Q: Please advise regarding online affiliate marketing programs:

Affiliate marketing is a type of marketing in which a business (the merchant) rewards an “affiliate” (marketer/advertiser) for each customer he brings to the business by his own marketing efforts. For example, Company Z (the merchant) sells only kitchen appliances online. They run an affiliate-marketing program where Umar (the affiliate) can advertise the merchant’s website on his own website, or other places on the internet – all for a monetary remuneration. Umar puts up an advertisement for Company Z on his own website. The following options are available for Umar, please advise on their permissibility:

1. Pay-per-sale (also called cost-per-sale): In this arrangement, the merchant site pays an affiliate when the affiliate sends them a customer who purchases something from the merchant’s website (in this instance – kitchen appliances). Some merchant websites pay the affiliate a percentage of the sale and others pay a fixed amount per sale. Is this permissible?

2. Pay-per-click (cost-per-click): In these programs, the merchant site pays the affiliate based on the number of visitors who click on the link to come to the merchant’s site. Even if the visitors do not buy anything, the affiliate will still be paid for referring them to the merchant’s site. Is this permissible?

3. Two-tier programs: These affiliate programs have a structure similar to multilevel marketing organizations (also known as “network marketing”) such as Amway or Avon, which profit through commission sales and sales recruitment. In addition to receiving commissions based on sales, clicks or leads stemming from their own site, affiliates in these programs also receive a commission based on the activity of other affiliate sites which they refer to the merchant site. Is this permissible?

4. Questions 1 to 3 above are in the instance of a merchant selling only permissible items i.e. kitchen appliances. Other merchants, like Amazon.com for example, sell a wide range of products, like furniture, electronics, clothing, books, TV’s and movies etc. The difference with such merchants (those that sell both halaal and haraam products) is that irrespective of what the affiliate may have advertised (i.e. something halaal), if a customer is to purchase anything else on account of the affiliate’s link that got him/her onto the merchant’s site, the affiliate will still receive a commission on the sale of such non-affiliate advertised haraam products. For example, Umar advertises only plumbing equipment for Amazon.com with an affiliate link on his website. A person follows this link, purchases the plumbing equipment, but also continues browsing the website and also happens to purchase a haraam video game. Umar now earns a commission on this as well. Thus, his total payout is partly based on the commission from the haraam video game and the commission from the permissible plumbing equipment. Umar is supplied with a detailed breakdown (‘earnings report’) of this total commission from the merchant. He thus knows that, for example, of his $10 total commission earned, $7 is from the direct link to the plumbing equipment and $3 is from the unintended/indirect sale of the videogame commission. By advertising the plumbing equipment, and accordingly bringing the customer to the merchant’s website, Umar did not aid or support the purchase of haraam in anyway. It was solely the discretion of the customer in purchasing the haraam. Will the entire $10 be permissible for Umar?

5. If it is impermissible for Umar to accept the commission from the sale of the haraam item, should he give the commission earned from the haraam item in charity without the intention of reward? Can he continue to earn money through advertising while taking out the commission earned from haraam items and give it in charity?

6. Some merchants pay the affiliate a predetermined percentage based on the type of product sold. Is this, the predetermined percentage that varies per the fixed product categories permissible?

(In all instances, the actual advertisements of the affiliate will not have any animate objects, music, etc. or anything impermissible associated with it at all.)

Q: A person does sewing as a business.

1. Can they ask permission from their customers to throw away the very tiny scraps of their fabric. eg. from overlocking and trimming seams etc?

2. Is it okay if she notifies them afterwards that some of the scraps might have been thrown away or should she tell them from the beginning that its possible that some of their fabric/cotton(scraps and shards of fabric eg.from fraying/ cotton from unpicking when altering etc.) could possibly be thrown away or does she have to notify them at all as sewing usually does entail all these? (usually she tries to return everything but sometimes very tiny pieces remain so notify afterwards)

3. Does she have to decide for each customer, whether she will sew for them or not, from what they are wearing at that point or from what they seem to be from what they speak (if she doesnt know them personally) or if she knows them to be parda concious or not and then let them know whether she will sew for them or not, or will a clear notice that all outfits(i.e. which she sews atleast) should be worn in accordance to shariah, suffice? Please give any other advise which might also be important to take note of when doing business.

Q: Is it permissible to post recipes from a book on WhatsApp without the permission of the author?

Q: My sister is in Canada, married with 2 kids (age 11 and 2), and as per her marital difference and diffculties they both husband wife decided to live separate for few months to see if they can bring sulah in between them. In the mean time, the kids staying with the mother. As, per sharia law what will be husband and wife's responsibilities as far as naan/nafkhaa is concern for mother and kids? Does mother have to go to work to take care of house and kids where she will be living for this few months? Or husband will have to provide something from his side to support two kids and wife?

Q: Want to ask you that there is a person he or she self harms means he or she makes cuts on his or her body. Everytime he or she says that it's the last time but the next time he or she does the same thing again and again. What does islam says about this? Will Allah Ta'ala forgive? What will be the punishment for it?

Q: How much should I eat at a time and does eating more effect your taqwa?

Q: I have often heard that celebrating birthdays is strictly prohibited and haraam in Islam. What is the ruling regarding the owners of hotels and restaurants which earn money for arranging these birthday parties?

Q: If I recite alhamadu mistakenly before attahiyyaat in the last sitting and then do sajda-e-sahw, after sajda-e-sahw if I again mistakenly recite alhamadu before attahiyyaat, do I need to do sajda-e-sahw again or my prayer is valid without it?

Q: What is the meaning of this narration: Sayyiduna ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said: “Do not let the prayer of a man deceive you nor his fasting. Rather look at the truthfulness of his speech, his trustworthiness whenever he is entrusted, and how he acts whenever he is given wealth/power.”

Imams Musaddad, Bayhaqi (rahimahumallah) and other Muhaddithun have recorded this statement of Sayyiduna ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (radiyallahu ‘anhu). Hafiz Ibn Hajar Al ‘Asqalani (rahimahullah) has declared the narration authentic. (Shu’abul Iman, Hadith: 4898 and Al Matalibul ‘Aliyah, Hadith: 2631)

Q: Is it correct that if a person passes away due to a stomach illness, he becomes a shaheed.