Short answer
Yes. Selling counterfeits as genuine is fraud and clearly haram. Selling openly labelled replicas that copy a brand's name or logo is also not permitted in the mainstream Hanafi view, because a registered trademark is a recognised right that belongs to its owner, and copying it breaks the law. Products that are merely similar in style, without the brand's marks, are fine.
Passing off a fake as genuine is haram as cheating. Using another company's trademark or logo without permission violates a right the law recognises and that contemporary Hanafi scholars, including Mufti Taqi Usmani, treat as a valuable right; trading in such goods is therefore not permitted. Buying a fake knowingly for yourself is disliked and helps the wrong.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
There are two different issues.
Deception. Selling a fake designer bag, watch, perfume or phone as the real thing takes the buyer's money by a lie. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whoever cheats us is not one of us." This is haram by agreement, and the seller must return the money if he can.
Trademark rights. Even when the buyer knows it is a replica, the goods use a name and logo that belong to someone else. Mufti Taqi Usmani writes that trade names and trademarks have become rights with real value by custom and law, which may be sold or licensed and must not be taken without permission. Selling replicas also breaks the law in most countries, and Muslims are bound by the agreements under which they live.
What is fine:
- "Inspired by" or generic products with no copied name or logo, such as a plain watch in a similar style or a perfume sold under your own brand.
- Selling genuine second-hand items honestly described.
- Your own designs, even if they follow a trend.
Not fine:
- "AAA", "1:1" or "mirror" copies with brand logos.
- Fake reviews, fake authenticity cards or fake receipts.
- Dropshipping counterfeit goods from overseas factories.
If you have stock of counterfeits, do not sell it on. Ask a mufti what to do with it. See also Is piracy haram? and Is it haram to scam people?
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:29
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍۢ مِّنكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًۭا ﴿٢٩﴾
O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
Money gained by deception or by taking another's right is taken unjustly.
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.
Muslims are bound by the laws and agreements they live under.
Sahih Muslim 101
Sahih... من حمل علينا السلاح فليس منا ومن غشنا فليس منا ...
"Whoever takes up arms against us is not one of us, and whoever cheats us is not one of us."
Selling fakes as genuine is cheating.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2079
Sahih... وإن كتما وكذبا محقت بركة بيعهما ...
"And if they conceal and lie, the blessing of their sale is wiped out."
Deception removes blessing from trade.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Fiqhi Maqalat (Mufti Taqi Usmani), Essay on the sale of rights (bay' al-huquq al-mujarrada). Trade names and trademarks as recognised rights.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Buyu', on rights that may be exchanged. Classical basis for custom creating valuable rights.
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.