What is the ruling on boycotting Chinese products due to Chinese state television's mockery of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and China's occupation of a Muslim country? And is it permissible to boycott merchants in a country due to the actions of some individuals in it who are offensive to Islam?

The ruling on boycotts follows the assessment of benefits and harms, and it changes with the alteration of circumstances and time. Its assessment is referred to those firmly grounded in knowledge, for Islamic law is based on achieving benefits and warding off harms. When they conflict, sacrificing the lesser of two benefits is permissible to achieve the greater, and committing the lesser of two harms is permissible to avoid the greater. What is forbidden may contain a benefit that is forfeited if its harms outweigh it. "The wise person is not he who knows good from evil, but rather he who knows the better of two goods and the lesser of two evils." Those firmly grounded in knowledge are the ones who rule on these matters based on the balance of benefits and harms, achieving the greatest amount of benefits and averting the greatest amount of harms. Any resulting forfeiture of a lesser benefit or endurance of a lesser harm is permissible, and this includes prioritizing the public interest and the interest of religion. Therefore, boycotts do not have a general ruling that must be referred to in every situation.