QUESTION:
I’m interested in taking over a petrol station. However, the landlord does not want to take a fixed rental fee monthly. He wants to take a rental fee based on the amount of litres sold for the month. Is this agreement Jaaiz?
ANSWER:
For the validity of a rental agreement in Shariah, the rental must be fixed. If the rental is left ambiguous then the rental agreement will be corrupt, and a market-related rental will be applicable. Since the exact amount of fuel to be sold for the month is unknown, it will not be permissible to base the rental on the quantity of fuel to be sold.
يُشْتَرَطُ أَنْ تَكُونَ الْأُجْرَةُ مَعْلُومَةً (مجلة الاحكام ص86 – مادة 451)
وَجَهَالَةُ الْأُجْرَةِ تُفْسِدُ الْإِجَارَةَ (المبسوط للسرخسي ص157 ج15)
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai
Date:- 21 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1445 / 07 October 2023