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Fatwa CenterPaying a fee to join a pyramid marketing scheme
Question
as salaamu alaykoem wrwbI read that you said about pyramid schemes that is not permissible to pay money to join them. But what can we say to people who say that you have to pay a little money for the costs they are making. Like costs for the webshop that they will give you?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is a difference between the money that is paid in return for expected material gains from the network marketing and so forth, whether it is by cash or through the purchase of goods or unintended services, as this is gambling. The subscriber pays his money in return for those gains which he expects to get, and ultimately he may get them and earn money, or he may not get them, and so, he loses money. The organizers of these companies pay some of what they earn from those subscriptions and retain some for themselves.
However, if the marketing requires opening a webpage or doing a service that requires an expense, then there is nothing wrong with paying it but it must be a fee for a real service and not a trick to pay subscription fees in order to earn money from that in return for gains that the subscriber earns from the network marketing system.
Indeed, most network marketing methods (systems) are based on risk, and real buying and selling is not really intended as we have already clarified in Fatwa 143173.
Allaah Knows best.
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