Who owns the simcard
| Fatwa #2423 | Category: Business & Trade | Country: Zambia | Date: 8th September 2026 |
| Fatwa #2423 | Date: 8th September 2026 |
| Category: Business & Trade | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
I hope Mufti Sahib is well.
A Maulana is working for an Islamic institution. He is a lillah funds collector, so the institution needed a phone and a SIM card for Airtel Money. The institution bought the phone, and instructed the Moulana to get a SIM card and have it registered for Airtel money. However due to formal procedure and requirements to put the SIM name on a trust and due to the urgency , the committee requested that it be registered under his name to fast track the process and he agreed.
The airtel money for the sim is on the trust posters for donations , documents and used for collection of Lillah and madrasah fees.
Now the Maulana has stopped working for the institution, and he is saying, “I cannot give this SIM card because it is registered in my name.” The committee members are saying that this causes a great deal of inconvenience to the institution, so they are asking the Maulana to let the institution continue using the SIM card. However, the Maulana is refusing.
What is the Shariah ruling regarding this matter?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The sim card belongs to whoever purchased it. If the sim card was purchased by the employee with his own funds, it belongs to him. The institution cannot demand its use against his wishes. If the sim card was purchased by the institution, but the name of the employee was used for registration, then though the sim card belongs to the institution, the employee retains the right to refuse usage of his name for the sim card. In such a situation, the sim should be changed from the name of the employee to someone else and the employee should not be a hindrance to this process.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia