Is a Minor’s Income from Selling Clearly Labeled Replicas Halal?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

Is income lawfully earned by a minor from selling honestly labeled “style of” replicas permissible in the Hanafi school?

Answer

I pray you are well.

There are two separate issues here:

1. Can a minor work and earn money?
2. Is it permissible to sell replica or “knock-off” goods?

Can a Minor Trade and Earn Money?

If a minor is mumayyiz, meaning he has the ability to discern between benefit and harm, then he may engage in trade with his parents’ permission.

A mumayyiz child understands that if he gives money, he loses it, but gains something else in return. If he can comprehend this type of transaction, he may trade.

Any profits accrued in this manner are halal.

Selling Replica Goods

If the minor is selling a replica product, such as a designer-style shirt or a perfume labeled “in the style of” a particular brand, the ruling depends on clarity and honesty.

If the item is clearly marked as a replica and not presented as the genuine product, then it is permissible, and the income earned from it is halal.

There is no inherent impermissibility in selling replica perfumes, for example, so long as there is no deception involved.

However, if a person sells a fake item while claiming that it is real, this is a problem. There is lying involved, and that would not be permissible.

Compliance with the Law of the Land

One must also consider the legal context of the country in which one resides.

If selling such items is illegal where you live, then you should not engage in it. By living in a country, you have agreed to follow its laws. Allah Most High tells us to fulfill our pledges and to uphold the commitments we make.

Part of that pledge is to live as a law-abiding citizen to the best of one’s ability. Therefore, if the law prohibits such sales, neither the adult nor the child should engage in them.

However, if there is no law prohibiting the sale of such items, then it is perfectly permissible for the child to engage in this type of trade, and the income will be halal.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.