Nominal sales

Q: I need your Fatwa (legal opinion issued by a qualified Muslim scholar) regarding this project I am intending to start. I wish to start a financial fund just on the level of the Kingdom and the Gulf Region, in sha’a-Allah (if Allah wills). It will work as follows: The subscription form for five subscribers will be sold to one person for 100 riyals. This person will have to pay an additional amount of 400 riyals (Part No. 15; Page No. 228) and will be given another five subscription forms. Then he will sell each of these forms for 100 riyals and get back what he had paid; i.e. 500 riyals. Each one of the buyers will do the same. As for the 500 riyals, they will be divided as follows: 155 riyals to the form owner, 100 riyals to the first subscriber, 100 riyals to cover the money transfer and postal fees, 100 riyals to cover the stamps and other fees, and 100 riyals to the organizing office. The total amount of the fund will be 500,312 riyals and there will be 3,125 subscribers. No one will be harmed in this way and each person will get the total amount in return. In addition it is not a transaction in banks that deal in Riba (usury). The one whose turn comes will receive a check with the whole amount by mail. The subscription form will be as follows:1...........Address:2...........Address:3...........Address:4...........Address:5.KhalidAddress: (Part No. 15; Page No. 229) This is the first subscription form where the name Khalid is written under no. 5. Khalid sends this paper with the money and receives five subscription forms with his name always written under no. 5. After that Khalid sells these five forms to another five people for 100 riyals each, thus regaining his money and leaving each one of them to do the same. Each person will send the money and receive five other forms, having a total of 25 forms, where Khalid's name will be written under no. 4. Then the number becomes 125 forms with Khalid's name under no. 3. Again there will be 625 forms with Khalid's name under no. 2 and finally 3125 forms with Khaild's name under no. 1 at which time he receives the whole amount. Every subscriber will have their turn and so on. Please give me your Fatwa in this regard.


A: This transaction is Haram (prohibited), as it involves gambling. The recipient of the money is determined according to numbers. It also involves Riba Al-Fadl (usury of excess) since the subscriber pays an amount of money and gets much more upon getting a number. It is also a form of selling present money to be paid for by absent money by means of the mentioned forms; which makes it Riba Al-Nasi'ah (usury of delay). Consequently, this transaction is prohibited due to many reasons. (Part No. 15; Page No. 230) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.


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