Boycotting products

[Hilal Said]

I think it is very interesting to read.

The ruling regarding boycotting American products

Question: "Oh noble Shaykh, in the newspapers these days it is written that there is a call to boycott the American products, and to stop the buying and selling of these products. Also, from this is the claim that appeared in one the newspapers that the 'Ulamaa. (scholars of Islaam) have called for the boycotting of these products and that this is something that is obligatory upon every individual Muslim, and that buying even a single one of these products (produced in America) is forbidden, forbidden (haraam, haraam), and that the person who does this has done a major sin (Kabeerah), and that he is helping these people (the Americans) and helping the Jews in their fighting against the Muslims. So I hope from your eminence that you can give some clarity regarding this matter due to there being a need for that. And is a person rewarded (by Allaah) for this action (of boycotting American goods)?"

Response: Firstly, I request a photocopy of this statement in specific from the newspaper that is mentioned here by the questioner.

Secondly, this is not correct. The scholars have not given a fatwa (religious verdict) declaring the goods produced by America to be forbidden (haraam), and the goods from America are still being imported and sold in the market places of the Muslims (i.e. in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and these products that you buy from America are still available. There has been no religious verdict issued against this. Cutting off relations and boycotting is not to be done unless there is a decree issued by the Muslim authorities. If the authorities issue a decree calling for the prohibition (of particular goods) or boycotting a country from among the many countries, then it is obligatory to boycott that country. However, in reference to individuals who want to do this or they give religious verdicts that this is something forbidden, then this is a declaration of forbiddance that Allaah has not allowed. It is not permissible to do this. Yes.

Shaykh Saalih ibn Fowzaan
a member of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fataawa

..........
Translated by: Abu Sumayyah Aqeel Walker

 

[RandyJackson]

Huh? What a silly answer. I simply choose not to purchase Israeli products because that 6% tax buys the Israeli military a bullet. God knows where that bullet will end, so why should I take a risk?

What kind of "chaikhh" urges his people to financially support an oppressing nation?? Sounds like my ex-pastor.

 

[RandyJackson]

Ayman, you never seize to amaze me. Why didn't that cross my mind??? Is it possible for angels to contribute to forums?


Now that I'm thinking about it, I can buy Israeli products and support them financially, so on the day of Judgment, Allah will say to them, "A Muslim generously helped you, yet you still were cruel to his brethren." Turn-the-other-cheek concept...I like it a lot

Thanks Ayman!

 

[hana*]

ayman, can you please elaborate on the last sentence you wrote, i didnt quite understand it. my understanding is that anything wich actively proceeds towards the killing of innocents- whether muslim or not is not permissible, whether it has a fatwa on it or not.

so if coca-cola contributes by sending a fairly substantial ammount of its shares to israel then in no way can we support that.

 

[hana*]

i was merely giving an example i know that the discussion did not state coca-cola

 

[hana*]

the boycott campaign plays an active role and has done for many years here in scotland. the 'friends of al aqsa' a renowned solidarity movement publishes factual information regarding active contributers to the state of israel.

the example i gave is quoted in their literature as follows:

"since 1966 coca-cola has been a staunch supporter of israel. in 1997 the government of ISRAEL ECONOMIC MISSION honoured coca-cola for its contributed support of israel FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS and for refusing to abide by the Arab League boycott of Israel." from boycott apartheid israel - www.agsa.org.uk

 

[kayleigh]

Seeing as not many products are even made in america anymore, then it probably isn't very hard to avoid american products lol.

I don't really buy into the whole boycotting craze, whether it be boycotting the US, Israel, or the latest European country to offend Muslims. Simply because it seems to do no good and the whole thing is too unorganized to be effective. Not to mention, these boycotting campaigns (especially the ones that target Israel) make no distinction between Israeli companies, and companies that may or may not somehow be connected to Israel. Boycotting Israeli companies might do something, but boycotting companies that might be connected does nothing - especially considering you could probably find some far reaching connection between every modern corporation and Israel if you tried hard enough.

I was recently reading about how the Chinese boycotted american products around the turn of the century and how well organized and effective it was. Well, it didn't really change anything but did get the US' attention. But Muslims wishing to boycott something could learn from them.

 

[Live4thehereafte]

:salam2:

i thought microsoft was developed by a jew
if then why you using a computer
please brothers and sisters if you are going to start boycotting( which i dont think will make much difference) then please present your proofs.
and allah knows best.

