Extortion, Betrayal, and Trickery in Business

Ẓulm, oppression, in business takes the form of subjugating people, confiscating their property by force, using one's own prestige, position or power to bully in the market — this kind of extortion cannot be done, and it is absolutely ḥarām. Khiyānah, betrayal, is committed when a business partner is betrayed behind his back — a double deal struck, or anything else of that kind carried out in a partnership or a sale with another party — and this too is ḥarām, at the worst possible level.

Ḥīlah and khudʿah, trickery and deception of every form, are likewise ḥarām; najash is one of them. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that whoever deceives us, whoever cheats us, is not one of us. A person who knows the property he is selling is defective, and nonetheless swears, wallāhi billāhi ḥabībī, that it is good, that it is fine, commits exactly this.