Zaid claims he is the owner and his younger brother is working for him. The younger brother says he is the owner because zaid left the business and he continued it with his own money. What is the shari ruling

Question

Zaid started a business, he imported a certain product and sold it locally. His business became established . After 5 years he moved to another country and just left the business . His younger brother,bakr contacted him and said he would like to continue the business. He took a loan from a relative, and with assistance from his elder brother imported the product and started selling under the same name. the business is still running. Zaid claims he is the owner and his younger brother is working for him. The younger brother says he is the owner because zaid left the business and he continued it with his own money. What is the shari ruling

Mufti Ebrahim Desai · Accepted Answer

If Bakr uses his own money to continue Zaid’s previous business with his consent, then the business belongs to Bakr and not to Zaid. If Zaid wanted to retain ownership of the business, he should have stated that clearly to Bakr when Bakr approached him to continue with the abandoned business.

The fact that Zaid had to use his own money to reignite the business proves that the previous business did not have anything. If Zaid wanted to continue with his previous business, he should have provided the capital and employed Bakr. That did not happen. Zaid’s claim of being the owner of the business has no merit in Shari’ah.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

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