Can I Sell Conterfeit Items on eBay?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question
Is it permitted to buy and sell duplicate items on eBay?
For example, I am planning on buying a few items that bear a company trademark (Apple, for example), but they are in fact counterfeit items made by another company.
Am I allowed to sell such things on eBay if I don’t claim they are original and I sell them as is
Answer
I pray this finds you in the best of health and spirits.
Selling an item–even “as-is” with a fake company label is considered deception (khiyana), and is a major sin–as well as being unlawful by law, and against eBay’s own terms (Counterfeit Item Policies on eBay).
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever cheats is not of us.” [Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir]
And he said (peace and blessings be upon him), “There is no faith in one who isn’t trustworthy.” [Ahmad]
The believer, instead, is true and trustworthy–two of the distinctive qualities of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him & his folk).
The believer also follows the law of the land and the terms of all agreements.
Allah Most High says, “Believers! Fulfill all contracts.” [Quran, 5:1]
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Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.
