Liability when buying a ticket for someone else

Question

Question: Zayd, ‘Umar and Khalid, all three, were setting out on a journey. On the way they met Ahmad, who said: “I will go, but I have no money with me; if one of you buys a ticket and gives it to me, I will go.” Zayd had money, but he had gone inside earlier. ‘Umar said to Khalid: “Go inside quickly, take money from Zayd and buy a ticket for Ahmad.” So Khalid went. Ahmad had followed as far as the door, and he himself says: “I called out to Khalid; he did not answer,” and so he got angry and left.

Answer

If Khalid, at Ahmad’s instruction, took the money from Zayd as a loan and bought the ticket for Ahmad, then Ahmad is responsible for that money. If he did not buy it at Ahmad’s instruction but bought it of his own accord, then Khalid is responsible. If Zayd bought it himself or instructed Khalid to buy it, then Zayd is responsible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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