Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen

Deceiving the customer through selling products which contain less

· 5 Jumada II 1437 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

A friend of mine sells rice in his supermarket that comes pre-packed from the supplier in bags marked “10kg”. The problem is that the bags only contain 9,5kg of rice. Is it permissible for him to sell this rice? He said that it’s not his fault because the supplier made the mistake.

Answer

Islam is a religion that advocates honesty and fair play in every sphere of a person’s life and strictly condemns cheating and deception. Nabi (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) has mentioned, “Whoever deceives us is not from among us.”

It is impermissible to sell this rice as it will be cheating and robbing the customers. Your friend should return the rice to his supplier and inform him of his mistake so that he will exercise caution in the future.

Alternatively, he may cancel the sale with the supplier and redo the sale with him at 9.5kg. Thereafter, he should change the amount written on the bag and sell it to the customers as 9.5kg.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال من حمل علينا السلاح فليس منا ومن غشنا فليس منا (صحيح مسلم، الرقم: 101)

عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول لكل غادر لواء ينصب بغدرته يوم القيامة (صحيح البخاري، الرقم: 3188)

عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما أن رجلا ذكر للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه يخدع في البيوع فقال إذا بايعت فقل لا خلابة (صحيح البخاري، الرقم: 2117)

Answered by
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
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Source: Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen — https://muftionline.co.za/node/14300
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/muftionline-14300

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