Are the commercial transactions carried out by vendors who reduce the quantity of goods (such as reducing the number of paper boxes or the weight of canned goods) while keeping the agreed-upon price fixed considered to be among the divinely prohibited acts of short-weighing or short-measuring?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The sale mentioned is considered a 'programmatic sale' (بيع البرنامج), which is permissible according to the Maliki school if the item sold matches the described specifications. However, what the seller does by cheating and deceiving is forbidden by Islamic law, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Whoever cheats us is not of us." And the perpetrator falls under the threat of the verse: "Woe to those who give less in measure." The seller guarantees the resulting deficiency and is obliged to deliver it to the buyer. The buyer has the option to uphold the sale or to annul it.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/111487
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 111487
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy