Resolution No.(251) (2/2018) by the Board of Iftaa`, Research and Islamic Studies:

"Wakalah(Authorization) for Buying a Vehicle from an Organization that Provides Funding is Legally Sound"

Date: 11/Jumada Al-Awwal/1439 AH, corresponding to 28/1/2018.

 All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may  His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

During its 2nd session held on the above date, the Board reviewed a question sent by one of the citizens in which he stated: I have bought a training vehicle through direct funding from the Development and Employment Fund (DEF). Actually, law stipulates that this vehicle must be registered in the name of a driving school owner. Unfortunately, shortly after the registration, the owner of that school passed away while there were payments to be covered. As is customary, once the owner passes away, the (DEF) exempts him/her from the remaining payments. The problem is that I`m the one who has been covering the payments, not the owner of the driving school although the vehicle is registered in his name. Do the remaining payments get dropped? Who is the beneficiary of this loan? Do the remaining payments belong to the deceased i.e. do I have to pay them to his heirs, or what?

After deliberating, the Board arrived at the following:

The framing of this issue differentiates between three cases:

Case 1 : Using Wakalah(Authorization)to buy real estate. This is when the owner of the driving school doesn`t buy the training vehicle for himself; rather, the true buyer had authorized him to do so. The Sharia maxim, in this regard, states that the authorized must act in the best interest of the authorizer. This is reflected in the following statement by Al-Subkhi: "Every authorized must act in the best interest of his/her authorizer." {Al-Ashbah Wa An-Nada`r}. In this case, the authorized-owner of the driving school-isn`t obliged to register the car in the name of the authorizer, nor to inform the party funding that transaction (Vehicle) that he`s just an authorized person, and not the true owner. Therefore, that Wakalah is legally sound. It was stated: "In a sales contract, it is not conditioned that the commodity must be registered in the name of the authorizer……and ownership of that commodity remains that of the authorized." [Durar al-Hukkam Shareh Majalat Al-Ahkam].

On this basis, if the seller-DEF-decided to reduce the price of the commodity (Vehicle), then that should be in the best interest of the authorizer as well. Therefore, if the (DEF) exempted the owner of the driving school from covering the rest of the payments, then the authorizer gets exempted and the latter isn`t obliged to pay the rest of the vehicle`s price to the heirs of the former. 

Case 2: A sales contract between the owner of the driving school (Seller) and the vehicle driver (Buyer). The agreement reached by the owner of the driving school with the (DEF) is a buy contract to his benefit, and not a power of attorney.

Case 3: The contract is a mere financial loan with usurious interest,  and not a Murabaha contract.

The ruling of Sharia on cases 2 & 3 differs from that on case 1.In these two cases (2&3), the owner of the vehicle must pay the remaining part of the vehicle`s price to the heirs of the owner of the driving school.

However, the Board has concluded from the above question that it is a Wakalah (Case 1). Therefore, the true owner of the vehicle (Authorizer) is exempted from paying any amount to the heirs of the driving school owner. And Allah Knows Best.

Chairman of Iftaa` Board,

Grand Mufti of Jordan,

Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh

Sheikh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh, Member

Prof. Abdulnaser Abulbasal,  Member

Dr. Ahmad Al-Hasanat, Member

Dr. Mohammad Khair Al-Esa, Member

Dr. Majid Darawsheh, Member

Sheikh Sa`eid Al-Hijjawi, Member

Judge Khalid Woraikat, Member

Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi/ Member