Home » Hanafi Fiqh » Qibla.com » Selling televisions and radios: Is my income halal?

Selling televisions and radios: Is my income halal?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

I work for a shop that sells Islamically useless things such as Televisions and Radios. I want to know if this income is Halal. I also would like to know if possible the opinion of the Hanafi jurists since I know a Hanafi brother working under similar circumstances.

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Anything that has a normal use that is permitted in the Shariah is permitted to sell, even if there is likelihood that it may be used for the haram. [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Such sales would not be considered assisting in sin because the sin itself is not the direct result of the sale but the free choice of another. Had purchaser wanted, they could have realistically used the item sold in a permitted manner.

In cases where there is some degree of ‘indirect assistance’, it would be somewhat disliked (makruh tanzihan) to the extent of that assistance. This would not, however, affect the lawfulness of the earnings themselves.

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) recommended to traders and businessmen to give in charity, however, to purify their wealth of any accidental wrongdoings, and the drosses of potentially doubtful transactions. [Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i, Ibn Maja; it is a sound hadith]

See attached answer(s).

However, things that do not have permitted uses according to the Shariah–such as wine, pork, lottery tickets, pornography, unslaughtered meat, and the like–are unlawful and sinful to sell even to non-Muslims.

It is essential that anyone in business and serious about Allah and the Last Day learn the essentials of the fiqh of commerce and trade, and the halal and haram related to these, and to apply the vital principle that:

One should not engage in any activity without knowing the ruling of Allah regarding it. [Sharh al-Tariqa]

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,

Faraz Rabbani

َعَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ أَبِي غَرْزَةَ – بِغَيْنٍ مُعْجَمَةٍ ثُمَّ رَاءٍ ثُمَّ زَايٍ مَفْتُوحَاتٍ – الصَّحَابِيِّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ : { خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَنَحْنُ نُسَمَّى السَّمَاسِرَةَ فَقَالَ : يَا مَعْشَرَ التُّجَّارِ إنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ وَالْإِثْمَ يَحْضُرَانِ الْبَيْعَ فَشُوبُوا بَيْعَكُمْ بِالصَّدَقَةِ } رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَقَالَ : حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .

 

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.