What is the ruling on working for a company that operates on an electronic multi-level marketing system, where purchasing one of its products is a condition for working, and the worker earns a commission from everyone who buys through them?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
It is not permissible to participate in the company's network marketing program if it stipulates purchasing a product to obtain membership, because the buyer does not intend the commodity but aims to profit from commissions. This is considered prohibited (deception/excessive risk) because the probability of loss is much greater than the probability of gain. It is not merely brokering; a broker receives a fee, whereas in pyramid marketing, the marketer pays to become a marketer, and the goal is to attract new marketers so that the company profits from the total number of members, while the rest lose what they paid.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/168331
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 168331
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- . 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.
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- Read the full answer on Ftawy