Date : 07-07-2019

Question :

Is it permissible for a staff provident fund to provide its members with the service of paying their university fees on instalments using Murabah?


The Answer :

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.



Sharia has permitted Murabaha sale to facilitate for Muslims. Jurists have included Murabaha contract within sale contracts.Therefore, it is imperative that there is a commodity or an item of merchandise in the Murabaha contract in order to be considered valid.



The form mentioned in the above question is a loan, not a Murabaha contract. As a result, the funding provided in the above transaction is prohibited loan and the amount added to it is forbidden usury, because there is no connection between the university offering that service (Instalments using Murabaha) and the staff provident fund. Allah the Almighty says, "O ye who believe! Fear God, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers. If ye do it not, Take notice of war from God and His Apostle: But if ye turn back, ye shall have your capital sums: Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.'{Al-Baqharah, 287,279}.



Jabir said that Allah's Messenger (PBUH) cursed the accepter of interest and its payer, and one who records it, and the two witnesses, and he said:They are all equal.{Muslim}.



In conclusion, the funding in the above transaction is a loan and the amount added to it is forbidden usury. And Allah the Almighty knows best.