Selling Purchased Cloth at a Higher Price

Question

Doing business in trade by bargaining: for example, if cloth was obtained for 20 rupees, the customer was told 35 rupees, and later, lowering the price, it was given for 25 rupees. Are the five rupees of profit made in this halal or not?

Answer

It is not necessary that cloth be sold at the price for which it was bought; rather, taking a profit on it is permissible. If the price of the cloth is twenty-five rupees, the trader should not be told, “I bought it for thirty (30) rupees,” for that is a lie, which is impermissible; rather, it should be said, “I am selling it for 35 rupees.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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