 

[kayleigh]

Further more do not pay your taxes

You realize you'd find yourself in jail pretty fast if you did that, right? and that you pay sales taxes every time you purchase something within the US?

 

[hana*]

well stated ,, if were going to start "boycotting" companies. then start by not buying a single product in the USA, Further more do not pay your taxes, These are all means that support israel. Come on brothers and sisters this practice of divestments or boycotting was not a tactic that the Messenger SAW did. So lets not waste our time with it and lets first dominate ourselves and master ourselves and then with allahs grace we will dominate and master allah's enemies.

i do not boycott america, only companies that directly contribut to israels economy. as for taxes, they do not contribute to the state of israel, they pay towards schools, the nhs, the elderly and those on benefits!

 

[arzafar]

the way i see this problem is that we don't have an alternative.
you cant expect people to boycott coca cola without providing a suitable alternative. maybe steel the formula of coke and make a muslim brand of coke, whose income isnt used against muslims.

also what about federal income tax. tax that is directly used to fund wars in which millions of innocents (muslims + non muslims) are killed?

 

[Muhammad Saleh]

:salam2:

i thought Microsoft was developed by a jew
if then why you using a computer
please brothers and sisters if you are going to start boycotting( which i dont think will make much difference) then please present your proofs.
and allah knows best.

Well we should not lump all Jew or American companies into one category. There is no harm in dealing with any Jew or American organization as long as they are not dishonoring us by publicly supporting Israeli Army. There are substitutes available for every product so no one would die by boycotting some companies. people are boycotting fur coats and companies using animals for experiments and look at us we still try to rationalize to buy from those companies who blatantly and openly support Israel army. I am no one to declare anything "haram" or "halal" but please do think before buying something which might help Israel fill its arsenal. Its army budget depends on the profitability of its business organizations. We should not only boycott those who are killing Muslims but all those who are against humanity in general. whenever I have a choice I prefer buying home made products to make my humble contribution towards profits of local companies so they could invest more into research and improve their quality.

Whenever there are tensions between two nations, before going to all out war, the very first thing a nation do is put economic sanctions on the other. So that they could resolve their issues without a war. Boycotting is not something new. American before independence boycotted British products to protest against their discriminatory laws. So was the Gandhi's strategy of non-cooperation and non-violence for which people still revere him. It has worked well before and it could still do wonders if we as ummah make a concerted effort to boycott all those who are against humanity and peace of this world. Thats the only way to force them to give up their evil activities without further disrupting world peace. Treating them so would be like being nice to them as its mentioned in one hadith that be kind even to the cruel on which someone asked how could we be kind to someone who is cruel and Muhammad(SAW) replied by forcing him to stop being cruel.

PS: I wished to boycott Microsoft not because Jew owner but for breaching antitrust laws but my view about Bill Gates have changed after knowing about his philanthropy and don't see any reason for boycotting Microsoft now.

 

[hana*]

Well we should not lump all Jew or American companies into one category. There is no harm in dealing with any Jew or American organiztion as long as they are not dishonoring us by publicly supporting Israeli Army. Their are substitutes available for every product so no one would die by bycotting some companies. people are bycotting fur coats and companies using animals for experiments and look at us we still try to rationalize to buy from those companies who blatantly and openly support Israel army. I am no one to declare anything "haram" or "halal" but please do think before buying something which might help Israel fill its arsenal. Its army budget depends on the profitability of its business oragnizations. We should not only bycott those who are killing muslims but all those who are against humanity in general. Just google it and you would get to know how big oil companies have ruined the lives of thousand of people in south America and other parts of the world. whenever I have a choice I perfer buying home made products to make my humble contribution towards profits of local companies so they could invest more into research and improve their quality.

Whenever there are tensions between two nations, before going to all out war the very first thing a nation do is put economic sanctions on the other. So that they could resolve their issues without a war. Bycotting is not something new. American before independence bycotted British products to protest against their discriminatory laws. So was the Gandhi's strategy of non-cooperation and non-voilence for which people still revere him. It has worked well before and it could still do wonders if we as ummah make a concerted effort to bycott all those who are against humanity and peace of this world. Thats the only way to force them to give up their evil activities without further disrupting world peace. Treating them so would be like being nice to them as its mentioned in one hadith that be kind even to the cruel on which someone asked how could we be kind to someone who is cruel and Muhammad(SAW) replied by forcing him to stop being cruel.

