Hamish al-jiddiyyah is a security deposit received by the purchaser/ reseller in a murabaha to the purchase orderer (MPO) from the potential buyer upon the request of the latter to buy a specific asset/ commodity either on credit (for the purpose of financing) or in cash (for the purpose of seeking the market expertise of the purchaser/ reseller). This deposit is designed to help the purchaser/ reseller make sure that the orderer is serious in his request of purchasing the object of sale. However, if the orderer refuses to purchase the object, the actual damage incurred by the purchaser/ reseller should be covered using hamish al-jiddiyyah.

The purchaser/ reseller may have access to hamish al-jiddiyyah for the amount of actual damage he incurred due to the oderer’s refusal to conclude the contract of sale. If hamish al-jiddiyyah falls short of the amount of actual damage, the purchaser/ reseller may have recourse to the orderer for any remaining amount.

Urboun (arboun or arbun), on the other hand, is an amount of money paid in advance by the potential buyer to the seller in order to secure the sale. If the buyer chooses to proceed with the deal by taking the object of sale then this amount will be considered as part of the price paid in advance. Otherwise, it will be retained by the seller and the buyer will expect no refund whatsoever.

In view of both definitions, the purchaser/ reseller retains the full amount of urboun whether it is enough to cover the damages or not. This is not the case with hamish al-jiddiyyah, as the purchaser/ reseller is entitled to deduct only an amount equal to the actual damages incurred by him. If hamish aljiddiyyah is less than the amount of loss, the purchaser/ reseller may request the orderer to pay down the difference. If it exceeds the amount of loss, the purchaser/ reseller will have to refund the difference.