Fatwa ID: 02581

Answered by: Molana Muhammad Adnan

Question

I  will explain you the process then ask my question. i write a blog about makeup and skincare. people read my reviews of products to help them know more about them. how i earn money is that i put links to the products on my blog, someone uses that link to go to another site and purchase that product i will earn commission on that sale. the issue is that although I will only buy/review and promote halal items(e.g eyeshadow) ,there is a possibility that someone using my link to buy a halal item can also add a haram item(e.g a lipstick that contains carmine i.e an insect-derived dye) to their cart and at checkout I will earn commission on their entire order thus the lipstick as well. Although this is rare as people use links to buys that product only which has been mentioned and where the link leads to but it is possible someone also buys other impermissible product if the website/brand makes them and if they add that to their cart at checkout. my question is will i be held accountable/sinful if this happens? I will don't get to know what products my readers buy I just get to know the number of sales I have made. will my earning be unlawful?

Answer

If the majority of the wealth (over 50%) being earned by the website are Halal products then your income from them will be Halal if you don’t know whether it's from the Halal or Haram source.

Ibn Nujaym (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

If the greater portion of the giver’s wealth is halaal, then there is nothing wrong with accepting his gift and consuming his wealth, so long as it is not clear that it is from the haraam portion thereof. If the greater portion of his wealth is haraam, he should not accept his gift or consume his wealth, unless he says that it is halaal, and he inherited it or borrowed it.

( al-Ashbaah wa’n-Nazaa’ir, p. 96)

Only Allah Knows Best

Written by Molana Muhammad Adnan

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham