Is a factory maintenance contract that includes fixed periodic maintenance and emergency corrective maintenance for a fixed monthly price, with an additional cost specified for emergency breakdowns after the agreed-upon number, Islamically permissible?

This agreement or contract is valid and permissible. It is a legitimate lease agreement involving a known monthly payment (400 dinars) in exchange for a known benefit, which is maintenance under the specified conditions: four periodic maintenance visits and four corrective maintenance visits if required. Anything beyond that is subject to an agreement on its cost before it is carried out.

The resolution of the Islamic Fiqh Academy states that a maintenance contract is a newly developed, independent contract to which the general rules of contracts apply. It is a commutative contract that obligates one party to inspect and repair what a machine needs for a known period, in exchange for a known consideration.

Among the permissible forms of maintenance contracts according to Sharia are: 1. A maintenance contract not linked to another contract, where the maintainer is obligated to provide only work, or work with minor materials. This is a legitimate lease contract for work, permissible under Sharia, provided that the work and the wage are known. 2. A maintenance contract not linked to another contract, where the maintainer is obligated to provide work, and the owner is obligated to provide the materials. Its classification and ruling are the same as in the first form.

In all forms, it is a condition that the maintenance be specified in a way that negates any ambiguity leading to dispute, that the materials be clarified if they are the responsibility of the maintainer, and that the remuneration be determined in all cases.