Is it permissible to deceive private utility companies (electricity, water, and gas) to pay household consumption fees instead of commercial ones?
If investors monopolizing essential services leads to oppressing people by excessively raising their prices, then the state must price these services in a way that removes the oppression. Deception is permissible to counter this oppression if it is the only way to achieve justice, as Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) did. However, if prices are reasonable and do not cause oppression, then deception to reduce costs is not permissible, as it involves breaching contracts.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/79844