(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Amir of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
To: Yusuf Abu Islam
Questions:
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, our Amir. May Allah strengthen you and grant victory to this Ummah at your hands.
If you would be so kind, I have two questions:
First: It was mentioned in your answer to the brother asking about shares, where you said in the course of the answer: "...if you authorized your non-Muslim mother to sell the shares after knowing of their prohibition for a certain period, then you must dispose of the profits of your shares during this specific period by placing them in an interest among the interests of the Muslims." What is the evidence that he must place it in an interest among the interests of the Muslims as long as he is not the Shar'i owner of this money? How is it permissible for him to dispose of it?
The second question: I work in the field of selling vegetables as a street vendor; I buy from the market which is about forty kilometers away, and sometimes I find a defect in the goods... It is customary that if the owner of the commission shop or the so-called "Dallal" (broker) is consulted, he deducts from the price of the goods because of the defect in them. If I were to return the goods on the same day, it would cost me transportation expenses perhaps more than their price. Is this arsh (compensation) or discount that we demand prohibited for us to take?
Answers:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
First: The answer to the first question regarding the disposal of haram money:
1- It seems a confusion occurred where you thought that our statement ("the profits of the shares during these five months must be disposed of by placing them for the interest of Islam and the Muslims") meant sadaqah (charity), i.e., that the person would receive a reward for placing it in the interests of the Muslims. The matter is not like that. We said "dispose of it," just as if you had certain surplus waste in your house and you wanted to get rid of it; you would undoubtedly take it and put it in the appropriate place. You would not take this waste and throw it in the streets and say you disposed of it; rather, you would take it and throw it where it should be in a place suitable for it. This means you choose a place to contain this waste without harming anyone, so you choose the most suitable and best place for this waste, is it not so? It is inconceivable that you would take this waste and throw it in the path of the people, causing them harm.
Therefore, we said he disposes of it and places it in the interests of the Muslims. He does not take this money, for example, and throw it on the ground, or put it in a trash container! He, my brother Yusuf, disposes of it by placing it in the best and most appropriate place for it, but it is not a charity for which he is rewarded. Ahmad reported in his Musnad on the authority of Abdullah bin Mas'ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«...وَالذي نفسي بيده...لَا يَكْسِبُ عَبْدٌ مَالًا مِنْ حَرَامٍ، فَيُنْفِقَ منه فَيُبَارَكَ لَهُ فِيهِ، وَلَا يَتَصَدَّقُ بِهِ فَيُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ، وَلَا يَتْرُكُ خَلْفَ ظَهْرِهِ إِلَّا كَانَ زَادَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يَمْحُو السَّيِّئَ بِالسَّيِّئِ، وَلَكِنْ يَمْحُو السَّيِّئَ بِالْحَسَنِ، إِنَّ الْخَبِيثَ لَا يَمْحُو الْخَبِيثَ»
"...By Him in Whose Hand is my soul... no servant earns haram wealth and spends from it such that it is blessed for him, nor does he give it in charity such that it is accepted from him, nor does he leave it behind him except that it will be his provision to the Fire. Indeed, Allah (swt) does not wipe out evil with evil, but He wipes out evil with good. Indeed, the foul does not wipe out the foul." (Musnad Ahmad)
2- For your information, it has been mentioned clearly by some jurists that a person should dispose of haram money according to the Shar'i channels of expenditure. They cited as evidence what was narrated by Asim bin Kulayb from his father from a man of the Ansar, who said: "We went out with the Messenger of Allah (saw) to a funeral, and I saw the Messenger of Allah (saw) while he was at the grave advising the digger: 'Make it wide from the side of his feet, make it wide from the side of his head.' When he returned, he was met by a woman's messenger (inviting him), so he came and food was brought. He placed his hand, then the people placed theirs, and they ate. Our fathers looked at the Messenger of Allah (saw) chewing a morsel in his mouth, then he said:
إني أجد لحم شاة أخذت بغير إذن أهلها
'I find the meat of a sheep that was taken without its owners' permission.'
The woman sent word: 'O Messenger of Allah, I sent to Al-Baqi' to buy a sheep for me but could not find any, so I sent to a neighbor of mine—who had bought a sheep—to send it to me for its price, but he was not found, so I sent to his wife, and she sent it to me.' So he (saw) said:
أطعميه الأسارى
'Feed it to the prisoners...'"
