Can a Carpenter Claim Rewards from Fevicol Barcodes Bought for Clients?

The Islamic Ruling on Using Barcodes from Fevicol Containers Bought for Others

Question: Is it permissible for a carpenter to claim rewards from barcodes on Fevicol containers bought for clients?

Answer: Before the carpenter accepts a reward from the company in exchange for points, it is important to know whether scanning the barcode of the fevicol box bought for someone else is permissible or not. Therefore, the answer to the initial issue is that when the carpenter buys a fevicol box with his own money for his own need, that box becomes his personal property, and using its barcode and gaining rewards from its points is permissible for him, without any doubt.

And when the carpenter buys a fevicol box for a specific person’s personal use or when the homeowner buys it, then the owner of the box is the person for whom it was purchased. In this case, the carpenter should seek permission from the owner of the box to use the barcode. If the carpenter uses the barcode with the owner’s permission, then the points earned and the reward received from the company in exchange for those points will be permissible for him.

It doesn’t matter whether the price of the box is higher or lower because of the barcode, and it also doesn’t matter whether the barcode holds no significance for the homeowner—meaning that even though it is a small thing, the owner of the box is the person for whom it was bought. Therefore, the carpenter should use the barcode with the owner’s permission.

Respondent: Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi Hafizahullah 

Jeddah Dawah Center, Saudi Arabia  

English Interpreter: Hasan Fuzail