The ruling on gas stations giving free napkins to customers
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, it has become widespread these days for some gas stations to give the customer, when filling up with gasoline, for example forty riyals worth of gasoline or forty cartons of free napkins. What is the ruling on this practice of theirs? And what is the ruling on taking the napkin, to the point that we go to them and leave the others who do not give napkins?
Answer:
This practice is not permissible because it harms the owners of other stations. It harms them because the one who gives prizes diverts customers away from them. You know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade intercepting travelers, forbade intercepting camels, and forbade what harms Muslims. This practice is not permissible because it harms Muslims. It is not permissible for the owner of a province, or the owner of a shop, or the owner of a store to give these prizes, because it harms people and diverts customers away from them. Also, the one who takes these prizes takes them without compensation. He takes this from others, and it is said that this falls under consuming people’s wealth unjustly. So this is not a valid practice. Fatwas have been issued by the Permanent Committee, and a decision has been issued by the Council of Senior Scholars prohibiting these commercial prizes because of the harm they bring, the unjust consumption of wealth, and other prohibited matters.
It is obligatory for Muslims that their transactions be honest, that there be brotherhood among them, and that they do not deceive one another.
Honorable Shaykh, it has become widespread these days for some gas stations to give the customer, when filling up with gasoline, for example forty riyals worth of gasoline or forty cartons of free napkins. What is the ruling on this practice of theirs? And what is the ruling on taking the napkin, to the point that we go to them and leave the others who do not give napkins?
Answer:
This practice is not permissible because it harms the owners of other stations. It harms them because the one who gives prizes diverts customers away from them. You know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade intercepting travelers, forbade intercepting camels, and forbade what harms Muslims. This practice is not permissible because it harms Muslims. It is not permissible for the owner of a province, or the owner of a shop, or the owner of a store to give these prizes, because it harms people and diverts customers away from them. Also, the one who takes these prizes takes them without compensation. He takes this from others, and it is said that this falls under consuming people’s wealth unjustly. So this is not a valid practice. Fatwas have been issued by the Permanent Committee, and a decision has been issued by the Council of Senior Scholars prohibiting these commercial prizes because of the harm they bring, the unjust consumption of wealth, and other prohibited matters.
It is obligatory for Muslims that their transactions be honest, that there be brotherhood among them, and that they do not deceive one another.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، باب الكفاءة والخيار — islamhouse.com (52:04)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.