Is affiliate marketing or dropshipping permissible?

Both are widely practiced today, and scholars generally look at the underlying mechanics rather than issuing a single blanket ruling. Affiliate marketing, where you earn a commission for referring customers to a real product or service, is generally considered permissible, since it functions as a form of paid brokerage or advertising (samsara), provided the product being promoted is itself halal and you are honest about the product and any relationship or compensation involved. Dropshipping is more contested. In a typical dropshipping model, a seller lists and sells a product on their own platform without holding it in stock, then has a third-party supplier ship it directly to the customer. The concern raised by some scholars is the same one behind the prohibition on selling what you do not possess or have the ability to deliver: if the seller doesn't actually own or control the item at the point of sale, and cannot guarantee the supplier will fulfill the order, this can involve real gharar (uncertainty) and a defective sale. Structures where the dropshipper takes an ownership-like position (for instance, arranging a valid agency or purchase-then-resale sequence) are viewed more favorably by scholars who have studied the model closely; sellers concerned about compliance should look for such structures rather than the simplest list-and-relay version.

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