Business with Saudi sponsor
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Assalamu alaikum,
This question is
about BUSINESS. In many Gulf countries especially in Saudi Arabia many
people from the subcontinent are running business with Local Saudi as partner.
As per the Local
rules a non Saudi cannot own a business in his name. For this reason many
expatriates keep a Saudi as a partner. And the business will be in
Saudi's name. Just to follow the rule. Where the Saudi will
not have any investment in the business, but he get a fixed amount as agreed
every month just to use his name.
Does Islam allows
this type of business. In my opinion both of them are doing wrong.
Where the
expatriate is cheating the government by having the Saudi as partner.
(When actually he is the one running the business)
And the Saudi is
exploiting the situation and getting a lump amount without actually doing any
work. And he is also cheating the government.
Please I need your
comment based on Quran and Hadhees teachings as soon as possible.
May allah bless
you for spreading the knowledge of Islam.
Your brother in
Islam.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none
can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright.
We bear witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Beloved brother, we must learn to differentiate between
Islamic Law or Shariah, and the
man-made laws made by some man-made government.
Allah Subhanah has made trading
and business halaal, and has not
restricted the believers to a region or place to do their halaal business. The government of Saudi Arabia if they have
a law that states that the expatriates cannot indulge in trading in their
country, is a law made by themselves
and not a law in Shariah or Islamic Law.
Thus, if an expatriate takes a Saudi partner and pays him a lump sum
for conducting business under his sponsorship,
it is not a matter of halaal or haraam. If one finds a legal loop-hole in such man-made laws to
circumvent the unjust laws made by man,
there is no sin in Islam.
That is why if there is
a dispute between the expatriate owner of the business and his Saudi sponsor, the Shariah Courts in the country uphold and
honor the agreement that is made between the expatriate and the Saudi according
to Shariah, and not the man-made laws
of the government.
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
