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Airtel agent charging commission

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by DaruliftaaZambia.com

Question

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my business of late in regard to whether it’s legal or not according to Islamic teachings.

So, my business involves mobile money (Airtel Money, MTN Money, etc)

So basically, people come to withdraw cash from me using their cell phones & in return I charge them a small fee. Is that legal in Islam?

For example, when someone comes to withdraw k900 cash, I charge them k20.

How legal is this business model in Islam???

Clarification:

Yes, the commission is stipulated by Airtel.

Airtel doesn’t allow the agents to charge customers fees when withdrawing, instead Airtel automatically charges the customer a fee when the customer withdraws money from an agent & then Airtel automatically shares that fee it charges the customer with the agent.

So, agents don’t charge customers, but they receive a share of the proceeds when Airtel charges the customer & that’s where my concern is coz I feel like I’m benefiting from the proceeds of a haram business model.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Airtel Money is a phone-based service that allows the customer to manage their money directly from their mobile phone wherever and whenever. It allows a customer to hold a mobile wallet (approved and sanctioned by the Bank of Zambia) and hold Kwacha equivalent value (E-value) on this wallet that they can use to purchase goods and services.[1]

Airtel money also allows the customer to deposit and withdraw cash from a registered agent. The current Airtel Money agent commission applicable is 0.5% of all the Cash In (CI) and 1% of all Cash Out (CO) transactions that happen during the calendar month.[2]

In principle, the commission the Airtel agent receives will be permissible as it is in lieu of a valid service provided by the agent.[3]

However, the agent must strictly abide by the terms and conditions stipulated by Airtel. Charging the customer over and above the due commission will not be permissible.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Checked and Approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai

Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia

__________________

[1] https://www.airtel.co.zm/airtelmoney/about_airtelmoney

[2] https://www.airtel.co.zm/airtel_money_agents

النتف في الفتاوى للسغدي ص 348 (العلمية) [3]

إجارة السمسار

وَالْخَامِس إجارة السمسار لا يجوز ذَلِك وَكَذَلِكَ لَو قَالَ بِعْ هَذَا الثَّوْب بِعشْرَة دَرَاهِم فَمَا زَاد فَهُوَ لَك وان فعل فَلهُ اجْرِ الْمثل وَلَو اسْتَأْجر السمسار شهرا ليبيع لَهُ أَو ليَشْتَرِي بِكَذَا من الأجر جَازَ ذَلِك

درر الحكام ج 1 ص 595 العلمية

اسْتِثْنَاءٌ: إنَّهُ وَإِنْ لَزِمَ فِي إجَارَةِ الْآدَمِيِّ بَيَانُ مُدَّةِ الْإِجَارَةِ، أَوْ تَعْيِينُ الْعَمَلِ، كَمَا ذُكِرَ فِي الْمَجَلَّةِ إلَّا أَنَّهُ يُسْتَثْنَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ السِّمْسَارُ وَالدَّلَّالُ وَالْحَمَّامِيُّ وَالْحَكَّاكُ وَمَنْ إلَيْهِمْ مِمَّنْ لَا يُمْكِنُ تَقْدِيرُ الْوَقْتِ أَوْ الْعَمَلِ فِي اسْتِئْجَارِهِمْ، وَيَصِحُّ اسْتِئْجَارُهُمْ بِلَا بَيَانِ الْوَقْتِ وَالْمُدَّةِ اسْتِحْسَانًا لِاحْتِيَاجِ النَّاسِ إلَيْهِمْ، وَالْأُجْرَةُ الَّتِي تُؤْخَذُ تَكُونُ حَلَالًا لِآخِذِهَا إذَا كَانَتْ بِقَدْرِ أَجْرِ الْمِثْلِ

الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (4/ 560 أيج أيم سعيد)

وَأَمَّا الدَّلَّالُ فَإِنْ بَاعَ الْعَيْنَ بِنَفْسِهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا فَأُجْرَتُهُ عَلَى الْبَائِعِ وَإِنْ سَعَى بَيْنَهُمَا وَبَاعَ الْمَالِكُ بِنَفْسِهِ يُعْتَبَرُ الْعُرْفُ وَتَمَامُهُ فِي شَرْحِ الْوَهْبَانِيَّةِ.

(قَوْلُهُ: فَأُجْرَتُهُ عَلَى الْبَائِعِ) وَلَيْسَ لَهُ أَخْذُ شَيْءٍ مِنْ الْمُشْتَرِي؛ لِأَنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَاقِدُ حَقِيقَةً شَرْحُ الْوَهْبَانِيَّةِ وَظَاهِرُهُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُعْتَبَرُ الْعُرْفُ هُنَا؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَا وَجْهَ لَهُ. (قَوْلُهُ: يُعْتَبَرُ الْعُرْفُ) فَتَجِبُ الدَّلَالَةُ عَلَى الْبَائِعِ أَوْ الْمُشْتَرِي أَوْ عَلَيْهِمَا بِحَسَبِ الْعُرْفِ جَامِعُ الْفُصُولَيْنِ.

رد المحتار ج 6 ص 63 أيج أيم سعيد

قَالَ فِي التتارخانية: وَفِي الدَّلَّالِ وَالسِّمْسَارِ يَجِبُ أَجْرُ الْمِثْلِ، وَمَا تَوَاضَعُوا عَلَيْهِ أَنَّ فِي كُلِّ عَشَرَةِ دَنَانِيرَ كَذَا فَذَاكَ حَرَامٌ عَلَيْهِمْ. وَفِي الْحَاوِي: سُئِلَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أُجْرَةِ السِّمْسَارِ، فَقَالَ: أَرْجُو أَنَّهُ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي الْأَصْلِ فَاسِدًا لِكَثْرَةِ التَّعَامُلِ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْ هَذَا غَيْرُ جَائِزٍ، فَجَوَّزُوهُ لِحَاجَةِ النَّاسِ إلَيْهِ كَدُخُولِ الْحَمَّامِ وَعَنْهُ: رَأَيْتُ ابْنَ شُجَاعٍ يُقَاطِعُ نَسَّاجًا يَنْسِجُ لَهُ ثِيَابًا فِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ

 

This answer was collected from Daruliftaazambia.com, which serves as a gateway to Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah – Lusaka, Zambia.

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