Hi,


My question is regarding business investment from friends.


For months we have planned a great business idea and we are at the final stages of starting it up.


In these months we agreed everyone would put up $100,000 each.


It recently came to my attention that both friends where to use personal loans from banks to do this. I had assumed they had these funds at their own disposal but I was mistaken.


Please note that my friends are not Muslim, one is Christian and the other is more or less Agnostic.


The deal was always as follows:



  • They invest into the business, and expect no repayments for the money they put upfront and no agreed dates etc, when the money is invested, there is no asking for it back.


  • They receive 24% each of the business in net profits only.



After I found out it will be via bank loans, I questioned it a lot and came to a conclusion.



  • If somebody, non-muslim takes out a loan and gives it to me and agrees to pay that loan back on his own terms, himself, with no interference from me (I.e he uses his own wages to pay it back from his current employer) will this make it halal for me to accept?



Please think about this question throughly and do not jump to conclusions with a response.



For example, I do not sign any loan terms, I do not agree to pay this money back to my friend with interest at all, only profit dividend, and only if the company makes money, so there is no collateral he can claim, etc. The loan he chose to take out is 100% his own responsibility, and if he fails to pay it it would be his problem.


Let me give one last example, I think this will make better sense.



If you are a building contractor and you arrive at a Christan persons house, you give him a quote of $50,000 for repairs and he agrees. He then returns with the money, you find out this is from a bank loan which is perfectly acceptable in Islam. One would assume from this the same would apply in terms of investment, correct?



All the advice I can get is appreciated. Please think carefully about the above example as it is extremely close to my circumstances.


Thank you!