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Buying and Selling

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Fatwaa.com

Assalamualikum muftisaheb

I have a question pertaining to buying and selling, please:

1) I recently purchased some oral medication from a company. Per my understanding, the container should have included 60 capsules and each day i am required to consume two. I did not bother to count how many capsules were actually included. However, as the course of the medication was coming to an end, I noticed that there were three capsules left. This means that there’s either one capsule extra or one capsule less. I’m not sure which it could be.
However, in the case of it being one capsule extra, would it be permissible for me to consume this capsule or do I need to notify the company that they have given an extra capsule with my order?

2) When advertising any item for sale, is it necessary to mention every defect which the item may have?

3) I have a set of educational CDs which I’d like to sell. However, each CD contains animate objects since it is a video of the tutor actually teaching the lesson. Furthermore, some portions of each CD (I think the introduction) contains music. Please can muftisaheb advise if it’s permissible for me to sell such an item?

4) is it permissible to sell makeup and/or other cosmetics of which one is not completely sure of the ingredients contained within?

5) A person asks to the view the items I have available for sale and says that they will make me an offer for the items after they have viewed the items (in person). Is it permissible to conduct a transaction in this way?

6) please can muftisaheb advise if the following scenario is permissible:
Example: I have a secondhand coffeemaker for sale. I simply test the coffeemaker to see if it’s working by pressing the on/off button. If it switches on, I proceed to advertise it and on my ad i state that the machine is in working condition. However, I have not actually prepared coffee in it to see whether it is fully functional. Please can muftisaheb advise whether this is permissible.

Jazak-Allah muftisaheb

Answer

Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,

  • The additional capsule will be permissible. Just for peace of mind, if there is an email address, you may send them an email notifying them of the possible extra tablet. But that is just recommended, and not compulsory.
  • You do not have to mention every defect in the advertisement, but you should notify the prospective buyer of every defect that you are aware of. If you are unaware of the defects, you could tell them that you are selling the item ‘voetstoets’ (as is), and they should inspect it properly before purchasing.
  • Our Asatidha (teachers) have ruled that it is not permissible to sell these.
  • You should first ensure that there are no Haram ingredients before selling. Otherwise, you may sell and give the money to charity.
  • Yes, this is permissible.
  • Yes, the sale will be permissible. If after the purchase, the customer finds that the machine is not fully functional, he will have the right to cancel the deal and will be entitled to a full refund.

And Allaah Ta’aala knows best

Wassalaam,

Ismail Moosa (Mufti)

This answer was collected from Fatwaa.com which is an excellent Q&A site managed by Mufti Ismail Moosa from South Africa. .

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