Is it permissible to give a garment to a tailor to fashion into shirts for sale, giving the tailor half the profit for his work?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Partnership

Book 18 · Issue 3 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

This arrangement is valid based on the position narrated by Harb regarding Ahmad. Similarly, giving raw spun fiber (ghazl) to a weaver to make cloth in exchange for a third or a quarter of its price is permissible, as explicitly stated.

Supporting text

Malik, Abu Hanifah, and Al-Shafi'i did not permit any of these transactions because they involve an unknown compensation (ajr majhul) and unknown work. A ruling also states that if a fixed amount of money is added to the agreed profit share, the contract is invalid, which is the sounder opinion, although an alternate view permitted it.