What is the ruling on a lease contract whose term is automatically renewed monthly (mashahara), with an undefined annual increase in rent determined by the state, and the lessor (the state or non-profit centers) is committed to not evicting the tenant from the dwelling, noting that this increase has not yet been applied? And is it permissible for my husband to continue in an indefinite-term employment contract, in which he works as a guard for commercial stores (supermarkets) that sell alcoholic beverages, during the first three months in which either party may terminate the contract, by analogy with Fatwa No. 81720, especially since we are in a non-Muslim country?

The state's or non-profit centers' obligation not to evict the tenant does not affect the lease contract, as long as the tenant is free to leave the dwelling at the end of the contract. The absence of a known duration in the contract renders it void, because specifying the duration and rent is a condition for the validity of the lease. Ibn al-Mundhir said: "All those whom we preserve knowledge from among the people of knowledge have agreed that renting houses and animals is permissible, and their rental is not permissible except for a specified, known duration." Any percentage increase added upon renewal of the contract must be known, and a duration for the contract must be specified. The agreement between the landlord and the tenant for freedom to terminate the contract within the first three months is permissible, based on the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "Muslims are bound by their conditions in what is permissible." Furthermore, Fatwa No. 81720 applies to guarding markets that contain forbidden items among their goods.