What is the ruling on selling pre-manufactured goods?

(1) What is the ruling on selling pre-manufactured goods in bay istisna?

Question: What do the honourable Islamic scholars say about this matter: We manufacture surgical items on order. Sometimes, we already have some items prepared. So, after receiving an order, instead of manufacturing new items, we give the customer the items we already have in stock, provided they match the customer’s specifications. Is this permissible?

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

Answer: In the described situation, it is permissible for you to fulfil an order by giving the customer pre-manufactured goods, as long as the item matches the customer's demand.

The detailed ruling on this matter is that manufacturing and selling an item on order, as you have described, is called bayꜤ istiṣnāꜤ (manufacturing contract). In bayꜤ istiṣnāꜤ, the manufacturer has the option to either produce the goods after the order has been placed or to give the customer a pre-made item that matches their demand. Therefore, it is permissible for you to do this.

Bahār-e-Shariat states:

In an istiṣnāꜤ contract, the subject of the agreement is the item itself, not the labour of the craftsman. Therefore, if he brings an item made by someone else or an item that he made before the contract, and the customer accepts it, the transaction is valid. If the labour itself were the subject of the contract, it would be invalid.[1]

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم

(2) The ruling on giving a discount in exchange for an advance payment

Question: What do the Islamic scholars say about this matter: I have lace dyed by a factory owner. He charges 700 rupees to dye 14 yards. He has offered me a deal that if I pay him the dyeing fee in advance, he will dye 14 yards of lace for 600 rupees. Is it permissible for me to give him the money in advance and pay him 600 rupees instead of 700 rupees?

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

Answer: In the case described, it is permissible for you to pay the factory owner in advance as he has requested, and to receive a discount.

The detail on this matter is that your arrangement with the factory for dyeing lace constitutes a contract of ijārah (hiring). In an ijārah contract, the right to wages can arise in several ways, one of which is a stipulation for advance payment. Therefore, in the described situation, it is legally permissible to pay the advance wage for the dyeing and negotiate a reduction in the total wage. This entire advance payment is considered a wage, not a loan, so a reduction in the wage cannot be deemed impermissible.

The erudite Hanafi jurist, Muftī Amjad ꜤAlī al-AꜤẓamī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه writes in Bahār-e-SharīꜤat:

In an ijārah contract, the wage does not become one's property merely by concluding the contract. That is to say, it is neither permissible to demand the wage immediately nor obligatory to pay it immediately. There are a few situations in which the wage becomes one's property: (1) If the wage was paid in advance at the time of the contract, and the other party took ownership of it (meaning they have no right to reclaim it). (2) If it was stipulated as a condition to pay the wage in advance, then it is permissible to demand the wage beforehand. (3) If the service has been performed. For example, if one has stayed in the rented house for the specified period, or if the tailor has sewn the cloth given to him. (4) If the object has been handed over to the hirer in such a way that if he wishes to benefit from it, he may do so—and if he does not, that is his own choice. For example, if possession of a house is given, or if the worker makes himself available, saying, “I am ready for the work,” then even if no work is taken from him, he is entitled to the wage.[2]

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم

(3) What is the ruling on receiving an allowance from a non-Muslim government?

Question: What do the Islamic scholars say about this matter: Some time ago, I moved from Pakistan to the city of Brussels in Belgium. I worked for a company there for about a year and a half, but now I have lost my job and am unemployed. My question is that the government here, which is non-Muslim, gives an allowance to the unemployed. Is it permissible for me to take that allowance from the government?

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

Answer: In the described situation, if you meet the government's policies and conditions and are not deceiving them in any way, it is permissible for you to take the unemployment allowance from the government. This is because the allowance given by the government is considered a hibah (gift). It is permissible to accept such a gift from a non-Muslim as long as it does not lead to any objection against a Muslim's faith. Similarly, it is permissible to take a non-Muslim's wealth with their consent, without deception.

This is stated in Fatḥ al-Qadīr:

The property of a non-Muslim is only forbidden for a Muslim if it is taken by way of deception. So, as long as he does not acquire it deceitfully, any means by which he obtains it with their consent is lawful.[3]

It is mentioned in al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah:

It is permissible to engage in buying and selling, leasing and hiring, gifting and accepting gifts from a non-Dhimmī (a non-Muslim who is not living under Islamic governance), provided the conditions are met. Accepting a gift from them that carries no objection to one's faith is lawful.[4]

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہٗ اَعْلَم صلَّی اللہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلَّم