What is the ruling on a seller who sold an item for two thousand five hundred riyals, knowing that its price is one thousand five hundred riyals? Should his case be referred to the court?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : If a Muslim buys goods from his brothers for two thousand five hundred riyals, and they are worth one thousand five hundred riyals in the market, is it permissible to refer his case to the court?
The Shaykh : If a person buys an item for two thousand five hundred riyals, and it is worth only one thousand five hundred riyals, then if the seller knows that the price is one thousand five hundred riyals, but he finds this stranger who does not know the prices and sells it to him for two thousand five hundred, he is sinful and it is not permissible for him to do so. And if the buyer learns of this, he has the option to cancel the transaction, and this is called the option of significant loss, because one thousand out of two thousand five hundred is a lot. But if the loss is slight, such as ten riyals out of a hundred or something similar, then this does not harm, and people continue to be deceived by such amounts. But this large difference, we say: if the seller knows the price, he is sinful and the buyer has the option of significant loss. But if he does not know, for example, if this item was two thousand five hundred, and the price dropped and the seller did not know of its drop, then the seller is not sinful, but the buyer's right remains; he has the option if he did not know, because he was deceived.
On this occasion, I would like to advise my brothers who engage in buying and selling not to deceive the naive among people. For example, some people have a boy come to them, or a woman, or someone ignorant of the price, and he says to him: this is for one hundred riyals, raising the price, when it is worth eighty. He says one hundred. Why? Because he is accustomed to some people haggling and negotiating until they reach eighty. So this naive man comes and says to him one hundred, and he takes it and leaves, even though if someone had haggled with him, he would have lowered it to eighty.
We say: this action is forbidden, meaning: his saying to him one hundred and this naive person taking it. We say: this is forbidden for him. So if he says: I say one hundred for fear that he will negotiate with me until he reaches eighty, we say: then there is no harm. But if you see that the man will take it for one hundred and its true value is eighty, it is obligatory for you to say: come, my brother, I said one hundred to you because I thought you were like many people who haggle, but since you did not haggle, its true value is eighty. If he does this, there is no harm. But if he exploits the ignorance of the person and his lack of knowledge of prices, then this is forbidden.
And here is a rule that we should all follow, which is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 13 Do you like that someone deceives you? The answer is: No. So do not deceive people. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1844a Walk on these rules, so that you may attain complete faith, and so that you may be saved from the Fire and enter Paradise.
The Shaykh : If a person buys an item for two thousand five hundred riyals, and it is worth only one thousand five hundred riyals, then if the seller knows that the price is one thousand five hundred riyals, but he finds this stranger who does not know the prices and sells it to him for two thousand five hundred, he is sinful and it is not permissible for him to do so. And if the buyer learns of this, he has the option to cancel the transaction, and this is called the option of significant loss, because one thousand out of two thousand five hundred is a lot. But if the loss is slight, such as ten riyals out of a hundred or something similar, then this does not harm, and people continue to be deceived by such amounts. But this large difference, we say: if the seller knows the price, he is sinful and the buyer has the option of significant loss. But if he does not know, for example, if this item was two thousand five hundred, and the price dropped and the seller did not know of its drop, then the seller is not sinful, but the buyer's right remains; he has the option if he did not know, because he was deceived.
On this occasion, I would like to advise my brothers who engage in buying and selling not to deceive the naive among people. For example, some people have a boy come to them, or a woman, or someone ignorant of the price, and he says to him: this is for one hundred riyals, raising the price, when it is worth eighty. He says one hundred. Why? Because he is accustomed to some people haggling and negotiating until they reach eighty. So this naive man comes and says to him one hundred, and he takes it and leaves, even though if someone had haggled with him, he would have lowered it to eighty.
We say: this action is forbidden, meaning: his saying to him one hundred and this naive person taking it. We say: this is forbidden for him. So if he says: I say one hundred for fear that he will negotiate with me until he reaches eighty, we say: then there is no harm. But if you see that the man will take it for one hundred and its true value is eighty, it is obligatory for you to say: come, my brother, I said one hundred to you because I thought you were like many people who haggle, but since you did not haggle, its true value is eighty. If he does this, there is no harm. But if he exploits the ignorance of the person and his lack of knowledge of prices, then this is forbidden.
And here is a rule that we should all follow, which is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):