those for whom wearing it is forbidden. There is no distinction in this regard between soldiers and others. A man may not earn his living by sewing silk garments for someone who is forbidden to wear them, for this is cooperation in sin and transgression, like assisting in acts of indecency and the like. Likewise, silk may not be sold to a man who will wear it when he is forbidden to do so. Selling silk to women, however, is permissible, as is selling it to a disbeliever. Umar ibn al-Khattāb sent some silk that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had given him to a polytheist.

As for sales, a trusting buyer may only be charged the same price as other buyers. No one may exploit his trust by making an abnormally excessive profit at his expense. Some scholars set this at one-third, and others at one-sixth. Others said that the matter should be determined by customary practice: the profit normally made from those who bargain should also be the profit made from a trusting buyer.

A trusting buyer has been defined as someone who does not bargain, but simply says, “Take the money and give me the goods.” It has also been defined as someone who does not know the value of the goods. Neither may be grossly overcharged. A hadith states:

“Overcharging a trusting buyer is usury.”

Anyone known to overcharge such buyers deserves punishment. Indeed, he should be barred from trading in the Muslims’ marketplace until he is made to obey Allah and His Messenger. The buyer who has been overcharged has the right to rescind the sale, return the goods to the seller, and recover the price he paid. If this seller who has overcharged repents