Islamic Ruling on Joining Vestige Network Marketing

Is Joining Vestige Network Marketing Halal? A Detailed Islamic Ruling

Currently, Vestige, a network marketing company, is widely discussed among people. This company has been operating in the multi-level trade sector for many years. A large number of people trust this company and are earning money by joining it. Many Muslims, like non-Muslims, are connecting with this company to improve their financial condition. In fact, some Muslims claim that by being part of this business, they are better able to support their families.
Islam does not prohibit trade, nor does it prohibit improving one’s financial situation or providing better support for one’s family. However, Islam has provided us with a natural system of life in which Allah and His Messenger have outlined clear and fair business principles. Indeed, it is in following these pure Islamic business rules that one finds true happiness in life, success for both the individual and the community, and goodness in both this world and the Hereafter. Islam encourages hard work to earn a livelihood and grants it a place of honor and virtue. However, this work must be lawful; otherwise, even tireless work earned through unlawful means is considered forbidden (haram).
Vestige has gained a great deal of popularity, and as much as people talk about it, so much has been said on the internet about this company. I tried to understand the company’s principles and goals and examined its methods. I found the same flaws I previously mentioned in my article on multi-level companies, because it is also a company based on membership, and naturally, the fundamental principles of membership are found in every such company.

Vestige’s Business Model

There is no doubt that this company offers some products on which its business is based. Members claim that the number of products offered is in the hundreds or even two hundred. People see that the company is conducting business through its products. When joining this company, no fee is charged, and the membership account is opened without any condition. Now, the member wants to make money by trading with Vestige. There are two main ways to earn money by joining this company.

The first method is that when a person becomes a member, they will either purchase products or sign up others as members. Although this is optional, there is no other option. When they purchase products, they get some discounts and bonus points. They may either use the purchased products themselves or sell them in the market to earn a profit.

The second, and most profitable, way is through membership recruitment. The person advertises the company and its trade to others to recruit them. For instance, if they recruit six people, they will earn commission on the purchases made by those six people. These six individuals, in turn, recruit another six people, and the person who initially recruited them continues to earn commission from their purchases. This cycle continues, and the individual keeps receiving commissions from all levels, even after death.

The new formula for becoming rich and suddenly escaping poverty is presented to people in this market, and many get trapped by it. Once a person becomes a member, they either buy the company’s products or face the reality that membership means buying products. They will face significant losses by purchasing products that are much more expensive than market rates. However, they bear this loss in the hope of becoming rich, while the company keeps this fact hidden from the general public. Products that they do not need are purchased at inflated prices to increase their points. Here, a member, who was originally a customer, becomes an investor, but the company continues to regard them as customers. The profits from selling products and points earned are small; the real profit lies in recruiting members. Once a person recruits a few members, they earn a passive income from them without much effort.

Many Muslims are part of Vestige, and they are under the illusion that it has been certified as halal by the Central Jamiat Ulema Hind and Dubai Halal Centers, claiming that it is a halal-certified company. Some also say that since many Muslims are involved, there has been no opposition from Muslim scholars. One of the key sources of this illusion is the fatwa from Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow, which declared the business as halal and permissible for Muslims to join.
I want to tell my Muslim brothers to dispel these illusions about Vestige and earn a livelihood in a lawful manner. Allah has made the earth vast, and there are countless legitimate ways to earn a living.

Clarification of Fatwas and Halal Certification

Regarding the illusions of Muslims, the first point to clarify is that the Central Jamiat Ulema Hind and the Dubai Halal Centers have only confirmed the products of Vestige as halal. They have not declared the method of selling the products as halal. This needs to be understood clearly. As for the fatwa from Nadwa, the questioner cleverly framed the question without disclosing the true nature of the company, and the scholars did not conduct a thorough investigation but gave a hasty response. However, according to recent information, Nadwa has reversed its previous fatwa and advised avoiding the company. Darul Uloom Deoband has also declared earning money through membership recruitment in Vestige as unlawful.

