Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen

Is the trading concept of ‘drop shipping’ permissible?

Published as Drop shipping

· 25 Jumada II 1441 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

Is the trading concept of ‘drop shipping’ permissible? In ‘drop shipping’, the trader does not keep stock of any item. Instead, he accepts payment for the goods and then forwards the customer’s details to the supplier who will deliver directly to the customer. ‘Drop shipping’ is commonly found in online shopping. Is this permissible?

Answer

It is incorrect to sell something that one does not own. One way of overcoming this is to become an agent of the supplier and collect a commission for marketing his products.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

(قوله وكذا فضولي) يعني غير دلال ولا حاجة إليه لأن الدلال إذا باع بغير إذن كان فضوليا ولعله زاده لأن الدلال في العادة يبيع بالإذن كما هو مقتضى اشتقاقه من الدلالة فإنه يدل البائع على المشتري أو بالعكس ليتوسط بينهما في البيع فزاد قوله أو فضولي ليناسب قول المصنف بغير إذنه ويشير إلى أنه لا فرق بين كونه بالإذن أو لا ولذا قال في النهر قيدنا بعدم قبض البائع لأنه لو قبضها ولو فضوليا فكسدت لا يفسد البيع ولا شيء (رد المحتار 5/270)

وأما الدلال فإن باع العين بنفسه بإذن ربها فأجرته على البائع (الدر المختار 4/560)

قوله (فأجرته على البائع) وليس له أخذ شيء من المشتري لأنه هو العاقد حقيقة شرح الوهبانية وظاهره أنه لا يعتبر العرف هنا لأنه لا وجه له (رد المحتار 4/ 560)

Answered by
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
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Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

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Source: Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen — https://muftionline.co.za/node/16319
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/muftionline-16319

People also ask

Is dropshipping permissible?

“Kindly explain to us how you do the Dropshipping. You may revert to us at admin@daruliftaa.net ref: Asadullah Moolla We will advise further.”

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