Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Selling cars through third-party financing is generally permissible if the dealer does not profit from interest and only sells the vehicle itself. While such transactions may involve Riba indirectly, Islam allows leniency in hardship and advises purifying income with charity and repentance.
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
I don’t think your income is haram because of your work as a car dealer, where you sell cars to people who may use the financing options they choose, over which you have no control.
It is not different from any other commodities that people sell, which the clients use to pay for the methods of their choice if you did not direct them to it. One of the rules of jurisprudence states: “We are not accountable for what happens out of our knowledge.”
While saying this, I should add: No doubt all such modern transactions contain elements of Riba or haram. No one can get away from being tainted with such elements. Islam is a practical religion that considers human circumstances.
Therefore, according to the rules of jurisprudence, the rigor of the law is relaxed where there is hardship. Additionally, where one’s income is tainted with Haram, we should purify it by extra charities (on top of Zakah) and making lots of Istighfar. Allah says, {Certainly, good deeds wipe out the bad deeds.} (Hud 11: 114)
👉 Read more about Islamic rulings on cars here:
- Buying a Car With Interest: Riba?
- Is Car Insurance Haram?
- Car Loan for Necessary Needs: Justified?
- Leasing Cars: Permissible?
- Purchasing Cars Through Commercial Bank Loans: Permissible?
- Is Murabaha in Car Purchasing Compliant with Shari`ah?
- Need a Car: Can My Wife Contribute to the Loan Payments?
Almighty Allah knows best.