THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaumu Al-Ithnayn, 16th day of Zul Hijjah 1439, (Monday 27th August 2018). RULINGS ON NETWORK MARKETING, PYRAMID SCHEME BUSINESS ETC CONTINUES. BismilLaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. In yesterday's reminder, I concluded that almost all network/ pyramid scheme form of transactions are haraam. The following are some of the reasons which scholars says it's haraam; 1. It involves riba of two types, riba al-fadl (involving exchange of goods of the same type but of different quantity) and riba al-nasi’ah (involving deferred payment of a larger amount than would be paid if it were paid immediately). The participant pays a small amount of money in order to gain a lot of money, in other words he pays cash for cash of a different amount and with deferred payment. This is the kind of riba that is forbidden according to the texts and by scholarly consensus. The product which the company sells to the agent is simply a screen for this transaction; it is not what the participant is seeking and it makes no difference to the ruling.  2. It is a kind of gharar (ambiguous transaction) that is forbidden in sharee’ah, because the participant does not know whether he will be successful in finding the number of purchasers (participants) required or not. 3. These transactions involve consuming people’s wealth unlawfully, because these contracts benefit no one but the companies and some participants whom the company encourages with the aim of tricking others. This is what is forbidden in the Qur’aan, ALLAH says:  “O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly”[al-Nisa’ 4:29]. 4. This transaction involves cheating, deceiving and tricking people, by showing the product as if that is the purpose of this transaction, when that is not the case, and by enticing them with the idea of large commission which people do not usually earn and even if you earn it's forbidden bcs the focus is not the buying and selling but rather more commission on referrals. This is the kind of deceit that is forbidden in sharee’ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever deceives us is not one of us.” Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The two parties to a transaction have the choice, so long as they have not parted. If they are sincere and open in their dealings, the transaction will be blessed for them, but if they lie and conceal anything, the blessing of their transaction will be erased.” Agreed upon.  These commissions are only paid for the purpose of joining the network marketing scheme, no matter what names are given to them, whether they are called gifts or anything else. That does not change their nature or the ruling on them in the slightest.  It is worth mentioning that there are companies that have appeared in the market which follow the practices of network marketing or pyramid marketing, such as “Smartest Way”, “Gold Quest” and “Seven Diamonds”. The ruling on these companies are no different from the ruling on the companies mentioned above, even though the products they offer may vary. They use brain to rob the poor by making you register first with your money then when others register by paying they make more money then pay you little exactly as gambling through lottery. May ALLAH keep guiding us all and protect us from any satanic influences. Aameen.