Selling a pension

Question

Question: Zayd is a Muslim and a subject; Bakr is a non-Muslim, the ruler of the present government. (1) Zayd remained Bakr’s employee for a (fixed) period. After the end of the appointed period, Bakr fixed for Zayd a monthly sum for life as a reward for service (haqq al-khidma) and relieved him of the service concerned. (2) This monthly sum, fixed for Zayd’s lifetime, is known to both Zayd and Bakr, and is in Bakr’s possession. (3)

Answer

In this transaction, apparently, one defect is that the employee is selling something that has not yet come into his possession (qabd), which is impermissible in the Shariʿa, “because its delivery is not within his power” (لكونه غير مقدور التسليم).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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