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Where I say property, I mean, something physical which has value. If the islamic definition of rent-able property is different, please let me know.

If I have property in the form of a house, I understand that I can rent this house out and get monthly payments in the form of USD until the house is returned to me, where the rental period is defined in a contract. As far as I have read, this is apparently halaal.

My question is, if I have property in the form of gold, can I rent that gold out and get monthly payments in the form of USD until the gold is returned to me? Where the rental period is also defined in a contract.

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The things those are not indicated as by Qur'an or Sunnah, are all permissible/Halal. There are no hadith or verse of Qur'an that restricts leasing/renting your property.

First, you need to understand what is 'Rent' and what is 'Interest'.

Renting and interest differ from each other by these aspects:

A) Interest

  1. Interest comes out from giving (lending) money or money-like goods for a certain period of time and receiving it back with an extra benefit.

  2. The property loaned for interest is consumed. The borrower returns it by an equal amount of the same type, not the exact property itself.

  3. The risk of the loaned property belongs to the borrower. It doesn’t bother the lender if the property is vanished or stolen. The borrower should give the same amount with its interest at the end of defined period no matter what.

B) Rent

  1. Renting means transferring the “usage right” of a property from the owner to someone for a certain period. The rental price is the cost of usage right for the defined period.

  2. The rented and the received property are exactly the same ones in renting. Rented properties cannot be consumed and consumable goods cannot be rented.

  3. The risk of the rented property belongs to its owner. Renters just pay for using it.

Money and money-like goods cannot be rented because they are consumed. They can only be loaned and loans are subject to interest.
[Islam and Qur'an: What is the difference between renting and interest]

Conclusion

So, if gold is used as a medium of transaction or loan, it is not allowed to rent. However, if gold is not used as a medium of transaction and is returned as it was, provided none of the conditions or boundaries of Shariah are violated, renting Gold is absolutely halal as long as your contract doesn't become interest/riba in any way.

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  • But then gold counts as currency, or "money-like goods" in your link. If you rent gold for a craftsmen to sculpt, then it is fine for the gold is for purpose other than money. But if you rent gold to someone knowing he uses it as currency and you receive benefits from it then it is called interest according to your link. – user2350 Apr 9 '13 at 7:53
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    Yes, you got it right. :) You can not rent your property for illegal act. However, if the rented property doesn't violate any Islamic boundaries, renting is okay. – Imtiaz Mahbub Khan Apr 9 '13 at 18:29
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From what I searched, it seems that it is okay to do so as long as that gold to be rented is not consumable, and will be returned as it is. Most of those fatwas I read deals with the issue of renting jeweleries for wedding ceremonies. My understanding here and thus emphasize is that it should be returned as it is in the sense of same thing, not same value.

Source: http://fatwa.islamweb.net/fatwa/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=195287 [Arabic]

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  • This is the most correct answer as far as I know. "Rental" has to be defined by the returning of the same rented object, not an equal to it. It's not a matter of whether the other person would make profit from the object, but the same object has to be returned. – Hosam Aly Apr 10 '13 at 9:06
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No, you cannot. The Prophet(PBUH) said:

“Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, salt for salt, like for like, same for same, hand to hand. If any of these types are different, then sell however you like, so long as it is hand to hand.” Narrated by Muslim, 2970, from the hadeeth of ‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (may Allaah be pleased with him). emphasis is mine

First off, your transaction of renting out gold to someone is not hand to hand. Second, you are lending something in the form of gold and in return charging the person for the loan in the form of USD. It's a clear form of interest or Riba and it's not permissible. Allah knows best.

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  • This hadith says about immediate transactions on equal types and equal quantity of goods. It does not relate to renting. If you assume this restricts rental of properties, then by your assumption, house-rental is also haram. Please correct me if I am wrong, brother. – Imtiaz Mahbub Khan Apr 4 '13 at 19:31
  • @ImtiazMahbubKhan: Let me give you an example: Say, I gave you 200 US dollars, and I ask you that you can keep the 200 as long as you pay me 50 Canadian dollars monthly rent. My 200 is saved. It's an interest I charge on the amount of money, I lent you. Don't you think this is Riba? – Noah Apr 4 '13 at 19:48
  • @ImtiazMahbubKhan: In the case of renting a house, it's not the house that you pay for. It's the service of using the house that you pay for. – Noah Apr 4 '13 at 19:52
  • Both of your previous examples are 100% correct. Now please allow me to put up an example. There's currently a system where people take gold as rent for show-off on their wedding. It's the service of showing off they are taking. Is that Riba too? If it's not for the service, why would someone take something as rent? – Imtiaz Mahbub Khan Apr 4 '13 at 20:14
  • @ImtiazMahbubKhan: What for? Why would they do this? If it's part of the "Mahr", I think it's not permissible. Mahr is real and is the right of a bride that should be paid or given to her at the time of marriage. It's for her exclusive use. Often times, I think we mix Islamic Law with local traditions; we try to evade the Law of God by making an alibi. If we really submit ourselves to God and follow His Law, I am sure there would be no need for these kind of things. – Noah Apr 4 '13 at 20:35

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