Answered by: Maulana Mujahid Hussain
Question
I had a question on fiqh. I work at Asda as a checkout operator and I come across alcohol bottles and pork etc, I want to find out scanning these items in the Hanafi school allowed.
If I can scan it, any chance if you could Send a Hadith please to prove the evidence regarding
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer
Any jobs that result in you carrying out, encouraging or protecting haram are not allowed. If this Haram act happens to be amongst the major sins, then the matter becomes more serious.
Examples of doing Haram include working as a prostitute, owning a gambling company or one that produces alcohol or any company producing Haram material such as pornography. Also, a job which results in you being evolved in bribes and corruption.
Examples of encouraging Haram includes Advertisement for any haram items such as promoting alcohol or a gambling company, Working in a financial sector which results in you encourage interest ( Riba )or any job in which you have to encourage customers to do haram acts or buy haram items.
Example of protecting Haram include a security job for a pub, club or providing legal or digital protection for any haram company.
Working for a company, business or a retailer where the main or most action are haram even though you may not be carrying out, encouraging, or protecting Haram.
Example of this include, working as a cashier for a bank[1] or an accountant for a pork company. Here even though you do not engage in riba, eat pork, nor do you encourage riba or the eating of pork, you are nevertheless adding and promoting sins in a general sense, as well as labelling yourself with a Haram yet Allah ( s.w.t) says
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ – 5:2
“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in punishment”.
Jobs where you are not doing the above two( i.e. carrying out, encouraging, or protecting Haram. And you are not working for a company, business or a retailer where the main or most actions are haram) but are handling haram items, are Halal.
Example include working at Asda, Tesco, or most major retails and working as a postman. Here you may have to handle Haram items at such places or as a postman you know some of the letters you are delivering will contain Haram. However, most of your work deals with Halal items. Plus you are not carrying out, encouraging, or protecting Haram act or items. So this job is ok.
Jobs in which there is no connection to Haram are of course Halal.
Example including working for an electric, Gas and Water company. Likewise working at a Halal Food place or working in a furniture place.
The best types of jobs are ones which have no connection to Haram and enable one to pray Salah in the Masjid with the congregation.
Example include working as a freelance carpenter, electrician, driving instructor, and providing any service where you dictate timings to clients such as a tuition teacher.
The evidence for the above rules are as follows :
Allah (s.w.t. ) sayings
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ – 64:16
“fear Allah (s.w.t. ) as much as you can”
Only Allah Knows best.
Written by Maulana Mujahid Hussain
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] Although most money in these current Banks is not from interest, However, the reason for opening and running such a bank is to make money through interest. Their main source of revenue is from interest. Their setup is such if they did not engage in interest, the banks would be in net loss, this means the backbone or the main source of income for these banks is interest-based, even though most money in these banks is not from interest. For this reason, Banks come under this category.