Islamic Ruling on Using Multiple Accounts to Exploit Discounts

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Nasihah (Advice): Honesty leads to Paradise

Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Masood radiyallahu anhu reported that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “You must be truthful. Verily, truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man continues to be truthful and encourages honesty until he is recorded with Allah as truthful. And beware of falsehood. Verily, falsehood leads to wickedness and wickedness leads to the Hellfire. A man continues tell lies and encourages falsehood until he is recorded with Allah as a liar.” [Sahih Bukhari]

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Question and Answer:

Many online stores offer promotional discounts with the condition that an item may only be purchased up to a maximum of two per customer. However, some people use multiple accounts and sometimes even fake accounts to purchase the same discounted item several times. Is this permissible in Islam?

A. When a company explicitly states a limit such as “maximum two per customer” then this becomes part of the terms of the transaction. To knowingly bypass these terms by creating multiple or fake accounts is an act of deception and dishonesty which is not permissible and is contrary to Islamic ethics.

Rasulullah ﷺ clearly warned against deception, saying: “Whoever deceives us is not of us.” (Sahih Muslim)

This is a severe warning, showing the gravity of engaging in deceptive behaviour, whether in business or any form of interaction. A believer conducts his transactions with honesty, transparency, and integrity.

However, if others who have accounts purchase the item on their names and you then buy it off from them, it will be permissible as this does not constitute any form of deception.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Muhammed Hamza Farooqui

Mufti Taahir Hansa

(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh unless otherwise stated.)

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