Conditions Attached To Hiring A Hall

Question

1. I hired the maktab hall & was also forced to hire tables & chairs from them (they don’t allow tables & chairs from outside).

2. Another condition is that a minimum for 100 people must be hired.

3. Our function was planned for approximately 120 people. However I didn’t require chairs & tables for 120 people as we used dastarkans.

I therefore took & paid for the 100 chairs & tables as I was forced to do so per the conditions of hire.

4. The person in charge now claims that I need to pay for 20 more chairs & tables.

Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Azaadville · Accepted Answer

From the manner in which the question has been posed to us it seems that the _____ hires out the hall at a stipulated fee which includes tables and chairs for 100 guests which the client is required to pay for as well irrespective of whether the guests use the table and chairs or not. If the total number of guests exceed 100 then there is an additional charge for tables and chairs for additional guests.

This means that the client that intends hiring the hall is required to inform the _____ that a certain number of guests will be attending and the client will be charged accordingly. The charge includes a hiring fee for the hall as well as a hiring fee for tables and chairs for the total number of guests. The charge is fixed and stipulated which is in accordance to the Shari’ee requirements of Ijaarah as the items hired out to the client is clearly stipulated as well as the total amount to be charged by the _____ trust to the client. The client reserves the right of either hiring the hall if suitable for him or declining the offer.

We therefore do not see an issue with the method of hiring adopted by the _____ trust. In the queried scenario you should have informed them from the very beginning that you have invited 120 guests so that they could have charged you accordingly for the hall which would then include tables and chairs for 120 people. Had you informed them that you have an additional amount of 20 people, they would have charged you for the extra 20 people and even provided the additional tables and chairs. It was then your prerogative to use those additional chairs and tables or not use them (by seating the extra 20 on dastarkhans on the floor).

الإجارة عقدٌ على المنافع بعوض ولا تصح حتى تكون المنافع معلومة والأجرة معلومة

(اللباب في شرح الكتاب – كتاب الاجارة)

However, since the _____ trust only provided 100 tables and chairs (according to our understanding) due to being informed that 100 guests will be attending and the client didn’t use any tables and chairs at all, the trustees of the _____ trust should consider affording a discount to the client as a gesture of goodwill and not as a Shari’ee ruling that needs to be enforced.

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