Fatwa ID: 08317

 

 

 

Answered by: Maulana Ubaidur Rahman

 

 

Question:

Have a business question.

 

So we buy stuff from this website called Alibaba. It is basically an online platform for manufacturers in China.

 

We were buying some stuff so I sent the details to a shipping agent to get a quote. They sent me an estimate of 170 and said it would be finalised when the parcel arrives.

 

When the good got there they sent us a quote of 570 instead. Told me some nonsense in the end we told them just go ahead because we don’t have any choice.

 

Then I raised the case as a complaint to the complaint team.

 

From their reply this is a trick used sometimes to trap you into the sale.

They said they will process the complaint and enforce a fair compromise.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Answer:

In an Islamic business transaction, a quote is not a binding agreement, and it is not a transaction which has been completed. Rather it is a contract in its preliminary stages and in the process of negotiation – therefore any principles therefrom are not binding, until the contract has been concluded.

 

After you proceeded on the new contractual agreement set on the price of 570, the contract and the conditions became binding on yourself. Accepting the price implicitly means accepting all the terms which come in with it, unless a pre-negotiation took place prior to the payment of goods which would be binding in the contract if it was agreed upon as terms in the contract, prior to the contract been completed. In law, you can not introduce new terms to the contract after the negotiation and contract has been concluded, because the effects from before are already binding.

 

Where there is uncertainty in the product or the payment – termed in Islamic law as gharar, it is prohibited. If there is any change in price after the deal has been concluded from the seller’s side, this would be unfair and highly looked down upon in an Islamic perspective.

 

The Prophet PBUH states,

“The buyer and the seller have the option of cancelling or affirming the bargain unless they separate.[1]” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

 

If the shipping company intentionally and purposefully increased the shipping price after the terms of the contract have been agreed upon and completed, then this is an unfair trading and a breach. It is good that you are raising a complaint to this and you are fair in seeking a just resolution. Their unfair trading could be considered haram.

 

 

References:

[2] قال المصنف: م: (مثل أن يقول أحدهما: بعت، والآخر: اشتريت) ش: والمراد من الانعقاد انضمام كلام أحد المتعاقدين إلى الآخر على وجه يظهر أثره في المحل شرعا، والإيجاب: عبارة عما صدر عن أحد العاقدين أولا، سمي به؛ لأن الإيجاب نقيض السلب، وهو الإثبات، والمتكلم منهما أولا بقوله: بعت أو اشتريت يريد إثبات العقد بشرط أن ينضم إليه قبول الآخر.

 

[3]واحترز به عن الطلاق والعتاق، فإن اللفظ فيهما يقام مقام المعنى، ولا خلاف فيه للأئمة الأربعة، وفي ” الإيضاح ” هذا أصل لنا في جميع العقود، إلا ما روي عن أبي حنيفة أن المفاوضة لا تنعقد إلا بلفظ المفاوضة؛ لأن هذا العقد يشتمل على معان وشروط، والعوام لا يمكنهم استيفاء ذلك حتى لو استوفى بلفظ آخر جاز

 

[1] Sahih Bukhari, 320.

[2] Kitaabul Binaayat Sharhul Hidaayat, Page 4, Volume 8, Maktabtus Shaamila.

[3] Kitaabul Binaayat Sharhul Hidaayat, Page 6, Volume 8, Maktabtus Shaamila.

 

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Maulana Ubaidur Rahman.

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham