Category: Financial Issues

Wa Alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All Praise and Thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In response to the question, Dr. Monzer Kahf, Professor of Islamic Economics and Finance, Istanbul Zaim University, says,

Allah’s mercy did not make Halal on all levels or Haram on all levels. While we are advised to avoid Riba, liquor, and pork in general, we should keep in mind that there are always surrounding areas where each is prohibited to varying degrees. In this regard, we must consult Sunnah texts to determine the various levels.

In addition to taking Riba, three related activities are also Haram: giving it, writing its contract, and being a witness to it. According to the Prophet (peace be upon him), ten activities related to alcohol are Haram, including brewing, transporting, selling, and serving it. Eating pig meat is forbidden (this applies to any eatable thing in the pig because it is then like meat). Of course, another hadith states that the cost of any Haram item is also Haram. This is true for both pork and liquor.

As a result, while handling liquor is Haram, handling pork is NOT; while writing Riba contracts is Haram, recording them in the accounts after they are completed is NOT; renting a building to a bank is NOT; and while serving liquor is Haram, sitting with a drinker is NOT.

This is not to say that doing any of the aforementioned actions is beautiful; they are in the vicinity of Haram but not exactly within the line. Of course, packaging liquor is part of its service, as is having a lawyer review a Riba contract.

My answer is simple: try to avoid packaging or transporting pork whenever possible, and if you must, make Istighfar (seeking Allah’s Forgiveness) and possibly support it with a charitable donation to a Muslim cause, because good deeds always outnumber bad.

Allah Almighty knows best.