Fatwa ID: 08788

 

 

Answered by Alimah Humairah Badshah

 

Question:

 

Is drop shipping is permissible?

 

Few supplier offer the drop shipping opportunities where we have to register as their authorised drop shipper. They allow us to list all of their items on our website or our marketplace account. When the order comes we place an order to this supplier and they send to the item to end customer. In case if something goes wrong we are liable to refund in full to the customer. We do mention in our marketplace account in all listing that the order will be fulfilled by the supplier and product is not in our stock.

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer:

 

The fundamental problem with dropshipping according to Islamic transaction principles is the fact that the dropshipper, who buys the item from the producer and sells it to the end customer, at no point ever possesses the item. Possession is a necessary part of ownership and ownership is a necessary condition in sale, since one cannot sell what one does not own. Even in Bay’ as-Salam, where the customer pays in full with an agreed date of delivery in the future before the seller acquires a mass-produced product, the seller must possess the item at some point before delivering it to the customer in order to fulfil the conditions of ownership.

 

 

Due to its importance in transactions, the condition of possession cannot be substituted by a liability clause, a notification to the end customer, or other such things. Since the seller not taking possession of the item is the essence and definition of drop shipping, drop shipping will not be permissible.

 

 

 

References:

 

وَشَرْطُ الْمَعْقُودِ عَلَيْهِ سِتَّةٌ: كَوْنُهُ مَوْجُودًا مَالًا مُتَقَوِّمًا مَمْلُوكًا فِي نَفْسِهِ، وَكَوْنُ الْمِلْكِ لِلْبَائِعِ فِيمَا يَبِيعُهُ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَكَوْنُهُ مَقْدُورَ التَّسْلِيمِ فَلَمْ يَنْعَقِدْ بَيْعُ الْمَعْدُومِ وَمَا لَهُ خَطَرُ الْعَدَمِ

…

وَلَا بَيْعُ مَا لَيْسَ مَمْلُوكًا لَهُ وَإِنْ مَلَكَهُ بَعْدَهُ، إلَّا السَّلَمُ

Radd Al-Muhtaar (Halabi ed., Daar Al-Fitr, https://shamela.ws) v.4 p.505

 

بَابُ السَّلَمِ (هُوَ) لُغَةً كَالسَّلَفِ وَزْنًا وَمَعْنًى وَشَرْعًا (بَيْعُ آجِلٍ) وَهُوَ الْمُسْلَمُ فِيهِ (بِعَاجِلٍ) وَهُوَ رَأْسُ الْمَالِ

…

وَرُكْنُهُ رُكْنُ الْبَيْعِ) حَتَّى يَنْعَقِدَ بِلَفْظِ بَيْعٍ فِي الْأَصَح

Radd Al-Muhtaar (Halabi ed., Daar Al-Fitr, https://shamela.ws) v.5 p.209

 

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Alimah Humairah Badshah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham