Halal past earnings and permissible use of shipping supplies
Question
I purchased authentic fragrances from a supplier, and there was no issue with buying or owning the fragrances themselves. However, I sold decanted fragrance samples on eBay, and I later learned that eBayโs terms prohibit selling decanted fragrances. Because of this, I believe I may have breached the platformโs terms by selling these samples. I am therefore worried that the money I earned from those sales may be haram. Some of that money was used to purchase shipping supplies such as postage and shipping bags. If I stop selling fragrance samples and instead start selling something else that is fully halal, I would like to know: 1. Since the shipping bags were purchased with money earned from those sales, can I still use those same shipping bags for my new halal business? 2. Or should I avoid using them and instead buy new shipping supplies with halal money? I want to correct my situation and ensure that my business going forward is fully halal.
Islamic Ruling & Answer
VerifiedNo, the income you earned earlier will still be considered halal, provided that the item being sold was itself halal and the act of selling was fundamentally permissible according to Islamic principles. In your case, since the fragrance itself is a halal item, the earnings from its sale are considered halal in principle.
However, since you later came to know that this practice was against the companyโs (eBayโs) policy, then continuing this activity knowingly would not be permissible, because it involves violating a contract, which is a sin. Therefore, stopping this practice and repenting is necessaryโand you have already done that, which is the correct approach.
The Islamic principle is that as long as an activity is not inherently haram, the income derived from it is considered halal. If a person later finds out that it was against a companyโs policy, the previous earnings do not become haram, although continuing it afterward would not be permissible.
Based on this:
The shipping bags that were purchased from that income can be used in your new halal business; there is no issue in doing so.
It is not necessary for you to buy new supplies; using the existing ones is completely permissible.
However, for further peace of mind, you may give a small amount in charity if you wish.
Answered by
Mufti Tosif Qasmi
April 07, 2026
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