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Working
for Food Stores That Sell Alcohol
By
Fiqh Council of North America
"You
are not allowed to work in a restaurant that serves
alcohol or foods that are considered Haram."
Question:
Is the income of employees who work in food stores
that sell alcohol considered halal (lawful)? Also, is it
permissible in Islam to eat from "halal"
restaurants that also sell alcohol?
Answer:
It should be clear that
in Islam, it is not only considered haram (forbidden) to
consume what is haram, but it is also haram to promote,
condone, aid, or assist the same. The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) did not stop at prohibiting the
drinking of alcohol, whether much or little, but he also
forbade any trading in it, even with non-Muslims. It is
not permissible for a Muslim to import or export alcoholic
beverages, or to produce, serve, handle or sell them. In
connection with alcohol, the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) cursed ten categories of people saying:
“Truly, Allah has cursed khamr (alcoholic beverages) and
has cursed the one who produces it, the one for whom it is
produced, the one who drinks it, the one who serves it,
the one who carries it, the one for whom it is carried,
the one who sells it, the one who earns from the sale of
it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is
bought.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah).
“Income in compensation for working for stores that
sell alcohol is permissible provided that the work itself
does not include handling of alcoholic beverages, because
handling these liquors is not permissible and consequently
payment received for such a prohibited action is not
earned lawfully from the Shari`ah point of view.
It becomes worse if the purchasers of alcohol are
Muslims because alcoholic drinks are not considered
property for a Muslim, and the only action that should be
taken with them is to destroy them and drain them in the
sewer, whereas for non-Muslims (even in a Muslim land and
under the Islamic laws) alcoholic beverages are considered
property protected by the Islamic law.
Eating in halal restaurants that sell alcohol is
permissible as long as you don't share the same table with
a person who drinks. It is, however, shameful for such
restaurants to offer halal meat side by side with
alcoholic beverages.”
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an
Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, states:
“You are not allowed to work in a restaurant that serves
alcohol or foods that are considered Haram."
In Islam it is not only considered Haram to consume
what is Haram but the prohibition also extends to
promoting or condoning or aiding or assisting in the
commission of the act. By working in such a restaurant,
you are undoubtedly contributing to such things.
Therefore, it is not considered lawful for a Muslim to
continue in such a job.
You would undoubtedly be concerned about losing
livelihood. Allah has promised us in the Qur’an that He
would certainly provide for us should we remain conscious
of Him and strive earnestly to obtain a Halal
source of income. You are, therefore, best advised to
exercise your imagination to find Halal options;
when Allah forbids something in Islam, He has made sure to
provide us with substitutes that are Halal.
Allah says in the Qur’an, “And whosoever keepeth
his duty to Allah, He maketh his course easy for him.”
(At-Talaq: 4)
It is also worth mentioning that there is virtually no
blessing in earnings that are purely Haram. A penny
of Halal is better than a million dollars earned
through Haram. One of the conditions for acceptance
of Prayer in Islam is to earn a living through purely Halal
sources.
Therefore, you are best advised to seek to find a source
of livelihood that is purely Halal; if you have the
will and sincere intention and strive for it, Allah will
surely help.” (Quoted, with slight modifications, from:
www.islam.ca)
It’ll be beneficial to read also Working
in a Place that Sells Pig Meat .
Taken
from www.islamonline.net
http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=99984
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