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Currency for Commission

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org

Due to currency limitations imposed by the government, thepractice of taking out foreign currency on passports and selling it forcommission has become quite common. Explain the Sharée viewpoint of this.

Answer

The currency limitations imposed by the government on travelers
traveling abroad, has no Sharée basis. According to the Shariáh, a person
traveling abroad is at liberty to take along with him any amount of
currency. Therefore, it is permissible for a person to take out foreign
currency on his passport for another person as a favour.

It is not permissible to take a commission in lieu of this favour. Islam
encourages brotherhood and sacrifice. Charging commission for a favour is
against the spirit of Islam. Since the common practice is that the
commission IS IN LIEU of the right of taking out currency on the passport,
therefore, any reasoning in an attempt to justify its permissibility is
against the reality of the situation.

However, permissibility will occur in the instance where the passport holder
himself purchases the currency. Thereafter, once this transaction is
complete, he may in turn sell it to a person requiring the currency. This
sale maybe at a profit. Here it is permissible since you are selling the
actual foreign currency. However, just to charge a commission for taking out
the currency is not permissible, as mentioned above. It however should be
noted that the practice of taking out currency on another person’s passport
is against the law of the land and if caught, one can be put into a
disgraceful situation. Therefore, it is discouraged to engage in such a
practice, since a Muslim should not expose himself to position of disgrace.

And Allah Taala Knows Best.

Mufti E. Desai

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This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.

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