Instalment sales and their conditions

A question about instalment sales and their conditions, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that they are permitted even if the instalment price exceeds the cash price, subject to conditions including fixing one of the two prices at the contract, fixing the instalment terms, charging nothing extra for late payment, and not stipulating a discount for early payment. ¹

The questioner asked about the ruling on instalment sales and their conditions. ¹

The Department answered that there is no objection to buying and selling goods in instalments even if the instalment price is higher than the cash price, and that the majority of scholars of the four schools agree this form is permitted, citing Aisha's report of Barira, who contracted with her owners for nine ounces, one ounce each year. ¹ It quoted al-Nawawi in Rawdat al-Talibin that if someone says, I sell you this for a thousand in cash or two thousand deferred, the contract is valid. ¹ It listed conditions: one of the two prices, cash or instalment, must be agreed at the contract; the instalment dates must be fixed to avoid uncertainty; no extra sum may follow from the buyer's late payment, since any increase on the original debt is usury; and the contract may not stipulate a reduction in price for early payment. ¹ It noted that the answer sets out the general rules for instalment sales and is not a fatwa on any particular contract. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3958, dated 19 March 2025. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.