Fatwa n° 11

Category: Fatwas about financial transactions – Hiring

The ruling regarding working in an air transport company with the presence of evil things

Question:

The first question: the workers in an air transport company, whether they are among those who serve in the plane or the pilot, and there are among the travelers who may drink wine or other prohibited things as it is known concerning the services offered aboard the plane; or are among those who prepare that, such as the engineer working in maintaining planes, are they among those who help one another in sin?

In the same content, concerning a man working with a ship crew, some of them drink wine, and though he admonishes them, they do not respond to his admonishment. So, is this man considered among those stated in His Saying سبحانه وتعالى:

﴿كَانُوا لاَ يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ [المائدة: 79].

The meaning of the verse:

They used not to forbid one another from Al-Munkar (wrong, evil-doing, sins, polytheism, disbelief) which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do﴿ [Al-Mâ’ida: 79]; this is in fact the malediction incurred by the disbelievers among the sons of Israel. In this case, this man admonishes them but still deals with them by virtue of serving the crew. Is he also considered among those about whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

﴿وَلاَ تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءَ ثُمَّ لاَ تُنْصَرُونَ [هود: 113].

The meaning of the verse:

And incline not toward those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you, and you have no protectors other than Allâh, nor you would then be helped﴿ [Hûd: 113]?

Is he among those who follow their passions? In addition, if some wine is carried on this ship, who will incur malediction? Please give us a clarification and an explanation. May Allah reward you.

 

Answer:

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessing be upon whom Allah sent as a mercy to the Worlds, upon his Family, his Companions and his Brothers until the Day of Resurrection:

You have to know that as long as the Muslim is able to accomplish his duties and bear the consequences of his acts, he is allowed to gain his sustenance through the work that is given to him if he is qualified to do it on the condition that the work should not inflict harm on Muslims, bring injustice such as usury or include prohibitions such as working in a club which contains forbidden acts such as dancing, gambling, wine selling and other interdicts; whether the worker does it himself or takes part in doing it materially or morally, practically or verbally; if he does this, he will be -then- considered to be helping and taking part in sin as it is mentioned [in the rule], “Whatever leads to prohibition is itself prohibited”, though the degree of sin differs from one person to another commensurate with their participation.

For this reason, when the Sharia forbids fornication, it forbids all that may lead to it and blocked all the ways, introductions and motives that lead to it such as pornographic pictures, wanton display of beauty like that of Al-Jâhiliyya (the pre-Islamic period of Ignorance), blameworthy mixing [between men and women], insecure and sinful privacy (man and woman being alone), immoral singing that stimulates desires and others.

Also, the Prophet صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم cursed those who take part in practicing Ar-Ribâ (usury) i.e. the scribe and the two witnesses, and cursed those who are involved in bribery i.e. the one who gives the bribe, the one who takes it and the intermediary. In the same context, malediction is stated against the one who extract wine, the one asking for its extraction, the drinker, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the server, the seller, the one who takes its price, the buyer, the one to whom it is bought; everyone of those mentioned incurs malediction in proportion to their involvement, because every participation in sin is a sin; Allah تعالى said:

﴿وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلاَ تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ [المائدة: 2].

The meaning of the verse:

Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwâ (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression﴿ [Al-Mâ’ida: 2].

Having said that, it seems clear for me that the basic principal concerning air and maritime transport companies is that they are not forbidden per se, for the origin of the work is valid; yet some prohibitions accompany the origin. Even so, the origin of the work is not invalidated, because “The prohibition cannot make unlawful the permissible”, and “The branch cannot nullify the origin”. For that reason, he who works far from the burdens of the forbidden in both companies, then he will incur no sin provided that he disapproves of the whole situation, according to the hadith of the Prophet صلَّى الله عليه وآله وسلَّم: “If a wrong deed is committed on the earth, then the one who witnessed and hated it (in another version: condemned it) is like who has not witnessed it. Conversely, the one who did not witness that wrong deed but just approved of it, is like who has witnessed it(1).

Therefore, one have to change the blameworthy acts, the sinful deeds and the prohibitions, which are perpetrated openly according to the degrees of reprobating [bad deeds], lest he should fall in what they are committing. In addition, he should abandon people of sins and perversion and keep away from them for fear that he would incline to them, except in case of necessity and need, according to the two verses stated in the question; Al-Qurtubî said concerning the saying of Allah تعالى:

﴿وَلاَ تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ [هود: 113].

The meaning of the verse:

And incline not toward those who do wrong, lest the Fire should touch you﴿ [Hûd: 113]. “…and it (the verse) indicates that it is obligatory to abandon people of disbelief and sin among people of heresies and others, because befriending them constitutes a kind of disbelief or sin, as friendship could not be founded except on love. A wise man said:

-Inquire not about the man but inquire about his friend.

-Indeed, every man imitates and copies his friend.

However, frequenting an unjust man out of fear of his injustice makes an exception in case of constraint” (2).

Knowing that it is more suitable for him –if he can- to work in another company which is devoid of sins so as to save his religion and honor.

 

The perfect knowledge belongs to Allah عزَّ وجلَّ; and our last prayer is all the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and prayers of Allah are to Muhammad and his Family, Companions and Brothers until the Day of Resurrection.

 


(1) Reported by Abû Dâwûd (4345) from the hadith of Al-‘Urs Ibn ‘Amîra Al-Kindî رضي الله عنه. This hadith is judged good (Haşan) by Al-Albânî in “Sahîh Al-Jâmi‘ ” (689).

(2) See: “Al-Jâmi‘ Li Ahkâm Al-Qur’ân” of Al-Qurtubî” (9/ 72).

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