Is Charging a 50% Refundable Deposit for a Service Permissible?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is charging a 50% refundable deposit for a service permissible?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Yes, it is permissible to charge a refundable deposit when offering a service. A deposit is a trust (amana) in the hands of the one who holds it, and it must be returned if the sale or contract does not go through.

Allah Most High says, “O you who believe, betray not your solemn troth to Allah and the Messenger, nor knowingly betray your trusts.” [Quran 8:27; Keller, The Quran Beheld]

It is reported from Shurayh (Allah be pleased with him), “There is no liability on the borrower unless he acts dishonestly, and no liability on the one entrusted with a deposit unless he acts dishonestly.” [Bayhaqi; Daraqutni]

A deposit is a trust in the hands of the one to whom it is given. [Marghinani, al-Hidaya]

Deposits Are a Trust

The governing principle is that a deposit is a trust held on the other party’s behalf. A trust (amana) is everything one is duty-bound to protect, uphold, and fulfill of others’ rights.

So you may take the refundable deposit to secure the arrangement, provided you return it whenever the service does not proceed.

May Allah grant you, and all of us, ease in fulfilling our trusts in all their forms.

And Allah knows best.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

• Are Non-Refundable Deposits Permissible? — The disagreement over non-refundable (‘urban) deposits and the conditions some scholars attach.

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.