Is it permissible to purchase stocks using call and put options?

Q: Is it permissible to purchase stocks using call and put options? الجواب حامدًا و مصليًا و منه الصدق و الصواب A: Call and put options are essentially the sale of a right which one party gives to another in return for a fee. The option holder purchases the option to hedge against possible negative […]

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Is it permissible to under-declare income for a means-tested grant?

Q: I would like to know, if a student applies for a means tested grant, is the money halal, if the parent is required to declare their income in the application and they fail to declare it truthfully.  Is the student blameworthy for applying despite not being able to persuade the parent to declare their […]

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Do I have to pay zakah on money that I have only had in my possession for 2 months?

Q: Do I have to pay zakāh on money that I have only had in my possession for 2 months? I am a retired government servant and receive a pension. Besides this, the only other source of my income is rent I receive from a house. I live in another house which I own. I […]

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Please can you advise on the Shariah permissibility of guarantees and extended warranties.

Q: Please can you advise on the Shariah permissibility of guarantees and extended warranties. By guarantees I mean when the manufacturer gives a guarantee for a product without any monetary compensation and extended warranty where essentially a guarantee for the product is purchased. الجواب حامدًا و مصليًا و منه الصدق و الصواب A: Guarantee The […]

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Are Muslims allowed to take interest money from the bank and use it to pay their own taxes or insurance premiums?

Q:Are Muslims allowed to take interest money from the bank and use it to pay their own taxes or insurance premiums? الجواب حامدًا و مصليًا و منه الصدق و الصواب A: When needed, one should seek to open an account with an Islamic bank or the Islamic window of a conventional bank or a non-interest […]

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What should a charity do with interest (riba), and income generated from interest, that it receives?

Q: What should a charity do with interest (riba), and income generated from interest, that it receives? Our charity receives Haram Interest from individuals & business. Whilst that is sitting in the charity’s Islamic bank accounts what is the status of the (halal) return generated? Does it have the same restrictions as the Interest capital? […]

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Is the responsibility of Zakāt a strictly individual responsibility or can it be joint say in the case of husbands and wives?

  Q: Is the responsibility of Zakāt a strictly individual responsibility or can it be joint say in the case of husbands and wives? Most spouses would have joint finances and liabilities or would treat theirs as such. الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: Zakāt is strictly a personal obligation.  Even in jointly […]

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Is it permissible to use Zakat to fund qard hasan, microfinance initiatives or invest into waqf projects?

Q: Is it permissible to use Zakat to fund qard hasan, microfinance initiatives or invest into waqf projects? الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب A: It is not permissible to use zakat to fund qard hasan, microfinance initiatives or invest into waqf projects as none of these avenues satisfy the requirement of proprietary transfer […]

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Do I pay zakah on an investment from which I get no return, but whose value rises?

Q: Do I pay zakāh on an investment from which I get no return, but whose value rises? I had about £51,300 on which I paid zakāh this year which left me with about £50,000. I then invested that £50,000 into a company. So now I own 5% percentage of that company. I am not […]

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Do I have to pay zakah on shares held for me by a nominee?

Q: Do I have to pay zakāh on shares held for me by a nominee on trust? For e.g. I purchase shares in my own name via TD Waterhouse who hold legal title on a nominee basis. This means they are shown on the company register as the legal owners of the shares. However they […]

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