Reconstructing the Legal Framework for All You Can Eat Transactions in Contemporary Fikih Muamalah

Abstrak

All You Can Eat (AYCE) is a culinary business model in which consumers pay a fixed package price, while the quantity of food consumed remains uncertain at the time the contract is concluded. This characteristic raises issues in Islamic commercial jurisprudence (fikih muamalah), particularly concerning contractual subject matter, the permissible limits of gharar, and the validity of additional contractual clauses. Assessing such transactions solely on the existence of uncertainty may overlook the distinction between uncertainty inherent in the business model and ambiguity that potentially harms the contracting parties. This study aims to reconstruct a legal assessment framework for AYCE transactions based on contemporary fikih muamalah principles. It employs normative legal research through library research. Relevant legal materials and literature on contracts, gharar, and AYCE practices were collected through documentary study and analysed qualitatively using content analysis and prescriptive legal reasoning. The findings indicate that uncertainty regarding consumption quantity does not automatically render an AYCE transaction impermissible due to gharar, provided that the contractual substance, price, service scope, and the parties’ rights and obligations are adequately disclosed and consent is informed. The study proposes five assessment parameters: contractual substance, degree of gharar, transparency and mutual consent, validity of additional clauses, and conformity with ‘urf (custom) and public benefit. These findings provide an analytical framework for proportionate legal assessment, assist businesses in formulating transparent and fair terms, and support consumers and Islamic law scholars in evaluating contemporary culinary business practices.