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Hello all! I hope you are doing well.
I have heard a lot about dropshipping and I have heard a lot of shoyoukh talking about it. Some are saying it is halal and others are saying it is not. I just wanted to know which one is it?? And if it is haram, what exactly makes it haram?? and how can we make it halal instead of just saying that it is haram and there is nothing we can do about it. Can I like, buy few pieces and start selling them (without actually having them on my hand, just mine but in other countries) and keep on buying more online as I get more orders ?? Or maybe you know another solution that you can suggest ?
Any comment is most welcome. Thank you in advance!
P.S: This is NOT an incentive to start dropshipping. Just a general question that I had on my mind for quite some time now.
Drop shipping is not halal under the three given scenarios:
- Selling something that one does not own, unless it is done in the form of a salam transaction [payment in advance], in accordance with the guidelines thereon.
- Selling something that one has bought but not yet taken possession of .
- Selling gold, silver or currency without the exchange taking place on the spot, in the place where the deal was drawn up.
Selling something that one does not own
There are clear sahih hadiths concerning it, such as the report narrated by an-Nasai (4613), Abu Dawud (3503) and at-Tirmidhi (1232) from Hakim ibn Hizam, who said:
A man may come to me, looking to buy something from me, so I go to the marketplace and buy it, then I sell it to him. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not sell that which you do not possess.” (classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahh an-Nasai)
At-Tirmidhi (1234), Abu Dawud (3504) and an-Nasai (4611) narrated from ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, that his grandfather said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“It is not permissible to arrange a loan combined with a sale, or to stipulate two conditions in one transaction, or to make a profit on something that is not under your control, or to sell something that you do not possess.” (Classed as sahih by at-Tirmidhi and al-Albani)
This is a unanimous view.
Selling something that one has bought but not yet taken possession of
The hadith of Hakim ibn Hizaam that is quoted above indicates that if you buy an item, you cannot sell it until you take possession of it.
This was narrated by Ahmad (15316) and an-Nasai (4613), and classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami‘ (342).
This includes food and other things, so it is not permissible to sell what you have bought before you take possession of it. This is the view of ash-Shafi'i, in contrast to those of the scholars who limited this prohibition to food.
Selling gold, silver or currency without the exchange taking place on the spot, in the place where the deal was drawn up.
It is prohibited to sell gold, silver or currency for another of this category without the exchange taking place on the spot.
However this transaction can be made halal
- By making it a salam transaction, in accordance with the guidelines thereon.
- By making it a profit-sharing transaction.
- By acting as an agent for the customers, on condition that you take money from them and buy items with it, and you do not buy items with your own money then ask them to pay you back.
- By acting as an agent for the original shop.
Reference
For more about permissibility of Dropshipping see :
Is purchase from drop shipping permissible? by askimam
Is Dropshipping Permissible in Islam by Ilmfeed
Cases When Dropshipping Is Permissible by islamweb
No is haram and also illegal in some part of the word example : if you live in the EU and you post a listing saying that you have an object but when a customer buy it but you say you dont have it, he can sue you An italian article (use google translate) where some online dropshipper get sued https://www.hwupgrade.it/news/web/l-agcm-sanziona-tre-siti-e-commerce-italiani-per-pratiche-scorrette_57372.html