I work in a company. My obligations are to manage the company and to take care of the owner’s personal transactions. The owner’s brother appointed me to sell his property, which I am not able to refuse. To sell property, I can go to an old friend of mine who is also a property broker. If the property broker receives a commission for selling the owner’s brother’s property and gives it to me without me requesting or demanding it from him, will that be Halal? Please keep in mind that the company is not paying me for this task. I am not being paid for any extra work, and I know for sure that if I request a commission from the owner’s brother, he will not pay me. Secondly, if the above mentioned scenario is not Halal, what if the property agent gives me the commission as a Qarze-Hasana? If I fail to repay it and he pardons me, will his be Halal for me?
الجواب حامدا و مصلیا
If the questioner is not the employee of the company’s owner’s brother, then it is not incumbent to carry out any personal tasks given by him. However, if the questioner willingly accepts the responsibility of assisting the company’s owner’s brother in selling his personal property, it will not be permissible for him to receive a commission, directly from the owner of the property or by means of the agent, without the property owner (the brother of the company owner) being aware of this (i.e. that the task is being done for payment and not as a favor). However, if the agent gives the questioner some of the money that was given as a commission, or gives it to him as a debt, then there is no harm in this as per Shari’ah.