The Sharia Status of Joining Vestige

Now, let me explain the Sharia status of joining Vestige. If you join this company and restrict yourself to buying and selling products without participating in any false advertising, then this part of the business is correct. However, no member in a multi-level company can refrain from recruiting others, as it is through this that wealth is promised. How is it possible for a member to keep buying overpriced products from the company while cheaper products are available in the market?

Earning money through membership recruitment is only permissible up to the first level, for those whom you recruit directly. But earning commissions from those whom they recruit or from those down the line is not permissible. According to Sharia, there are three lawful ways to earn profit:

1. Either we invest money and work hard, which is known as “Shirkah” (partnership).
2. Or we invest money and another person does the work, which is “Mudarabah” (profit-sharing).
3. Or we work without investing money, which is “Ijarah” (wages).

Membership recruitment is linked to the third category, so earning a wage for your work is permissible only at the first level. After that, earning profits and commissions is unlawful.

Additional Concerns About Vestige

I would like to present a few more flaws of Vestige so that Muslims are aware of its dangers and keep themselves away from this company:

1. All multi-level companies worldwide attract people using false stories, fabricated narratives, and persuasive language. These companies train their members on how to convince people and recruit them. Videos on YouTube show various tricks to trap people. The most unethical companies in the world (that are not multi-level) do not resort to such tactics.
2. It is true that Vestige has its own products, and these products are apparently what the business is about. However, the company’s main focus is membership recruitment, which is disguised as trade. Behind the facade of trading, the company is extracting people’s wealth in an unlawful manner.
3. There is deceit, exaggeration, and even pressure in the promotion of the company and its products. Islam does not permit selling products in this manner, nor does it allow advertising for a company in such a deceptive way.
4. Membership recruitment attempts to monopolize the market, turning the entire city and country into a hostage situation. A person joining this network marketing loses access to other markets, making it harmful to the economy.
5. Just as someone invests in gambling in the hope of getting rich, members in this network are encouraged to keep buying more products every month, even if they do not need them, driven by the hope of getting rich.
6. If a member purchases a product online and sells it before taking possession of it, this situation is also not permissible. For example, if a member orders a product from Vestige and sells it before taking possession of it.
7. One of the most motivational speakers of Vestige, Ajay Sharma, claimed that even after a person’s death, his wife received a check of seventeen lakh rupees because he had created a network of members. This implies that the commission from member recruitment is unlimited. Those Muslim brothers who claim that the company only gives commission up to eight or nine levels because their efforts are limited to these levels are outright lying. After all, what effort can a person make after his death?
8. Apart from member recruitment, members waste so much money annually on purchasing expensive goods that they could start a small business with that money.
9. Those who believe that they will suddenly become rich through Vestige are greatly mistaken and are deluded by the false reassurances of others. At the very least, they should listen to the statements of Ajay Sharma, the company’s most famous and motivational speaker, regarding how much effort is required for success. If one has to open an office, buy products, and work tirelessly with their own money to earn through Vestige, why not open their own business or take on an agency for a halal trade? The income may be less, but at least it would be lawful and halal.
10. One more thing I would like to mention is that in multi-level companies, success is achieved by only a few people. Vestige has more than seventy lakh members, but the company’s website only mentions the success stories of sixteen people, while the success of the remaining sixty-nine lakh, ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty-four members is never mentioned. Only a few people are making millions in months, while the rest of the millions of members are investing and working hard, but success is not in their share. This is the unfair distribution of wealth that existed in the capitalist system

, then socialism raised the slogan of equality, but it too perished. The strength of the Islamic economic system is that, unlike the capitalist system, there is no unfair distribution of wealth, nor does it falsely claim equality like socialism; instead, Islam maintains balance and justice between the two. Allah’s command is:
كَیْلَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ
(Al-Hashr: 7)
Translation: “So that it does not circulate only among the rich among you.”

Conclusion

After all these points, the final conclusion is that earning money through member recruitment by joining Vestige is not permissible for Muslims. Therefore, we should not get involved with it. However, if someone purchases halal food or halal products from this company, there is no harm in it.