Understating calories on a product label

A question about understating calories on a product label, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that claiming qualities a product does not have is forbidden as lying and cheating; whoever has done so must repent and correct the information, but need not set aside any profits since the price did not change, though giving charity to purify the earnings is fine. ¹

A seller who had labelled a product as about 200 calories when it actually contained more, and had sold large quantities, though the price would have been the same either way, asked what he now owes. ¹

The Department answered that Islam forbids lying and cheating in transactions, citing Surat al-Mu'minun 23:8 and Surat al-Tawba 9:119 and a hadith narrated by Muslim whose meaning is that whoever cheats the Muslims is not of them, and said that attributing to goods qualities they lack is lying and cheating. ¹ It quoted resolution no. 101 of Jordan's Iftaa Council that a Muslim, whether a trader, a sales representative or in any other position, must be truthful in all he says and always show the truth about every product he promotes, and that lying and misrepresentation are forbidden to him. ¹ It said whoever has fallen into this must hasten to sincere repentance: stopping at once by correcting the published product information and announcing the correction, resolving not to repeat it, feeling remorse, and seeking forgiveness often and doing good deeds. ¹ It noted that because the product's price did not rise owing to the false description, being the same with or without it, there is no need to set aside any of the profits, as there is no difference to return; there is no harm in giving charity to purify the earnings. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4463, dated 11 May 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.