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MISCELLANEOUS RULINGS ON HIRING/RENTING →
← CONDITIONS FOR PROPERTY GIVEN ON RENT
CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE USE OF THE PROPERTY WHICH IS GIVEN ON RENT
Ruling 2197. The use of the property which is given on rent must fulfil the following four conditions [for the rental agreement to be valid]:
1. the use must be lawful (ḥalāl). Therefore, if a property has only an unlawful (ḥarām) use, or if a condition is stipulated that the property must be used for an unlawful purpose, or if before the transaction (muʿāmalah) an unlawful use is specified and the transaction is carried out based on that, then in these cases, the transaction is invalid. Therefore, giving a shop on rent for the sale of wine or for storing wine, or hiring an animal for the transportation of wine, is invalid;
2. [in the case of hiring someone for a service,] the service must not be something that Islamic law deems obligatory (wājib) to perform free of charge. An example of this is, based on obligatory precaution, teaching rulings (masāʾil) on what is lawful and unlawful, if they concern matters that are commonly encountered. The same applies to the obligatory rituals of preparing a corpse for burial. And, based on obligatory precaution, it is a requirement that people must not consider paying for the service futile;
3. if the item given on rent is multi-purpose, the use that the lessee makes of it must be specified. For example, if an animal that is used for riding and transporting goods is given on rent, it must be specified at the time of the rental agreement whether the lessee will use the animal for riding, transporting goods, or both;
4. the extent of the use must be specified. This will either be in terms of length of time, as with renting a house and a shop, or in terms of action, as with agreeing with a tailor to stitch certain clothing in a particular manner.
Ruling 2198. If the beginning of the rental period is not specified, it will begin the moment the rental contract has concluded.
Ruling 2199. If a house is given on rent for a year, for example, and the beginning of the rental period is set to a month after the rental contract has concluded, the rental agreement is valid even if the house is being rented by someone else at the time of concluding the contract.
Ruling 2200. If the rental period is unknown and the lessor says, ‘Whenever you reside in the house its rent will be £1000 a month’, the rental agreement is not valid.
Ruling 2201. If a person says to a lessee, ‘I have given the house on rent to you for £1000 a month’, or he says to him, ‘I have given the house on rent to you for one month for £1000; after that, for as long as you reside in the house, the rent will be £1000 a month’, then, as long as the beginning of the rental period is known, the rental agreement is in order for the first month.
Ruling 2202. With regard to a house in which travellers and pilgrims take residence and the length of their stay there is not known, if it is agreed that, for example, they will pay £50 a night and the owner of the house consents to this, there is no problem in their use of that house. However, as the rental period is unknown, the rental agreement is only valid with respect to the first night, and the owner can ask them to vacate the premises whenever he wishes.
MISCELLANEOUS RULINGS ON HIRING/RENTING →
← CONDITIONS FOR PROPERTY GIVEN ON RENT
1. the use must be lawful (ḥalāl). Therefore, if a property has only an unlawful (ḥarām) use, or if a condition is stipulated that the property must be used for an unlawful purpose, or if before the transaction (muʿāmalah) an unlawful use is specified and the transaction is carried out based on that, then in these cases, the transaction is invalid. Therefore, giving a shop on rent for the sale of wine or for storing wine, or hiring an animal for the transportation of wine, is invalid;
2. [in the case of hiring someone for a service,] the service must not be something that Islamic law deems obligatory (wājib) to perform free of charge. An example of this is, based on obligatory precaution, teaching rulings (masāʾil) on what is lawful and unlawful, if they concern matters that are commonly encountered. The same applies to the obligatory rituals of preparing a corpse for burial. And, based on obligatory precaution, it is a requirement that people must not consider paying for the service futile;
3. if the item given on rent is multi-purpose, the use that the lessee makes of it must be specified. For example, if an animal that is used for riding and transporting goods is given on rent, it must be specified at the time of the rental agreement whether the lessee will use the animal for riding, transporting goods, or both;
4. the extent of the use must be specified. This will either be in terms of length of time, as with renting a house and a shop, or in terms of action, as with agreeing with a tailor to stitch certain clothing in a particular manner.
Ruling 2198. If the beginning of the rental period is not specified, it will begin the moment the rental contract has concluded.
Ruling 2199. If a house is given on rent for a year, for example, and the beginning of the rental period is set to a month after the rental contract has concluded, the rental agreement is valid even if the house is being rented by someone else at the time of concluding the contract.
Ruling 2200. If the rental period is unknown and the lessor says, ‘Whenever you reside in the house its rent will be £1000 a month’, the rental agreement is not valid.
Ruling 2201. If a person says to a lessee, ‘I have given the house on rent to you for £1000 a month’, or he says to him, ‘I have given the house on rent to you for one month for £1000; after that, for as long as you reside in the house, the rent will be £1000 a month’, then, as long as the beginning of the rental period is known, the rental agreement is in order for the first month.
Ruling 2202. With regard to a house in which travellers and pilgrims take residence and the length of their stay there is not known, if it is agreed that, for example, they will pay £50 a night and the owner of the house consents to this, there is no problem in their use of that house. However, as the rental period is unknown, the rental agreement is only valid with respect to the first night, and the owner can ask them to vacate the premises whenever he wishes.