Darul Ifta Est 2022
The Darul Ifta answers questions regarding contemporary issues and provides solutions to the challenges of the community and Ummah according to the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah.
Questions and Answers
QUESTION
Assalaamu alaikum. Give me some insight into the below scenario. When selling online, customers give a lot of importance to reviews. If reviews are good, they tend to purchase the item and if not, they don’t purchase the item. Would it be permissible for a company to offer the product to a customer so that the customer gives his honest opinion about the item. In some cases the customer isn’t given the item free of charge but is allowed to purchase it at a discount if the customer likes it. Example below:
Company ABC sells Chairs. They ask Customer A to purchase the item with a personal card/cash from their website. The customer is required to receive the item, review it honestly and then return back to the seller. The customer sometimes does this free of charge and sometimes at a charge. The customer also has an option of purchasing the item at a discounted rate after returning the item, directly from the seller.
In today’s world it is very difficult to get organic, natural sales without having reviews.
ANSWER
و عليكم السلام و رحمة الله و بركاته
Respected Brother
To sell it to him on condition that he reviews it will not be allowed in Islam.
The way that this arrangement can be put together is as follows:
- You borrow the product to the reviewer for free, asking him to review it for you. When he returns it; if he likes it he can purchase it at a discount.
- If he wants payment for his review: then you can pay him some money and hire him to give an honest review of the product. It will not be allowed for him to lie and deceive for you in the review because you are paying him. When he has finished his review then he will return the item to you.
و الله تعالى أعلم
Answered by: Muinuddeen Hassem
Checked & Approved by: Muhammad Bin Ahmad Satharia
Approved by: ML. Hassen Dockrat (حفظه الله)