Fatwa ID: 05842
Answered by: Shaykh Ahmed bin Mohamed Umarji
Question:
Is opening a print on demand clothing store on Shopify permissible? It’s like drop-shipping but the platform (Shopify) we are making our store on already owns the print-on-demand service.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Shopify is a platform that facilitates drop shipping. The common methods of drop shipping are not permissible due to the seller selling a product that is not in their possession.1 This prohibition is due to the Hadith where The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “He who buys foodstuff should not sell it till he has received it.”2
However, dropshipping may be permissible if the rules of Bayus Salam are adhered to. This can be done by the seller or his agent taking possession of the item before selling it.
Bayus Salam is not valid, according to Abū Ḥanīfah, may Allah have mercy on him, except when seven conditions are stated in the contract:
- Known genus,
- Known category,
- Known description,
- Known amount,
- Known duration,
- Knowledge of the amount of capital (ra’s al-māl), when that which the contract applies to, like the measured, weighed or counted [commodities], is according to that amount,
- The designation of the location wherein he will [deliver] it when transport and supply are due from him.3
If these conditions are adhered to, it will be considered Bayus Salam and permissible.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Shaykh Ahmed bin Mohamed Umarji
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 Fiqhul Buyu’, Page 1152, Volume 2, Maktabah Mariful Quran, 2015
2 Sahih al-Bukhari 2133
3 Mukhtasar al-Quduri, Page 160, Mustafah Publishers 2016
