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Is referring a dispute to a non-Islamic commercial website – to claim money when goods are not delivered or are delayed beyond the specified period – considered a judgment that takes one out of the fold of Islam, and what is the ruling on taking this money?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to resort to man-made courts except out of necessity when there is no other means of obtaining one's right, while disliking recourse to them and limiting oneself to taking only what is rightfully due. If the seller delays in delivering the merchandise beyond the agreed-upon date, the buyer has the right to annul the contract and reclaim their money, due to the impossibility of delivering the sold item. Based on this, the buyer can wait until the merchandise arrives or request annulment and reclaim what they paid. If this cannot be achieved directly with the seller, then there is no harm in litigating before the intermediary website, provided that no more than what is rightfully due is taken. If the buyer reclaims their money or part of it, and then the merchandise arrives, it is not permissible for them to keep the money, and it must be returned to the seller, as well as any excess beyond what they paid, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Whomever I rule in his favor regarding something from his brother's right, he should not take it, for I am only cutting off for him a piece of the Fire."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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