Muslims told to report illegal vendors

Muslims should report illegal vendors to the competent authorities as this will serve consumers, protect legal dealers and curb fraud, according to a new ruling issued by the government Fatwa (Islamic edit) Centre in Abu Dhabi.

The Centre was responding to a query from the public whether reporting such vendors in line with recent calls by the Ministry of Economy could harm their livelihood, which is against Islamic tenets.

“There is no harm in reporting vendors who work without an official licence and those who violate existing laws since the collective interests of the community must be given precedence over personal interests,” the Centre said in its fatwa, published in the Arabic language daily Alkhaleej.

It said the government in any country enacts laws to regulate trading and protect the interests of dealers and consumers, taking into consideration the required specifications in any product sold in the market.

“Therefore, reporting any one who abuses these laws is beneficial to the society and will serve the collective interests of the community before personal interests…the spread of illegal vendors in the country is harmful to legal traders who pay rent and comply with existing rules…furthermore, products sold in the street (by vendors) are not monitored, so these places could become a fertile ground for fraud, which is prohibited in Islam.”