I have the following
questions regarding courier services / charges when we sell our kitabs:

1. We wholesale our
kitabs to bookshops around the country and courier them using Fastway Couriers.
The bookshop sends us their order and we then send the kitabs with an invoice
which has the price of the books and the courier cost. The bookshop pays us
after they receive the kitabs and the invoice. We do not tell them the courier
cost at the time of them placing the order. The courier cost is only mentioned
in the invoice sent to them with the kitabs. The courier cost is known to us at
the time of dispatching the books. Depending on whether we package it as 1 or 2
boxes there is a price difference of around R50 - R121 depending on the area we
are sending to. We do not charge an extra amount for packaging. We pass on the
exact cost of the courier to the bookshop. Also, we normally tell the bookshop
at the time of the order that we will be using Fastway Couriers, but there have
been times when we did not mention the name of the courier company before the
order was dispatched. Is this ijaarah faasidah? If yes, how do we correct it
for all the years we have been operating in this way?

2. For our cash buyers
of kitabs we do not always mention the name of the courier company. The buyer
pays for the books and the courier cost upfront (before we dispatch the order).
The invoice requesting payment merely states delivery charge. We always find
out the delivery address from the buyer so they are aware that it is a
door-to-door service. Is it necessary to mention the name of the courier
company?

3. We do not mention
to the buyer how long it will take for delivery. Is it necessary to mention
this?

I have the following
question regarding advertising on our email newsletter:

4. Our email
newsletters are sent out weekly. When we began our email advertising
newsletters around 15 years ago, for around the first 4-5 years we did not
always mention to our advertisers that our emails are sent out weekly. We used
to give them the price with the corresponding number of issues. After they
indicated how many issues they wanted, we would then place their advert from
the very next issue that we sent out. Some of the advertisers were probably on
our mailing list and would have known that newsletters are weekly, but others may
not have known this. Also, we may have stated that it is a weekly publication
to some advertisers who asked. Our website may have also stated that
newsletters are sent out weekly but we have no records if this was the case and
for how long this notice remained on the website. However, we cannot recall any
disputes that arose between us and any advertiser as a result of us not
mentioning that it is a weekly newsletter. Was this ijaarah faasidah? If yes,
how should we correct it now?

Answer: 

1.     

The Ijārah will not be Fāsid. It will be regarded as though the
seller was appointed by the customer as a representative to hire a courier
company on his behalf.

If the customer is told
upfront that he will be paying for the courier service, it follows then that
you will be acting on behalf of the customer for hiring a courier company’s
service. The customer being unaware of the details of the Ijārah contract between the seller and the
courier will not affect its validity.

2.     

It is not
necessary to mention the name of the courier company to the customer. This will
be like the scenario above where the seller will be regarded to be appointed by
the customer as a representative to hire a courier company on his behalf. Thus,
any un-specifications will not affect its validity. All that is required is
that the books reach the customer.

3.     

This will also
be like number two.

4.     

The Ijārah will not be Fāsid. This is because the contract that
was made between yourself and your advertisers was based on the number of
issues they wanted which was stipulated.

Whether they knew that
it was a weekly publication or not will not affect its validity. It would however
be better that they are informed when the newsletter is issued.

 And Allah Ta'aala knows best 

ANSWERED BY: Sohel Randera

CHECKED
AND APPROVED BY: Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara Saheb D.B.
Islamic Date: 15 Jumaadal Ula 1440 

English Date:  22 January 2019