Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

Our respected scholar, what is the ruling on reserving a car before purchasing it by paying, for example, 1000 Riyals to reserve it? By doing so, the price of the car remains fixed until you buy it. Or is it not permissible to reserve it because its price might change?

Answer:

Alhamdulillah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. To proceed:

My good and dear son, may Allah bless your life and reward you with goodness. This issue in Islamic jurisprudence is called ('urbun - a down payment).

An 'urbun (down payment) means that a person buys something but first gives a portion of the price to the seller, on the condition that if the sale is completed, this amount will be counted as part of the original price. However, if the sale is not completed, it becomes the property of the seller.

For example, it is permissible to agree with a showroom and pay 1000 Riyals or 500 Riyals as a down payment and say: "I will buy the car for 100,000, and here is 1000 as a down payment." This is permissible.

Furthermore, the seller can say to the buyer: "My brother, if you return within two or three days and take the car, then congratulations to you." He would then count the 1000 Riyals as part of the original price. "But if you do not return and change your mind, then I will keep the 1000 Riyals."

However, in this matter, it is better for the seller to only keep an amount equivalent to their loss.

Although the Islamic Fiqh Academy has issued a resolution that there is no objection if the seller keeps the entire down payment, it is better for the showroom owner to keep an amount equivalent to the loss the buyer has caused them.

For example:

If the price of the car dropped from 100,000 Riyals to 99,000, he may keep the 1000 Riyals.

But if its price did not decrease, then it is better, more virtuous, and more forgiving to not keep anything.

The ethical Sharia principle requires that:

If the seller keeps the down payment, they should only keep an amount equivalent to the administrative aspect, meaning a simple amount.

This is the Sharia ruling.