Question :
There is a piece of land owned jointly by partners. One of the partners sold one dunam of the land for an amount of 10,000 dinars, which was registered at the Land Department for 3,500 dinars. One of the partners intended to acquire the piece of land through preemption (Shuf`a), and an agreement was reached to purchase it for 10,000 dinars. The buyer obtained a loan with an interest of 800 dinars on the amount. Is the seller entitled to claim the interest amount or not?
The Answer :
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
The general rule in Sharia is that the preemption claimant (Shafi') acquires the share at the price agreed upon in the contract between the original seller and the buyer. Al-Khatib al-Sharbini, a Shafi'i jurist, stated: "The preemption claimant takes their share from the buyer at the known price that was agreed upon in the sales contract" (Al-Iqna' fi Hall Alfaz Abi Shuja', v.2/pp.337).
As for the amounts incurred by the buyer as interest or Murabaha to purchase the share of the original seller, the preemption claimant is not obligated to bear them. This is because what the preemption claimant contributes from the price to the buyer is in exchange for what the buyer has given, while it is essential to note that taking a loan with interest is prohibited by Sharia.
Therefore, the preemption claimant is not obliged to pay the interest incurred by the buyer for the purchase of the shared portion. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
