Is it appropriate to pay commission to someone who works in a company that we desire to sell our products to, in order to persuade them to buy your products?

Is it appropriate to pay commission to someone who works in a company that we desire to sell our products to, in order to persuade them to buy your products?

Dear Brother / Sister,

This kind of payment is called bribe, not commission, because a wageworker in that company is offered some interest in order to have this job done, which is actually bribe. 

Those who are employed as civil servants or workers in government offices serve and are paid as a requirement of contract made between the state (public) and themselves, or those who work in any workplace in private sector serve and are paid as a requirement of contract made between the employer and themselves. In this sense, they are supposed to do their jobs as well as they can and honestly. 

If the purchase agents in question are paid by the company they are working for, they have got no right to demand commission from you. 

People who work for a company on salary should not be offered extra payment or they should not be paid even if they demand to be paid. If they are paid or if they demand a payment, it is ill-gotten gain and bribe. 

If employees working in any kind of workplace work on “salary + premium payment”, salary and premium payment to those employees must be paid by the company that has employed the employees in question. 

In short, people should comply with the conditions which they agreed upon in their working contract. And employers should be loyal to their employees’ rights.

Our religion requires us to be respectful of individuals/public’s rights. In addition to this, it is stated that if one violates another’s rights, he cannot be forgiven unless the one who is wronged forgives him.

In the Farewell Sermon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “O people! Your lives, properties, honor and purity are forbidden to each other unless you reunite with your Lord (you are forbidden to harm them)” (Bukhari, Hajj, 132).

The most important traits of a Muslim are honesty and trustworthiness. Straightness, honesty and trustworthiness cannot be sacrificed for the sake of any worldly interest. We would like to thank you for your sensitivity on this subject as well.

Presidency of Religious Affairs

Questions on Islam