Short answer
Yes. Working as a broker or agent for a commission (samsara) is halal when the product or service is halal, the commission is agreed in advance, and you do not lie or hide defects to make the sale. Affiliate marketing works the same way. Commission on haram products, interest loans or conventional insurance is not allowed.
A broker's fee is permissible. Earlier Hanafi texts treated a percentage commission as technically defective because the amount is unknown at the start, but later Hanafi jurists allowed it because it became the general custom, and this is the fatwa position today.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Brokers existed in Madinah. The traders there were called samasirah (brokers), and the Prophet ﷺ gave them a better name, "merchants", and advised them to mix their trade with charity, because selling attracts idle talk and oaths. He did not forbid their work.
Ibn Abidin records that a percentage fee for a broker was, by strict analogy, a defective hire, but that the jurists allowed it because people deal this way everywhere. So real estate agents, recruiters, sales staff on commission, referral schemes and affiliate links are all permissible in principle.
Conditions:
- The thing sold is halal. No commission from alcohol, gambling sites, interest-bearing credit cards or loans, conventional insurance, or dating apps.
- The terms are agreed in advance, as a fixed amount or a clear percentage.
- No deception. Do not invent urgency, lie about the product or hide its defects.
- Loyalty. If you act for the buyer, do not take a secret commission from the seller. Disclose it or refuse it; otherwise it is a breach of trust.
Multi-level schemes, where you earn from the sales of people you recruit and their recruits, are a separate question: see Is MLM halal? For general trade rules, see What are the rules of business in Islam?
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:1
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَوْفُوا۟ بِٱلْعُقُودِ ۚ أُحِلَّتْ لَكُم بَهِيمَةُ ٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ غَيْرَ مُحِلِّى ٱلصَّيْدِ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَحْكُمُ مَا يُرِيدُ ﴿١﴾
O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for that which is recited to you [in this Qur'an] - hunting not being permitted while you are in the state of ihram. Indeed, Allah ordains what He intends.
Agreed commission terms must be honoured on both sides.
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:2
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُحِلُّوا۟ شَعَٰٓئِرَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا ٱلشَّهْرَ ٱلْحَرَامَ وَلَا ٱلْهَدْىَ وَلَا ٱلْقَلَٰٓئِدَ وَلَآ ءَآمِّينَ ٱلْبَيْتَ ٱلْحَرَامَ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًۭا مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرِضْوَٰنًۭا ۚ وَإِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَٱصْطَادُوا۟ ۚ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَـَٔانُ قَوْمٍ أَن صَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ أَن تَعْتَدُوا۟ ۘ وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ ﴿٢﴾
O you who have believed, do not violate the rites of Allah or [the sanctity of] the sacred month or [neglect the marking of] the sacrificial animals and garlanding [them] or [violate the safety of] those coming to the Sacred House seeking bounty from their Lord and [His] approval. But when you come out of ihram, then [you may] hunt. And do not let the hatred of a people for having obstructed you from al-Masjid al-Haram lead you to transgress. And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.
Earning commission on haram products is cooperating in sin.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3326
Grading to be checked... يا معشر التجار إن البيع يحضره اللغو والحلف فشوبوه بالصدقة ...
"O merchants, selling attracts idle talk and oaths, so mix it with charity."
Said to the brokers of Madinah, whose work he allowed.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Ijara, Bab al-Ijara al-Fasida, on the broker's fee. Allows the broker's percentage fee because of general custom.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.