Investments
Q: Which investments are Shari'ah compliant? And can you investment in an FNB Islamic unit trust or Albaraka unit trust?
Business and Dealings
Can an Imaam charge for performing a nikaah
Q: Can an Imaam charge you a fee when doing a Nikaah because I've asked everybody and everybody's answer is the same that the Imam is not suppose to charge but rather you can give what you can afford to give him as thanks. Also the islamic community pays the Imam for nikaahs, janaazahs etc.. so why should there be a charge?
Subscribing to the Medical Protection Society (MPS)
Q: Certain doctors apply for jobs in private hospitals. The requirement for getting the job is that they need to have membership with the Medical Protection society (MPS). If they do not have such a membership, the hospital will not employ them. Monthly payment is made and in return the medical practitioners/doctors receive advice and direction in the medical field. The MPS also pays for legal claims against the practitioner/doctor. Is membership to the MPS permissible or this resembles insurance?
Pooling money together to purchase a property in partnership
Q: Mr Company intends buying a property for R10 million. They have R4 million available and want others to invest the remainder of the money with them. Ishaaq, Saleem and Faheem are willing to invest. Ishaaq will invest R3 million, Saleem R2 million and Faheem R1 million. They want to invest in it on a diminishing mushaarakah basis. The profits and losses will be shared according to the capital contribution, and the company is willing to pay all 3 of them off in approximately 5 years.
Assuming that the property yields a rental income of R100 000 a month (R1.2 million a year)
Income distribution
| Mr C | Mr C | Ish | Ish | Sal | Sal | Fah | Fah | |
| Year 1 | 40% | R480000 | 30% | R360000 | 20% | R240000 | 10% | R120000 |
| Year 2 | 55% | R660000 | 25% | R300000 | 15% | R180000 | 5% | R60000 |
| Year 3 | 70% | R840000 | 20% | R240000 | 10% | R120000 | ||
| Year 4 | 80% | R960000 | 15% | R180000 | 5% | R60000 | ||
| Year 5 | 100% | R1200000 |
Purchase of Shares by Mr Company
| Mr C | Mr C | Ish | Ish | Sal | Sal | Fah | Fah | |
| Year 1 | 40% | R4 mil | 30% | R3 mil | 20% | R2 mil | 10% | R1 mil |
| Year 2 | 55% | R5.5 mil | 25% | R2.5 mil | 15% | R1.5 mil | 5% | R500 000 |
| Year 3 | 70% | R7 mil | 20% | R2 mil | 10% | R1 mil | ||
| Year 4 | 80% | R8 mil | 15% | R1.5 mil | 5% | R500 000 | ||
| Year 5 | 100% | R10 mil |
1) Is the above form of investment permissible?
2) Is it permissible to change the profit sharing ratio to suit the needs of the investors, different from the capital contribution ratio? For example, in the
above scenario, Mr Company contributed 40% and Faheem 10%, but in order to please Faheem, they agree to let him take 15% profit while Mr Company takes 35%?
3) Is it permissible to fix an amount to be paid to a certain investor? For example, every month as a return on his investment, he will receive R20 000?
4) Is it permissible to set a fixed percentage of the investment as a return? For example, he will receive a 10% return on his investment monthly?
5) For the sake of ease in distributing the profits, is it permissible to distribute the profits during the year based on estimated profits that will
be received, and at the end of the year, make the necessary adjustments based on the actual profits that were received? Thus, at the end of the year, the profits will be adjusted for each shareholder in accordance to the actual profits received.
Employees starting their own company
Q: My friends and I are planning to register a company which focuses on construction solutions. Presently, we are working in a company as employees and all of us are working in different sectors. Our employer has several businesses, and healthcare is one of them. For each machine installation, they hire a third party for construction and finishing works. My question is that we are the employees of the same company and now we want to open our own company to be the third party for their construction work. Can we take orders for construction jobs from our company without showing them that we own the third company? Will this be permissible?
Working as a cashier in a supermarket
Q: Is it haraam to work as a cashier in a grocery store where people occasionally buy haraam items such as alcohol or pork?
Share trading
Q: Is share trading (equity, commodity, derivative, currency) permissible in Islam?
Online forex trading
Q: Please advise regarding online forex trading. I have read other nodes but answer is still not clear. It is a swop free account - so no interest is charged if trades are kept overnight. I only trade forex and stay clear of individual stocks. When a transaction takes place I am purchasing a contract to exchange the difference between the opening price and the closing price of that contract. Please provide a clear yes or no answer.
Medical insurance
Q: Is buying medical insurance allowed? i.e now I am healthy so I buy an insurance for e.g. 2 years. So if any medical emergency happens to me in the two years, then I can claim the insurance.
Developing games
Q: Is it permissible to work as a game developer and make games which do not contain any music or pictures of animate objects?