Trade

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

Q: Someone owns a shop. Because people often ask for discounts, they mark the items higher, so when people ask for discounts, they give it and still get their desired profit. 

Eg. He wants a profit of R50 for a R100 item. However, knowing that people will ask for a discount, he marks the item as R200. So when people ask for a R50 discount, he gives it to them and still gets his desired profit. Is this permissible in Shari'ah or is that money haraam?

Q: I dealt with one of the Islamic banks in purchasing a car. I purchased the car from the dealer and even paid a certain amount of the car upfront to him. Thereafter, I referred to an Islamic bank and asked them to assist me purchase the car. I even informed them that I already paid a certain amount for the car. The bank accepted to assist me and made me sign the form of acting as their agent of purchasing the car from the dealer. After the necessary paperwork was completed, the bank paid the dealer the remainder amount that I was owing and made me sign an agreement with them to buy the car from them. In exchange of the money they paid to the dealer, they sold the car to me with a profit. Is this contract which I entered into with the Islamic bank Shari’ah compliant?

Q: Sometimes a few items in a batch of stock are slightly damaged. Do we have to tell the customers about the damage before selling the items to them?

Q: 1. Is it permissible to package water, milk, and all drinks in the form of humans and animals?

2. If not, is it permissible to drink the water, milk, and all drinks which are packaged in the form of humans and animals.

Q: What is the ruling regarding selling a used item as a new item? There is a woman who sells only new clothing. However, she wore a certain dress for a few hours in a wedding and thereafter dry cleaned and sold the dress without telling the customer that the dress was used. Is this permissible? 

Q: If one wishes to buy gold coins or gold jewellery, then what are the conditions for the transaction to be valid? Are there any particular masaa’il related to this?

Q: Is it permissible to have a different cash price and credit price for the same item? For example, if a customer buys an item upfront, he will pay R1500, but if he buys it in instalments, it will cost him R2000. Is this allowed in Islam?

Q: I'm a perfume trader in which we get orders for men and women perfumes. As women's are prohibited from using perfumes so can we distribute or sell ladies perfumes products.