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Prohibitions in Islam - Page 23

should feel that he is being compelled by necessity to do this, like one who eats dead meat, or worse. At the same time, he should seek the forgiveness of Allah and try to find an alternative if he can. He is not permitted to ask the bank for interest, and if the bank deposits it in his account, he must get rid of it in whatever way is permissible. This money cannot be counted as Sadqah (charity), because Allah is pure and accepts only that which is pure. He cannot benefit from this money by using it to by food, drink, clothing, and transportation or housing; he cannot use it to fulfill obligations such as spending on his wife, child or parents, or to pay Zakaat or taxes, or to defend himself in court. Rather, he should just get rid of it, for fear of the wrath of Allah.

Concealing a product’s faults at the time of sale

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once passed by a pile of food that was for sale. He put his hand in it and felt dampness, so he asked, “What is this, O seller of the food?” He said, “It was rained on, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Why don’t you put it on top, so that people can see it? Whoever deceives (the people) is not one of us.” (Reported by Muslim, 1/99).

There are many traders nowadays who do not fear Allah, and try to conceal faults by wrapping it in plastic, putting faulty produce in the bottom of the box, using chemicals and the like to make a product look good, or concealing noises in engines that may indicate a fault - so that when the purchaser brings a product home, it soon starts to wear out. Some traders change expiry dates, or prevent the buyer from examining or trying out a product. Many of those who sell cars or other types of equipment do not point out the product’s faults. All of this is haram, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim. The Muslim is not permitted to sell to his brother anything which is faulty without pointing out the faults to him.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 2/754; see also Sahih Al-Jami’, 6705).

Some traders even think that their responsibility ends when they tell buyers at an auction, “I am selling a heap of metal, a heap of metal” This is a sale in which there is no blessing, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The two parties involved in a sale have the choice (to end it - i.e. the sale is not final) until they part. If both have been truthful and honest about any faults, the sale will be blessed, but if they have lied and concealed any faults, the blessing of the sale will be lost.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari; see Al-Fath, 4/328).

Artificially inflating prices

This refers to the practice of artificially inflating the price with no intention of buying, in order to deceive others, thus pushing them to add more to the price they are offering. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not artificially inflate prices.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari, see Fath Al-Bari, 10/484).

This is undoubtedly a form of deceit, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Double dealing and cheating will end in Hell.” (See Silsilat Al-Ahadith Al-Sahihah, 1057).

Many salesmen at auctions and in car salesrooms are earning unclean and haram income because of the many haram things that they do, such as conspiring to artificially inflate prices and deceive purchasers, or to