His father owns a liquor store

23/02/2011| IslamWeb

Question:

I live with my family in the USA and then my dad have liquor store when I told him we have to get out and looking for Halaal and he said am not going to sell  in cheap  price do I perpetrate  sins  when  I help and Allah  know  that I don't want to help him but I don't want  him to say  that  I disobey  to  him  please  tell  me  the  right  way? If my daddy sold  the  store  and  get  the  money  and open Halaal  business  do  god will  forgive  us  because  I being  say   to  my  dad  everyday  sell  it where  we  going  to  escape  from Allah  in  that  day  please  tell  me what  to  do?

 

Fatwa:

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

Selling intoxicants (liquor) is one of the major great sins. The seller is cursed by the Prophet who said: "Allah has cursed intoxicants, its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its presser, the one who demands it to be pressed, its carrier, the one to whom it is conveyed and the one who consumes its price." [Abu Daawood] A similar narration is reported by Imaams At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad.

 

Selling intoxicants is among the major great sins whether it is sold expensively or cheaply. Most probably, the sin may increase if one sells at a high price because whenever the forbidden earnings increase the sin also becomes intensified.

 

Therefore, your father has to fear Allah, repent immediately and should give up selling intoxicants. You are not allowed to offer any kind of help in this trade, if you help him you will participate in the sin. Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted, Says (which means): {And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.}[Quran 5:2]. Your hindrance from helping your father is not considered as being undutiful to him as the obedience of parents is restricted only in lawful matters. Obeying them in unlawful matters is forbidden. The Prophet said: "No obedience (to somebody) is allowed in disobeying Allah, for obedience is required only in what is permitted." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

 

You and your father both should repent to Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted; whoever repents to Allah, He accepts his repentance and grants him forgiveness. Allah Says (which means): {But indeed, I am the Perpetual Forgiver of whoever repents and believes and does righteousness and then continues in guidance.}[Quran 20:82].

 

As for your living and eating from your father's income, if his income is mixed (lawful and unlawful) or unlawful income prevails then you may eat it but it is undesirable. If the income of your father is solely unlawful then you are not allowed to eat it unless you are poor and unable to earn then you may take only what suffices your dire needs till you become able to earn for yourself.

 

As for the prayer at that place, we hope that it is valid if it is performed fulfilling all its conditions and compulsory actions.

 

You may get the addresses of Islamic centers by consulting any Islamic center in California. It is also possible to take the print out of Fataawa from our site that prove the prohibition of intoxicants and its harms and to distribute them among Muslims.

Finally, we encourage you to advise your father and other Muslim brothers who are involved in such business to give up this practice and remind them of the punishment of Allah, His wrath, the Day of Judgment and the time of standing in front of Allah, bare footed and naked in a Day equal to fifty thousand years. In this matter, you may seek the help of pious brothers, responsible persons of Islamic centers and Imaams and Khateebs of mosques, in addition to supplicating Allah to guide them and, He will accept the supplications, Inshaa' Allah.

 

We ask Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted, to improve the conditions of all Muslims.

 

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by:The Fatwa Center at Islamweb