What is the ruling on the monthly stipend in a training course that includes conditions for attendance and departure and fines for absence, if the trainee is late or leaves early, given that those in charge of the course are lenient in applying these conditions and fines? And is it obligatory to give in charity the value of the fine that should have been imposed on him but was not due to leniency?

A Muslim must fulfill the permissible conditions in any work he commits himself to. So, if it is a condition for the monthly stipend in the course that whoever is absent for a certain number of days will be deprived of it or a part of it, then this condition must be adhered to. This condition is valid because it does not contradict the purpose of the contract or the Sharia. If those in charge of attendance and departure are lenient without permission, this is considered a betrayal and does not absolve the trainee from returning the funds. As for the fine resulting from absence, it obliges the trainee to the condition and promise by which he entered the course. This fine remains a debt owed by the trainee to the course organizer until it is paid to them, and it is not permissible to give it away as charity.