A Fiqhi Review of Creating False Needs with Emphasis on Its Social Consequences

Creating false needs is among the immoral socio-cultural results of commercial advertisements shown by commercial companies. To establish a guideline for advertisement and creating demand, acquaintance with people's needs and demands is a basic principle of business advertisement in a competition. Most companies takes into regard such things, like morals, culture, values and spirit of easy life in order to achieve their economic goals. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the various aspects of marketing from a fiqhi view point. Using a descriptive-analytical method and defining the concept of creating false needs and its position in the paradigms of consumer behavior and in marketing and socio-cultural work, this paper seeks to investigate and set the key criteria of Islamic law by resting on the fatwas of religious authorities and traditions of the infallible. The research results indicate that offering a vast variety of products, excessive advertisements and provoking materialistic and western values has a key role in exerting negative effects on society and culture. Regarding creating false needs while observing the criteria of Islamic law, advertisement of luxury goods have little effect on the emergence of negative social and cultural phenomena.