Is it permissible to buy a house by entering a draw and paying non-refundable fees?
Question Could you please tell me if buying a property under the following conditions is allowed or not There is a housing scheme in Pakistan where they allocate houses by balloting. They ask for a non refundable processing fee and a down payment. After the balloting if unsuccessful they return the down payment but not…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Refraining
from continuing with this program is the right thing to do. In fact it is
obligatory, because entering this draw by paying a non-refundable fee is
getting involved in a kind of gambling. The definition of gambling is that
into which a person enters by means of risking some money, and he will
either lose this money or he will win.
Based on
what you mentioned, it is clear that the one who does not win this draw will
lose the fees that he paid; if his name is picked then he will be a winner
— with regard to buying a house. Thus it is clear that getting involved in
this program is haraam.
This program
is similar to getting involved in government or private auctions, for which
one pays fees in order to participate, and usually what is taken from those
who pay admission fees to the auction is much greater than the value of the
booklet or brochure that is given to them. The Islamic Fiqh Council has
banned paying more than the price of the booklet or brochure which contains
the conditions and guidelines for the auction that is planned. We have
quoted the text of the statement in the answer to question number 2150, in
which it says: According to sharee’ah, there is nothing wrong with charging
an entry fee to cover the costs of producing booklets listing regulations,
etc., so long as it is not more than the actual cost.
What we advise you is not to buy a house through this program.
And Allah knows best.
