Question Summary:
Affiliate Marketing Question Detail:
I am trying to become an internet marketer for affiliate programs. I basically try to refer products (physical or digital) to people online and I receive a commission on it.
Ebooks on websites such as clickbank: One ebook I want to market has a cartoon picture of a person on the corner of each page. Is it haram for me to promote that ebook? Is it haram for me to promote ebooks that have any sort of pictures on it?That particular ebook also provides free ebooks with purchase which have a few pictures on some pages. Even though I am promoting the orginal ebook only, am I liable for what the free ebooks contain as well.?
I want to promote private plane flights online. I get a commission for every booked flight. However they provide catering or buy food in advance dependant on the flying client’s wishes. Some of this food is haram, and they also provide alcohol. Am I responsible for this as well? Is it haram for me to promote private plane flights online?
Some affiliate programs themselves can be promoted to other online marketers where I can be paid a percentage of the marketers future earnings on a recurring time basis. For example if I promote a company to marketers who then go on to refer and sell that company’s products, I will get percentage of any sales they make from then on. If these marketers use haram means that I am unaware of to promote those products, am I responsible for this? Is it haram for me?
There is this online service that sends resumes to many oil companies for a fee. Most of the jobs are halal but one job involves catering and working in a kitchen with haram food. Is it haram for me to promote this online service? If I only promote the halal oil related jobs will it be halal for me?
Some digital products involve videos of text and audio training. There is a little music at the beginning of them. Is it haram to promote these for commissions? If there are some videos of people talking included does this make the whole product haram to promote?
If I make a web forum for online business purposes and people on the forum posts pictures and videos of animate objects does this make my income from such forums haram? Income will probably come from ads or promoting products on the forum.
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards an “affiliate” (marketer/advertiser) for each customer he brings to the business by his own marketing efforts. The marketer/affiliate receives a commission from the affiliate programme for each of its products which he successfully markets to a customer.[1]
In principle, it is not permissible to market or advertise products that are deemed impermissible in Sharī‘ah.[2] With regards to the particular examples you mentioned in your question:
There is academic debate over whether digital pictures of animate objects constitute taswīr (picture-making) or not. The cautious view is to adopt taqwā and avoid such pictures. It would therefore be prudent not to advertise the ebooks in question.
As it is at the discretion of the client to choose what food items or drinks he will partake of in the private flight, you will not bear responsibility for the decision he/she makes.[3]
In the case of promoting affiliate programmes to other marketers, please clarify the source of your share of the sales. Is it a contract between yourself and the marketers or is it with the affiliate programme itself?
Please provide more details about the online service that is being promoted.
It is impermissible to promote products that contain music.
The income you receive from the web forum is in lieu of advertising or promoting products. If no haram methods are used to achieve this, the income is permissible. However, it is your responsibility to ensure nothing impermissible takes place on the forum.
And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best
Zameelur Rahman
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing
فهو نوع من الدلال أو السمسار الذي يسعى بين المالك والمشتري. قال فى الدر المختار "وَأَمَّا الدَّلَّالُ فَإِنْ بَاعَ الْعَيْنَ بِنَفْسِهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا فَأُجْرَتُهُ عَلَى الْبَائِعِ وَإِنْ سَعَى بَيْنَهُمَا وَبَاعَ الْمَالِكُ بِنَفْسِهِ يُعْتَبَرُ الْعُرْفُ" (رد المحتار، ايج ايم سعيد، ٤:٥٦٠)
قال في رد المحتار: "قَالَ فِي التتارخانية: وَفِي الدَّلَّالِ وَالسِّمْسَارِ يَجِبُ أَجْرُ الْمِثْلِ، وَمَا تَوَاضَعُوا عَلَيْهِ أَنَّ فِي كُلِّ عَشَرَةِ دَنَانِيرَ كَذَا فَذَاكَ حَرَامٌ عَلَيْهِمْ. وَفِي الْحَاوِي: سُئِلَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أُجْرَةِ السِّمْسَارِ، فَقَالَ: أَرْجُو أَنَّهُ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي الْأَصْلِ فَاسِدًا لِكَثْرَةِ التَّعَامُلِ وَكَثِيرٌ مِنْ هَذَا غَيْرُ جَائِزٍ، فَجَوَّزُوهُ لِحَاجَةِ النَّاسِ إلَيْهِ كَدُخُولِ الْحَمَّامِ وَعَنْهُ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ ابْنَ شُجَاعٍ يُقَاطِعُ نَسَّاجًا يَنْسِجُ لَهُ ثِيَابًا فِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ" (رد المحتار، ايج ايم سعيد، ٦:٦٣)
[2] قال تعالى: ولا تعاونوا على الإثم والعدوان (سورة المائدة)
[3] قال ابن عابدين: قوله: وجاز إجارة بين إلخ. هذا عنده أيضا لأن الإجارة على منفعة البيت ولهذا يجب الأجر بمجرد التسليم ولا معصية في، إنما المعصية بفعل المستأجر وهو مختار فينقطع نسبته عنه فصار كبيع الجارية ممن لا يستبرأها (رد المحتار، ج٦ ص٣٩٢)
أحسن الفتاوى ج٦ ص٥٤٢
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