Respected Ulama e Kiram, I am an engineering student doing my Masters. According to my assessment, the products designed and developed by the engineering industry fall under two categories:
1) facilities for necessities or luxuries, and
2) futile/entertainment products.
Now my questions are:
1) What is the Shari’ah ruling on the earning from developing or selling futile/entertainment products?
2) Where do we draw the boundary between luxuries and facilities as it is disliked in the Hadith to adopt a luxurious lifestyle?
إياك و التنعم فإن عباد الله ليسوا بالمتنعمين
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The answer to this would vary according to different individuals. An item could be futile for someone and that same item could be a requirement for another. The same would apply to needs and luxuries. What may be one man’s necessity could be another man’s luxury and vice versa. Hence there is no blanket ruling as far as your question is concerned.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Aboobakr Siddeeq bin Mufti Amjad Mohammad
Student Darul Iftaa
Azaadville, JHB, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.