Selling alcohol

Hmm, I haven't heard this view before

Q.I work at a gas station and they sell beer, wine, cigarettes there too. They make most of their money by selling gas. I work there as assistant manager and usually work in the morning. In the morning they don't really sell beer or wine, but cigarettes they sell all the time.Since I work there as assistant manager I try my best to stay away from doing haram things, like standing on the register, filling up the beer cooler and many other haram things but i cannot stay away from them all the time(I prefer to do halal things there like cleaning, making coffee, filling up the non alcoholic beverages cooler, fixing candies.). I also have to place grocery order twice a week there.I don't make the order of beer or wine but making cigarettes order is part of my job.Please help me.

A In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We commend you for your concern regarding the source of your income.

As a principle, two aspects are considered when analysing the Shari’ah compliancy of any job:

1) The nature of the job itself.

2) The source of the funds from which the employees will be remunerated.

You state you do the cleaning, make coffee, fill up the non alcoholic beverages cooler, fix candies and make orders for stock. These jobs you do at the gas station are of a halāl nature.

With regards to scanning alcohol at the register, it is permissible according to the view of Imām Abu Hanīfah. The person who stands at a register is merely handing over the item bought to the customer. The individual at the cash register is similar to one who transports wine. The opinion of Imām Abu Hanīfah regarding the transporter of wine is that it is permissible to do so. Such a job does not constitute to assistance in sin. The hadīth which states that the transporter of wine is accursed is referring to the one who intends sin when transporting the wine.[ii] The cashier here does not intend sin, he merely intends to do his job and check out the item on behalf of the buyer.

Likewise, when filling up the beer cooler, you are not giving wine to anybody to drink. You are merely transporting it to another place. Hence, according to Imam Abu Hanīfah rahimahullah, this will also be permissible. According to Imam Abu Yūsuf and Imam Muhammad rahimahumllah, the above jobs do constitute in sin and will be regarded as assistance in sin. However, the view of Imam Abu Hanīfah rahimahullah is the stronger of the two views, hence it will be permissible.

The majority of the revenue is accrued by the sale of gas. Hence, the income is also halāl.

In conclusion, your job at the gas station is permissible and the income is also halāl. However, still try your utmost to stay away from the alcohol considering the view of Imam Abu Yūsuf and Imam Muhammad.

And Allah swt Knows Best

Mawlana Faraz Ibn Adam,
Student Darul Iftaa
UK
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Husain Kadodia.

Comments

i dont think it was allowed to drink alcohol in a kilafa.

Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

Drinking alcohol would only be disallowed for Muslims not for all the other people.

Even then, Islam is anti spying/suspicion so even in those cases, it would only be when it is public drinking.

(Policing in the earlier days would also not be as stringent as it can be now through the use of technology.)

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

im talking abt selling and just general commerce of alcohol. i don't think it was allowed. maybe they were allowed to drink in their house and somehow got the alcohol but...

Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?