away. So now our supplier has chosen to move his operation into his other business which is a bottle store... we not sure if we should continue or find someone else? He has moved it to a cold room in the liquor store with only water in the room and no liquor... He still invoices us from his other company as was previously done.

Q: As you are aware about the corruption in the government presently..we have a building which houses the poor community,which has a common water meter..for some time now there's been a slow reading of the meter. We are passing this benefit on to the tenants,  if we have to inform the municipality..the benefit will stop to the tenants and the rent will increase by R300-00 per unit. The question is should I inform the municipality or let the tenants benefit considering all the corruption taking place.

Q: I am working in a shipping company. My company is giving 3 lakhs insurance coverage. I am not paying any money for the insurance. Can I take this money for hospitalisation or other purposes?

Q: What is the status of our currency i.e. rands and dollars? Is it thaman (money) or mabee’ (sale commodity)? In other words, what is the Islamic position on fiat money which is the currency of the majority of the world today? Some say that it is haraam and riba as the money of the Quraan Majeed and Sunnah is gold dinars and silver dirhams which have “intrinsic value”, while today’s money is backed by interest. What is the proof in the Quraan Majeed and Sunnah?

Q: I am a taxi driver. My boss put a telephone service in all the taxis. Hotels call us to take their costumers to the airport or in the city. For this service we need to pay a commission to the hotel, is it right?