Fatwa ID: 03736

Answered by: Maulana Shadman Ahmed

Question

You invest £50k in a business. You and the owner estimate that in the next 5 years the business will grow X%, so you immediately sell off your shares at a higher price to be paid monthly over 5 years. Essentially, its Murabaha with shares/equity rather than a house. What would the hukm be?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

Murabaha transactions are only with commodities or tangible goods. The shares in the business represent money that was invested so does not hold the same ruling as Murabaha. It would not be permissible to sell the shares at a higher price if the company doesn’t own some illiquid assets. Muftī Taqī Usmānī explains this when discussing four conditions to keep into account when dealing with shares,

“The shares of a company are negotiable only if the company owns some illiquid assets. If all the assets of a company are in liquid form, i.e. in the form of money they cannot be purchased or sold except at par value, because in this case the share represents money only and the money cannot be traded in except at par.

What should be the exact proportion of illiquid assets of a company for warranting the negotiability of its shares?… Some scholars are of the view that the ratio of illiquid assets must be 51% in the least…other scholars have opined that even if the illiquid assets of a company are 33%, its shares can be treated as negotiable.”

In conclusion, if the company has any illiquid assets then it would be permissible to sell the shares for higher but if the company doesn’t have any illiquid assets then it would not be permissible to sell the shares except at par. This is due to the shares representing only money value and that cannot be exchanged with increase.[1]

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Shadman Ahmed

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham