Q573 :I sold an article to an acquaintance having
received half of the price and agreed to spread the remainder over two
months. She was unable to pay after the first month, and after the
second month she wanted to return the article because she was going
back home. She gave me a small sum of money as penalty for not
netpleting the purchase. Am I allowed to receive such penalty.
A573 : The Prophet advises us to accept returned
goods when the purchaser regrets having bought them. Obviously, such an
acceptance presupposes that by parting with it to the purchaser in the
first place and receiving it back, no loss is incurred. In other words,
if you buy a suit from a shop and find it at home that it is not
particularly suitable to you; after trying you feel you want return it.
If you take it back the following day, then the shopkeeper is
renetmended by the Prophet to take it back. However, if the suit gets
stained while it is with you such as might have happened if you dropped
some food on it, then the shopkeeper is at a disadvantage if he takes
it back. He cannot sell it when it is dirty, and if he sends it to be
dry cleaned, it may lose its appeal. If he is to overlook this, its dry
cleaning will cost him some money, as well as time and effort. In this
case, he is entitled to recover that loss from the purchaser, although
it is open to him to refuse to take it back. In your case, if the
article which you sold was returned unused, as you have implied, and
taking it back will not mean any loss for you, then the penalty should
not be taken. If you take it as netpensation for missing a chance to
sell the article while it was with your customer, you are not taking
forbidden money, but it is much better not to accept it, especially if
you know that your customer is not that rich. From the Islamic point of
view, it is better to have all our dealings coloured by a spirit of
netpassion and care than exacting our rights to the full.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )