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The question

What is the ruling on purchasing from open buffet restaurants where the buyer pays a certain amount and eats an unknown quantity of food, and is this considered among gharar (uncertainty) transactions?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade transactions involving , which is that which contains risk and uncertainty. The prohibited gharar includes selling something non-existent or unknown. However, minor gharar may be overlooked if there is a need for it, such as selling a pregnant sheep or a padded robe. Some scholars hold that restaurants setting a fixed price for "all-you-can-eat" falls under minor gharar, which is permissible. But if a person eats more than usual, they must inform the restaurant owner, as this would then be considered significant gharar.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
19526
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy