What is the ruling on purchasing durable goods through the "Company's Mutual Aid Fund," which deducts a 5% administrative fee from the price of the commodity, knowing that the fund is financed by employee subscriptions and that the transaction occurs directly between the employee and the merchant?

It is permissible to establish a fellowship fund if it is based on donations and cooperation, and is invested in a Sharia-compliant manner, and the employee is given a sum upon leaving that is proportionate to their period of service. This is considered permissible cooperative insurance.

As for lending to employees from the fund, a benevolent loan (Qard Hasan) is permissible without taking 5% administrative fees as a percentage of the loan, because that is prohibited usury (riba). Administrative fees must be a fixed amount representing the actual cost of processing the loan, and anything beyond that is usury by the consensus of Muslims.

Those in charge of the fund should be content with the actual cost or cancel the loan. They may invest the fund's money through Mudarabah (profit-sharing) or Murabahah (cost-plus financing) by selling goods to the employee in installments after acquiring ownership of the goods.