Gharar
Gharar ( Arabic غرر, DMG ġarar ) is the prohibition of speculation and uncertainty in Islam .
General
In Islam and the legal sources of the Shari'a , Fiqh and Sunna there are three prohibitions ( Harām ) that Muslims must observe. The absolute prohibition of interest ( Ribā ) requires that no interest may be charged on transactions . According to Sura 2: 279, the borrower only has to return the principal to the lender . That is why there is no loan interest and no credit interest . Gambling and wagering ( Maysir , Qimār ) are also prohibited . "Games of chance, sacrificial stones, and arrows from the lottery are but an abomination of Satan's work." The third prohibition developed from these two prohibitions through analogism ( qiyas ) and concerns the uncertainty , danger or ambiguity of contracts ( gharar ). Unspecified contracts that leave essential main performance obligations open are prohibited . However, Gharar is not as absolute as the interest ban, because everyday business often involves a certain residual risk that is tolerated. The risk is not completely forbidden in Islam, it is even supported.
scope
In contrast to the ban on interest, gharar is not precisely defined. Gharar means that any uncertainty or ambiguity is forbidden. Contracts must be free from any ambiguity and uncertainty. However, a certain degree of uncertainty is inevitable in business life and is therefore also accepted. Only extreme gharar , in which the risks and uncertainties are present to such an extent that one is already in the vicinity of betting or gambling, must be avoided. A contract that is only intended to take effect when a future event occurs is also void . Also under Gharar falls fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation .
Examples
A typical example is the sale of fish that are still swimming in the sea. If the fisherman (seller) and buyer agree to sell a fish that is still to be caught at a price agreed in advance, a relevant gharar exists . It could be that the fisherman doesn't catch anything. However, buyers and fishermen agree on it, that the fisherman for a day's work is paid, this is Gharar eliminated is because paid for the work , and know both parties know what to expect and will be paid.
While buying shares may be linked to gharar , it is only in certain cases that result in a ban. If someone buys a share, he participates in a company as a co-entrepreneur at a certain market price . There is no uncertainty and therefore no gharar . The shareholder shares the risk and profit with other shareholders, although there is tolerated uncertainty about the amount. You can also sell your stake again later, even if it is unclear from the start what sales price will be achieved. What matters, however, is the way you act. Day trading is a case of extreme gharar , because it is no longer the investment in the company with long-term profit prospects that is decisive, but the exploitation of short-term price fluctuations. The same goes for short selling , as you 're selling something that you don't (yet) own. The short sale, all derivatives and conventional insurance are considered gharar .
Islam-compliant business
Anyone who wants to take into account the ban on the Gharar can conclude financial contracts within the framework of Islamic banking or Islamic finance that correspond to the fundamental Islamic principles. For example, for the most extreme case of the Gharar , the classic insurance contract , the Islamic Takaful . This also applies to banking transactions that allow variants that are Shari'a-compliant , from current accounts ( wadīʿa ) to financial instruments .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Georg Ebert, Islamic banking products: sources, norms and terms , in: ders./Friedrich Theißen (ed.), The Islam-conforming financial business - Aspects of Islamic finance for the German private customer market, 2010, p. 51 f.
- ↑ Michael Gassner / Philipp Wackerbeck, Islamic Finance: Islam-Just Financial Investments and Financing , 2007, p. 38 ff.
- ^ Noel J. Coulson, Commercial Law in the Gulf States , 1984, p. 44