Others mentioned it more broadly than the term "interests of the Muslims," saying it should be spent in the channels of voluntary charity in general, such as giving to the poor or building mosques because these things are among the channels of charity. This is the view of the Hanafis: mentioned in Hashiyat Ibn Abidin (3/223), and the Malikis: in Al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Qur'an by al-Qurtubi (3/366).
Some jurists said "he spends it in the way of Allah," i.e., "Jihad," which is one of the views of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, where he says in Majmu' al-Fatawa (28/401): ("Even if a man has obtained haram money in his hand and it is impossible to return it to its owners due to his ignorance of who they are and the like... let him spend it in the way of Allah, for that is its channel of expenditure. And whoever has many sins, his greatest medicine is Jihad. And whoever wants to get rid of the haram and repent, and it is not possible to return it to its owners, let him spend it in the way of Allah on behalf of its owners, for that is a good path to his release, along with what is achieved of the reward of Jihad..."). There are other opinions as well.
Second: The answer to the second question about your work in selling vegetables:
This is the text of your question: ("...I work in the field of selling vegetables as a street vendor where I buy from the market and there is a distance of about forty kilometers between me and it, and sometimes I find a defect in the goods... It is customary that if the owner of the commission shop or the so-called Dallal (broker) is consulted, he deducts from the price of the goods because of the defect in them. If I were to return the goods on the same day, it would cost me transportation expenses perhaps more than their price. Is this arsh or discount that we demand prohibited for us to take?") End.
The answer is that this matter is explained in the book The Economic System, in the chapter "Fraud in Trade" (At-Tadlis fi al-Bay') on page 193 (Arabic edition), where it states:
("...It is not permissible for a Muslim to cheat in a commodity or currency. Rather, he must clarify the defect in the commodity and clarify any forgery in the currency. He must not cheat the commodity to make it popular or sell it for a higher price, nor cheat the currency to make it accepted as a price for the commodity; because the Messenger (saw) forbade that with a decisive prohibition. Ibn Majah narrated from Uqbah bin Amir from the Prophet (saw) that he said:
«المسلم أخو المسلم، ولا يحل لمسلم باع من أخيه بيعاً فيه عيب إلاّ بيّنه له»
'A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim, and it is not permissible for a Muslim who sells to his brother something that has a defect except that he clarifies it to him.'
Bukhari narrated from Hakim bin Hizam from the Prophet (saw) who said:
«البيّعان بالخيار ما لم يتفرقا، فإن صدقا وبينا بورك لهما في بيعهما، وإن كتما وكذبا محقت بركة بيعهما»
'The two parties to a transaction have the option (to cancel) as long as they have not separated. If they are honest and clear, they will be blessed in their sale, but if they hide (defects) and lie, the blessing of their sale will be obliterated.'
And he (saw) said:
«ليس منا من غش»
'He is not of us who cheats.' (Reported by Ibn Majah and Abu Dawood via Abu Hurairah)
Whoever acquires something through deception and fraud does not own it; because it is not one of the means of ownership, but rather one of the forbidden means, and it is haram money and suht (ill-gotten wealth). He (saw) said:
«لا يدخل الجنة لحم نبت من سحت، النار أولى به»
'No flesh that has grown from ill-gotten wealth (suht) shall enter Paradise; the Fire is more deserving of it.' (Reported by Ahmad via Jabir bin Abdullah)
If deception (tadlis) occurs, whether in the commodity or the currency, the person who was deceived has the option: either to rescind the contract or to proceed with it, and he has nothing other than that. If the buyer wants to keep the defective or fraudulent commodity and take the arsh, i.e., the difference between its price without a defect and its price with the defect, he does not have that; because the Prophet (saw) did not grant him an arsh, but rather gave him a choice between two things:
«إن شاء أمسك، وإن شاء ردها»
'If he wishes, he keeps it, and if he wishes, he returns it.' (Reported by Bukhari from Abu Hurairah)...")
Accordingly, if a defect appears to you in the goods after buying them, you have the choice either to return them to their owner and take what you paid of the price, or to accept them... but it is not permissible for you to accept them and take the "arsh", i.e., the difference between their price with the defect and their price without the defect. The fact that you are far from the market where you bought them does not affect the ruling. As in the Hadith, you have only one of two options: "If he wishes, he keeps it, and if he wishes, he returns it." (Reported by Bukhari from Abu Hurairah).
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
15 Shawwal 1438 AH Corresponding to 09/07/2017 CE
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