Q I had an amount of money which I handed to a Muslim businessman to trade with along with his own capital. I would like to affirm that I despise usury (riba) and I had no intention whatsoever to deal with nor receive usury.

I asked my partner to agree a percentage of profit and loss to be shouldered by both of us in any event. He refused this and said that this is extremely difficult for him, as he would have to do complicated accounts which he hates.

My personal feeling is that he did not want me to know about certain matters within his trade, such as his real profits and so on. In short, he assured me that the trade will bring profit and that it would be much easier for him to give me 10% return on my capital every year.

I told him that I fear that this a form of usury (riba), but he insisted that it wasn't. He explained that the capital would gain much more in profit, but agreeing this percentage would relieve him of carrying out complicated accounts. What is the ruling of Shari’ah on this matter?

For me, I wouldn't mind settling for 10% even if the actual profit was more, as 10% is much better than keeping the money locked away somewhere. However, I will make my partner make an oath that if profits were less than 10% or that there was an actual loss; he should tell me, so that I do not take a penny more than the actual percentage of profits.

Please let me know if my actions agree with Islamic Shari`ah and if not, how can I invest my money in a manner which agrees with the Shari`ah?