Selling products with a lower price

Question #344:

Is it permissible to sell the products with a price less than market price to get customers? May be other merchants will be harmed by this. But there is no agreement between him and them any agreement regarding the prices.

Answer :

If he sells with lower price to help the poor people then there is no problem. But if he want to harm other merchants, then this should not be done, because of his evil intention to harm the merchants.

And if this person knows that the other merchants are evil people (who play with the prices), and he wants to help the people, especially in the time when there is shortage, he will be rewarded with the permission of Allah (Subḥānahu wa taʿālā). For example, the gas (I think Shaykh is giving analogy of the current situation in Yemen), currently the merchants are selling for about four thousand riyals, if a merchant sees the situation of the people and their need and their financial situation and buys the gas and reduces the price (sells with lower price) to help the people, then he will be rewarded and we ask Allah to reward him. But if he intends by the discounts to harm other merchants and the merchants are harmed by this, then that is not permitted.

Answered by: Shaykh ʿAbdul Ghanī al-ʿUmarī
Translated by: ʿAbdun-Nūr al-Hindī

س- هل يجوز أن يبيع السلعة بسعر أقل من سعر السوق ليحصل الزبائن ؟ ربما يتضرر التجار الأخرون بهذا الفعل ولكن ليس بين هذا الأخ وبينهم أي عهد يتعلق بالأسعار.