Can We Sell Items of Jewelry Which Will Be Used to Adorn Idols and Garments Which Have Improper Pictures?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I have two questions regarding running a shop that sells products for women:

Suppose a woman comes to buy jewelry from the shop, and while choosing and selecting the products, she tells the purpose of buying the jewelry. It is for a haram purpose (like buying jewelry to adorn an idol/taghut). Can the shopkeeper sell to her? (If no, what to do as it would create fitna if the seller refuses to sell to her as it is a non-Muslim country.)

Q2. We have products in the shop, like boxes of jewelry, ladies’ undergarments, and skin creams. Many products have improper pictures of women; what to do if we have to sell them and the packaging they are in may have those images, so we can’t remove that packaging.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Yes, you can sell items of jewelry to all kinds of people. You are not responsible for their action and how they use it. Similarly, selling items with improper pictures on the packaging is permissible. Since the images on the packaging are unavoidable, and not the main reason for purchase, buying and selling such items is allowed.

Generally, jewelry is purchased to adorn the human body; if someone uses it for any other purpose, one is not responsible. Similarly, pictures on the packaging are incidental matters; scholars say it is permissible to sell items with improper pictures, as the main purpose is the content, not the incidental presence of an unlawful matter.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction, in sha’ Allah.

Related:

• The Definition of Haram and How the Haram is Determined
• Purification of the Heart for Youth: Diseases of the Heart and Their Cure. [Video]
• The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained. [Video]

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance like Living Right: Halal and Haram and Living Prophetic Excellence (Hanafi)?

I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.