03/09/2026
⚠️ 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗖 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦
✅ 𝘼𝙣 𝙄𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚
𝑫𝒓 𝒊𝑭𝑻𝑯𝒊
Islam places great importance on the protection of human life, health, dignity and wealth.
Therefore, knowingly selling a product that causes serious harm to people — particularly when the harm is established and reasonably foreseeable — raises a serious Sharīʿah and ethical concern.
The fundamental principle is:
❝ لاَ ضَرَرَ وَلاَ ضِرَارَ ❞
“𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺.”
This principle is widely recognised in Islamic jurisprudence and forms an important basis for preventing harm and protecting people.
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❌ 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂?
A product becomes a serious ethical and Islamic concern when:
🔴 Its harmful effects are scientifically established or strongly demonstrated.
🔴 The seller knows, or reasonably should know, about the significant risk.
🔴 The product exposes consumers to avoidable and serious harm.
🔴 Important safety information or known defects are concealed from buyers.
🔴 The product is deliberately marketed in a way that misleads consumers about its safety.
🔴 The seller knowingly facilitates something that causes serious harm or wrongdoing.
⚠️ Important: The mere presence of a substance described as “carcinogenic” itself is enough to abandon that.
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📖 𝐐𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒
🛡️ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 & 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺
The Qur'an repeatedly establishes principles that support the protection of human life and the avoidance of destructive harm.
📌 Qur'an 4:29 warns believers:
“Do not kill yourselves [or one another].”
📌 Qur'an 2:195 contains the warning:
“Do not throw yourselves… into destruction.”
These verses provide important ethical guidance concerning the preservation of life and avoidance of serious harm.
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⚖️ 𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋
Islam does not view business merely as a way of making profit.
A Muslim merchant is expected to maintain:
✅ Honesty
✅ Transparency
✅ Fair dealing
✅ Product safety
✅ Quality
✅ Disclosure of relevant defects
✅ Social responsibility
The Qur'an says:
📖 “Do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, but only through lawful business by mutual consent.”
— Qur'an 4:29
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🚫 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒
The Prophet ﷺ strongly condemned deception in trade.
When he found that part of a heap of food had been concealed, he instructed the seller to make the defect visible and said:
“Whoever deceives us is not one of us.”
— Sahih Muslim 102
Another authentic narration states that when buyers and sellers are truthful and make matters clear, their transaction is blessed; when they lie or conceal information, the blessing of the transaction is removed.
— Sahih Muslim 1532a
👉 This principle is particularly relevant when a seller knows about a significant safety risk but deliberately hides it from consumers.
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❗ 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆
The Qur'an commands:
📖 “Cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and transgression.”
— Qur'an 5:2
Therefore, knowingly facilitating serious wrongdoing or preventable harm can raise an additional Islamic ethical concern.
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🧩 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐒
1️⃣ 𝗧𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 🚬
Ci******es and other to***co products are established causes of serious disease, including cancer. Knowingly promoting harmful use raises profound health and ethical concerns.
2️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝘀-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀
Asbestos exposure is associated with serious diseases, including cancer. Selling or supplying such material without appropriate safety measures and disclosure can create serious ethical concerns.
3️⃣ 𝗛𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 ☠️
Where a chemical has established serious health risks, responsible handling, appropriate warnings and lawful use are essential.
4️⃣ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 🦠
Knowingly selling food that is spoiled, contaminated or unsafe for consumption violates the principles of honesty and avoidance of harm.
5️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
Items expressly prohibited by Sharīʿah — such as Alcohol and certain other prohibited commodities — fall under separate Islamic rulings concerning their trade.
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💰 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌
A crucial Islamic ethical question is not merely:
“Can I legally sell this?”
but also:
“Am I knowingly causing avoidable harm to another human being for the sake of profit?”
⚠️ Something being commercially available or legally permitted does not automatically make every method of marketing, selling or concealing information about it ethically acceptable.
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🤝 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐀 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐈𝐌 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐎?
✔️ Sell lawful products.
✔️ Verify product quality and safety.
✔️ Avoid knowingly exposing consumers to serious, preventable harm.
✔️ Clearly disclose relevant defects and safety risks.
✔️ Never mislead customers with false claims.
✔️ Do not conceal important information merely to increase profit.
✔️ Follow applicable safety and regulatory requirements.
✔️ Put trust, accountability and public welfare above short-term profit.
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🌿 𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘
Islamic commerce is not simply about buying and selling.
It is about Amanah — trust.
A seller is entrusted with the health, money and welfare of the people who purchase from him.
📖 The Qur'an also commands:
“Do good as Allah has done good to you. And do not seek corruption in the land.”
— Qur'an 28:77
This beautifully reinforces the broader Islamic principle of using one's resources without creating corruption or avoidable harm.
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⚠️ 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘 — 𝗠𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 - 𝑫𝒓 𝒊𝑭𝑻𝑯𝒊
In my view, prescribing medicines without adequate knowledge of their potential side-effects, risks and contraindications — or failing to appropriately inform the patient about their potential benefits, risks and limitations — is unethical and may also be unlawful, depending on the circumstances.
As healthcare professionals, we carry an Amanah (trust) towards every patient. We are accountable not only before the law and professional ethics, but ultimately before Allah.
🤲 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐡 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
Therefore, prescribe with knowledge, explain with honesty, obtain appropriate consent, and always put the patient's welfare before profit or convenience.
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🫂 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍
Islam encourages halal, honest and responsible commerce.
Knowingly selling a product that causes serious and preventable harm — particularly while concealing that harm from consumers — conflicts with the Islamic principles of avoiding harm, honesty, transparency, justice and social responsibility.
💡 The question is not only:
“Is it profitable?”
The greater question is:
“Is it ethical? Is it safe? Is it honest? And can I answer to Allah for the harm caused by my trade?”
🤲 𝗜𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺.