PS: I wished to bycott microsoft not because it is owned by a Jew but for breaching antitrust laws but my view about Bill Gates has changed after knowing about his philanthropy and dont see any reason for bycotting microsoft now.

excellent reply brother

and br arzafar- there are many alternatives to coca cola!

 

[arzafar]

:Azafar-

there are alternatives that we as believers should be engaged in. Dua, fasting, making jihad-al-nafs , making physical jihad fisabeelilah, and supporting our brothers and sisters who are struggling for the sake of allah,wiether finacially, morally, duas. etc. May allah help us and guide us to the best in this life and in the next..... amin

[61:10-12] "You who believe, shall I show you a bargain that will save you from painful punishment? Have faith in God and His Messenger and struggle for His cause with your possessions and your persons—that is better for you, if only you knew,and He will forgive your sins, admit you into Gardens graced with flowing streams, into pleasant dwellings in the Gardens of Eternity. That is the supreme triumph."

yeah well so how do you know who is doing the rite jihad. at the moment it's a big mess and muslims are killing each other, everyone believing that their cause is right.

The world is caught in a vicious system. Sometimes i think all those living by this system aren't muslims :astag: but that is an extreme view i guess.

however, there is no way you can compete with the system by staying in it. it's easy to say lets do jihad, but if you stop and do a reality check, you'll find that we are playing into the hands of the system. for eg. pakistan fights TTI, saudi fight yemen rebels, turks fights kurds. where do the wepons come from? from the US, France, Belgium!!! we give them our money to buy weapons to kill our people. We believe we are right and they think we are wrong. who profits from all this? the infidels!!! (Dont believe me, check out the major buyers of US weapons over the last few decades, Turkey, KSA, Pakistan, will be amongst the top!)

But these were our people, they may have become misguided but lets just for once stop for a moment and see the bigger picture. We have allied with the west (yahoud and nasara) and make fight with our neighbors calling them kaffir! We allow them to build military bases on our land and we want to do jihad in Palestine! do you think this will work? it hasn't work for 40 years and will never work im afraid.

Did you know that Iran and Syria are one of the few muslim countries left that do not have a US military base inside their borders!!! Do a search on US bases around the world and you'll be shocked! At the moment Iran is surrounded by US bases! when iraq was fighting iran, nobody did anything (half a million people died because of that war). when iraq waged war in kuwait, the arab countries paid the US and NATO to save themselves from saddam. These are historical facts my friend, which cant be denied. Did you know that the US had sold saddam chemical weapons in the first place. Then made even more bases in Kuwait, KSA and now they are in Iraq forever. Probably Iran or Syria is next and im sure the arab world will just sit and watch the 'show' and the usual excuse given will be that they were shia kaafirs, let them die, good for us.

So who is the group that is in fact fighting the imperialist system for Islamic system and not for a piece of land or to protect their kingdom. Who should i support? I see our 'leaders' laughing and chatting away in the White House and in their luxurious palaces while muslims throughout the world burn. I see people who blow themselves up in markets and mosques and claim to be doing Jihad! How can i even begin to think jihad when i see muslims killing muslims (both recite kalimah)!

My plea is fairly simple. let us just stop for a second and ascertain who our real enemy is? Then unite against our real enemy instead of finding faults with each other! leave the "who is right, left, center and wrong" debate to Allah. He is the best Judge and fortunately that is something everyone agrees on!

Who is the enemy of Islam? The prophet (pbuh) and the Quran clearly states who they are. It has warned us not to take Jews and Christians as allies. yet almost all muslim countries are allies with the west. We sell our oil/goods to them and buy weapons from them and use it against each other. the arabs tried to use oil as a weapon in the 1970's but now that weapon has gone because US is present in every country in the region. If France and England could unite why cant the muslims unite? How can we hate each other to the extent that we favor the friendship with the West? this is not the time to fight! Its a time to break our egos, build bridges and begin consolidating the Muslim Ummah!

and please coke was just one example. you can talk about any product brand. In every sector they have penetrated our lives!
what about fuel used in your car? BP, Exxon, Shell, Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger. These E&P and services companies are operating all over the world even in muslim countries. What about the car itself? What about the car wheels or electronic components? what about the bus fare? all that money indirectly or directly goes to them. almost all the oil fields in the world use equipment manufactured by services companies like Haliburton or Schlumberger.

So we should use a bicycle, animal carts then?