Question

May Allah protect you, I would like to ask you a question. Is Murabaha Halal or haram? i.e. a person wants to purchase a piece of land, but is unable to pay its price, he turns to someone else for help who offers to buy it and register it under his own name and later sells it back to him at a higher price.

Is this contract halal or not? Is the additional amount on top of the actual price of the land considered Riba or profit? Jazak Allah Khair

Answer

Wa Alaikum Us Salaam Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakaatuhu

It is not allowed to have two agreements in one contract, i.e. conditional on each other, e.g. It is not allowed that we have an agreement that I buy your car on the condition that you buy my land. This is not permissible.
Each contract must be applied individually without it being conditional to another.

On the authority of Ahmad from Abdul Rahman bin Abdillah Bin Mas'oody from his father, he said: «نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ صَفْقَتَيْنِ فِي صَفْقَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ» "The Prophet of Allah (saw) has prohibited two deals in one deal."

This means the prohibition of having two contracts in one contract, e.g. if someone says: I will sell you my house on the condition that I sell you my other house for such, or on the condition you sell your house to me or to let me marry your daughter.

This is not permissible because the statement: "I will sell you my house" is a contract, and the statement: "On condition that you sell your house to me" is another contract. They were combined in one contract which is not permissible.

Your question falls in the prohibited area; if you agree that the person buys the land now from its owner in cash on the condition that he sells it back to you with a higher price... then these are two contracts and conditional on each other; which is not permissible.
Each contract must be applied separately without it being conditional to another contract.

I ask Allah (swt) to give you Barakah in your finance, family, and children.

Your brother,
Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

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