Journal of Islamic Studies > Volume 25, No. 2, 2013

Seriousness Guarantee for Banking Murābahah / Khalid Zaid Al-Jabaly

This is a study of a type of guarantee adopted by some banks to protect their rights in certain transactions; a sum of money is
required to be deposited by the customer in the bank, covering the murābahah contract period. The sum is defined as a seriousness guarantee,
indicating the customer’s serious promise to purchase from the bank once it possesses the commodity in question. If the customer breaks his
promise, the deposited sum will be confiscated as a compensation for the possible loss suffered by the bank due to possessing the commodity
at the customer’s request. This research aims at defining the nature of the guarantee, studying related rulings and identifying the
contemporaries’ positions in that regard. The deductive and inductive methods have been used in the research. Some conclusions have been
reached. The bank’s demand for a seriousness guarantee is related to obligatory commitment to banking murābahah. On the one hand, those
concerned with obligatory commitment advocate the bank’s right to demand the seriousness guarantee. On the other hand, those not
concerned with obligatory commitment do not recognize such a right. Also, commitment must not be obligatory. Therefore, the bank has no
right to demand such a guarantee from the customer. The most important recommendation is that banks abandon the seriousness guarantee in
favor of well established jurisprudence guarantees, thus avoiding any suspicious transactions