#1081: As An Employee, Can I Add A Margin To The Price Of Something I Was Asked To Purchase?
Assalaamu alaikum brothers
2. As an employee Can u play as a subcontractor/middleman in the place where you are working. E. G u are asked to buy a pen, can you add ur own price. Jazakumullah khairan as you answer this question. Ameen
ANSWER:
Wa Alaykum Salam Warahmatullah Wabarakaatuh.
Alhamdulillah.
The example you gave is cheating and it is not permissible. This is because once you were asked to purchase, you become a representative (Wakil) of the company and it is not permissible for you to make a margin (profit) from that. Even in a situation where the known price of an item is N100 for instance, and as an astute, you were able to purchase it for N90, it is not permissible for you to withhold the N10 and claim it for yourself. This is haraam. Because, provided you set forth on behalf of the company, the Shariah considers you the company itself. It therefore means that any discounts made to you belong to the company in that case. This that we have said and explained is not regarded as subcontracting.
That we may not be misunderstood, know that subcontracting or supplying is permissible in the Shariah. But what you described in your example isn’t subcontracting but a reprehensible sharp practice that is Haraam.
Were you in this same scenario to present your subcontracting company to your employer company as a Supplier and as a Contractor charging a particular margin on a particular item, clearly stated, clearly referred, unambiguous and acceptable by both parties, this would be permissible. But for you, on your own, within your own mind, to do such like the example you referred, without clarity and agreement, this is Haraam by consensus.
The reason is clear, the Precept is agreed upon: The Agent/Representative has the full representation of the One who is Represented/Principal.
And Allah knows best.
Barakallahu fikum
📚 IslāmNode
