What is the ruling on money earned by an employee as a commission when choosing the "letter of credit" payment method, which includes a penalty for the party late in submitting documents or funds?

A documentary credit is a banking undertaking to fulfill an obligation, conditioned upon the conformity of documents with instructions. It takes place between the importer, the bank, and the beneficiary (the seller), and a foreign bank may enter as a fourth party.

In Sharia, it is categorized as follows: - If it is covered: It is an agency (wakalah), and the bank is permitted to take a commission as a fee for the agency. - If it is uncovered: It is a guarantee (daman) or a loan (qard). In this case, the bank is not permitted to take a commission on it, except for the value of actual costs, because a commission on a guarantee is not permissible (as it is a readiness to lend), or because it constitutes usury (riba) on a loan.

The legitimate alternative for an uncovered documentary credit is for the bank to purchase the goods for itself and then sell them to the customer on a Murabaha basis.