Fatwa ID: 08037

Answered by: Moulana Ubaidur Rahman

Subject: Salary

Message Body:
Asalamu’Alaykum
I hope this message finds you well In Shaa Allah

Could you please clarify if the following two are lawful or not Islamically?

I am a dental hygienist working in a practice that offers a dental plan. It is essentially a membership where patients pay ‘X’ amount monthly and this covers 2 dental checkups, 2 hygiene appointments and a 20% discount on any treatment needed e.g fillings. If they get a higher plan they get more hygiene appointments and a higher discount off treatment. Is this membership considered insurance as this ‘membership’ will essentially pay for their check ups and would it be haram for me to promote this to patients as the company may expect me to do this as I understand membership discounts in exchange for money is haram too?

Secondly would the money I earn from patients on this membership plan be halal? I will physically have to charge them when they receive their treatment but if I am ticking that they do not have to pay extra today because they are on the plan which covers their hygiene appointment is my salary lawful?

Similarly the company I work for charges more if the patient needs more advanced gum disease treatment. So a normal hygiene appointment is let’s say £100 (but a patient will not have to pay anything for this if they are on a membership plan) but if they need gum disease treatment it’s £200. But if they are on this said plan I would have to charge them only £150 for the treatment.

I get paid a percentage of each patient and how much the appointment they had costs, not a set rate. So if a patient has a normal hygiene appointment, I would get paid a % of the £100 whether or not they were a plan patient or they paid for it upfront. If they have gum disease treatment, I either get paid a % of the £200 if they are not on plan or a % of £150 if they are on the plan. This is my understanding as I have not yet started this job.

so would me allowing a patient to benefit from a membership plan (which I’ve heard constitutes gambling and maybe insurance) and getting paid for this make the money I receive Haram?

And is being paid on a % basis and not a fixed income allowed too?

I hope my question is clear and I look forward to hearing back from you In Shaa Allah.

Jazakhallahu Khairan

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

Answer:

Matters which are based on uncertainty in Islam are forbidden and prohibited as this is a form of gambling and uncertainty (gharar).

There is no issue with fixing a service charge or a fee in exchange for a service. Regarding the question, the service charge being fixed can be considered the same to the membership which the customers are paying for. As stated, according to the service charge and type of payment, the customers are charged in lieu of that.

Insurance is a form of gambling, because the uncertainty of having need for the service which the insurance is paying for, is not established. In this scenario this is seen as an exchange for services for the money, rather than hinging on uncertainty. Thus, this diminishes the element of uncertainty and ‘risk’ in the elementary sense of insurance which it provides. You then receive an increase in wage depending on the type of service which the customer is taking from you in dental hygiene. This is not haram as you are receiving money based on the service which you provide, specific to the patient; and the membership payment is a fixed price based on the type of service which the patient has chosen and aid for.

You need to be cautious if any amount of the money charged involves any form of interest, based on the service the patients are provided with, for example a person on a normal hygiene appointment in comparison with another who is using and paying for that service using a membership.

Further, being paid on a percentage basis is taking wage from the service provided, not the fixed income which comes from the membership paid for. That is payment for the membership, not the service, so they are two different forms of payment for service. So being paid on the percentage basis from the work which you do, based on each patient, is allowed and the income you receive from there is permissible.

In relation to the membership, it fluctuates according to the type of plan which each customer is paying for. The fixed amount paid by each customer every month does not involve uncertainty, as each customer pays for whichever service they require; which does not involve uncertainty. Therefore it is permissible.

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Moulana Ubaidur Rahman.

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham

[باب الزيادة في البيع]

بني الباب على على أصول:

أحدها: أن الزيادة في البيع تصحّ حال قيام المعقود عليه، ولا تصح بعد هلاكه في ظاهر الرواية (١)، لأن الزيادة تغيير للعقد، فيقتضي قيام العقد، وقيام العقد بقيام المعقود عليه (٢).

والثاني: أن الزيادة الحكميّة، كالولد ونحوه، لا تعتبر مزيدًا عليه حال قيام الأصل (٣)، وتعتبر بعد هلاكه، لأنها تَبْع الأصل، والتبع لا يزاحِم الأصل (٤)، ولأن الزيادة القصدية، متى صحّت تلتحق بحالة العقد، والولد الحادث لم يكن موجودا وقت العقد

وطعن القاضي أبو حازم رحمه اللّه، فقال: يجب أن تعتبر قيمته يوم الدفع، لأنه صار مقصودا بالدفع، فتعتبر قيمته يوم الدفع، كما تعتبر قيمة الزيادة القصدية يوم الزيادة.

والجواب عنه أن العبد الجاني بالدفع (٢) قام مقام الفائت، فصار الدفع في حقه كالولادة في حق الولد، فلا يكون له قسط من الثمن ما لم يقبضه المشتري

باب (١) الأمر بالبيع والشراء بشرط الخيار

بني الباب على أن تصرف المأمور إذا خالف أمر الآمر لا ينفذ، لأن النفاذ بحكم الأمر، وفيما خالف لم يوجد الأمر، فلا ينفذ، إلا إذا كان خلافا إلى خير في الجنس (٢)، بأن وكّله ببيع عبده بألف، فباعه بألف ومائة، ينفذ عليه، لأنه وفاق معنى (٣)

باب ما يقر به المشتري فيرجع بالثمن على من باعه بالبينة أو الإقرار]

بني الباب على أصول:

منها: أنّ الإقرارَ (١) حجّة قاصرة لا يتعدّى إلى غيره (٢)، والبينة (٣) حجة متعدّية،

والنكول حجة في حق الناكل خاصة، لأنه بَذلٌ (١) أو إقرار (٢)، فلا يتعدى إلى غيره، إلا إذا كان مضطرّا في النكول، فيتعدى إلى من جاء الاضطرار من قبله

لبَذل: هو إباحة شيئ عن طيب نفس. المصباح المنير ١/ ٤٠ ولسان اللسان ١/ ٧٢١. وذكر العلامة ابن نجيم معناه الاصطلاحي نقلا عن “الظهيرية” فقال: “تفسير البذل عنده: ترك المنازعة والإعراض عنها”.
ثم كون النكول بذلا هو مذهب أبى حنيفة، وذهب صاحباه إلى أنه إقرار. راجع بدائع الصنائع ٦/ ٢٢٧ والبحر الرائق ٧/ ٢٠٧.