Islam Guidance

Adulteration is Harām

Adulteration is Harām

To mix an inferior quality of wheat with one of a good quality or to adulterate pure ghee is also Harām. Shaykh Ansari says in his book Makasibul Muharrama, “The tradition prohibiting adulteration is Mutawatir.”

Shaykh Sadūq has recorded the prophetic tradition:

“One who sells adulterated goods to Muslims is not from us. He will be raised with the Jews on the Day of Qiyāma, because an adulterater is not a Muslim.”

The Holy Prophet (S) said,

“One who gives us adulterated goods is not from us.”

He repeated this sentence thrice then said,

“And Allah will remove barakat from the livelihood of the Muslim brothers. (Allah) will destroy his economy and leave him upon his own condition.”

(Iqābul Āmāl)

 An edifying incident is mentioned on page 309 of the book Dārus Salām by Aqae Iraqui: The respected Aqae Abdul Husain Khawansari has related to me the following incident: “An honest perfume seller of Karbala had fallen sick. He tried the treatment of every doctor in the town but it was of no use. He spent all his property for his treatment but he was not cured. One day I went to pay him a visit. I saw him perturbed. He was instructing his son to sell off the household items. He was saying, ‘Sell off everything! I do not want anything. Either I will die or be cured!’ I asked him, ‘What do you mean?’ He sighed and answered, ‘At the beginning of my career I was not so rich. During that time an epidemic fever broke out in Karbala. The doctors prescribed lime juice as its cure. Since the disease was widespread there was a great demand for limejuice.

 I began to adulterate limejuice by mixing yoghurt in it. I sold it at a very high rate. Gradually the stocks of limejuice with the other shopkeeper were finished. They began to direct their customers to me. Soon the stock of limejuice in my shop was also sold out. Now I began to sell only yoghurt by adding colour and a sour material to it. I sold this concoction as limejuice. My coffers became full and I continued to amass wealth. Today I find that all this property is of no use to me. My disease is incurable. So I wish to get rid of all the things that I obtained in this Harām manner, in the hope that after doing this, I may be cured.’ Not much time had elapsed after this incident when the perfume seller departed from this world. He was definitely indebted to those whom he had sold the adulterated limejuice.”

Hazrat Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) says:

“One day the Holy Prophet (S) was passing through the bazār of Madinah. He (S) told a wheat seller, ‘Your wheat is of a good quality.’ Then he put his hands inside the pile and found inferior quality of wheat below He said, ‘I see that you have gathered the provisions of Khayanat and adulteration.’”

(Iqābul Āmāl)

 Allamah Hilli says that a man asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.), “If a person has two types of goods one is of a superior and expensive quality and the other is of inferior and cheap quality, can he mix these two and sell at a special rate?”

Imam (a.s.) replied,

“It is not correct for him to sell the adulterated goods to Muslims. However (there is no harm) if he informs them (of the adulteration).”

(Iqābul Āmāl)

DawÅ«d Ibn Sujān asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.): “I had two varieties of musk. One was wet, the other dry. I sold the wet and fresh musk but no one was prepared to buy the dry one at the same rate. Is it permitted for me to make it wet so that it is sold out?” Imam (a.s.) told him,

“It is not allowed. However if you inform the buyer that you have made it wet, it is another matter.”

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