By nature, an ijarah contract creates a liability on the lessee in the form of payable rental (ujrah), which gives the lessor the right to demand security and/ or a guarantee (security) from the lessee against future debt (dain/ dayn). Shari’a permits that a lessor takes security on the ground that the leased property is essentially handed over, in a fiduciary manner, to the lessee who would be expected to avail from its usufruct (manfa’ah) in an ordinary way without exposing it to hazards or damages. Therefore, the lessee can be held liable for losses in property if such losses have resulted from negligence or intentional misuse or carelessness on the part of the lessee.
The lessor can thus recover any actual losses arising from such damages or even from defaults in rental payment by the lessee.
