Imam Khamenei – Trading in Inherently Najis Merchandises

Q1. Is it permissible to work in nightclubs, food processing factories, where pork is usually processed, or any other corrupt centres?  What is the ruling on money earned from such work?

A1: It is not permissible to be involved in any ḥarām act, such as selling intoxicants, setting up and managing nightclubs and other places for lewd behaviour, gambling, and consumption of alcohol. Furthermore, any income earned in such a way is ḥarām and one does not own the wages taken for it. As to pork, it is precaution to avoid earning money through it.

Q2. Is it permissible to sell, or give as a gift, alcoholic drinks, pork, or other foodstuffs whose consumption is ḥarām to those who consider it ḥalāl?

A2: It is not permissible to sell, or offer, other intoxicants. However, there is no problem in selling or offering ḥarām foods to the people who do not consider them as ḥarām according to their belief; yet it is precaution to avoid earning money through buying and selling pork.

Q3. Muslims may do business as hoteliers in non-Muslim countries. Given the norms of social behaviour in those countries, the owner has to serve alcoholic drinks and other food, some of which are ḥarām, to the customers. Otherwise, they will not go to his hotel. It is to be noted, however, that the businessman intends to dispose of all profit made on the ḥarām food and drink by giving it to ḥākim of shar’. Is it permissible for him to do so?

A3: There is no problem in doing business as a hotelier or a restaurateur in non-Muslim countries. However, it is not permissible to sell, or offer, intoxicants and one should avoid earning money by selling them. However, there is no problem in selling or offering ḥarām foods to the people who do not consider them as ḥarām according to their belief; yet it is precaution to avoid earning money through buying and selling pork, even if the seller intends to hand over the profit made to ḥākim of shar’.

Q4.
a) What is the rule on scaled fish which dies inside fishing nets?

1. b) Is it allowed to buy/sell inedible water animals? Can we sell them to people who consider eating them as ḥalāl? Is it permissible to trade in them for purposes other than human consumption such as bird and animal feed or manufacturing?

A4: a) Scaled fish which dies inside fishing nets of a fisherman is ḥalāl.

1. b) There is no problem in selling or offering ḥarām foods to the people who do not consider them as ḥarām according to their belief. Otherwise, it is not permissible. However, if they serve some rational, ḥalāl, and beneficial purposes other than their consumption, like in medicine, manufacturing, and feeding birds/animals, there is no problem in doing business in them for the said purposes.

Ayatollah Sistani – UNLAWFUL (ḤARĀM) TRANSACTIONS

Ruling 1. There are many unlawful transactions; some of them are as follows:

1. 
   buying and selling intoxicating drinks, non-hunting dogs, pigs, and – based on obligatory precaution (al‑iḥtiyāṭ al‑wājib) – impure (najis) carcasses, except for what is removed from a living human body to be transplanted into another body. Apart from these, buying and selling an intrinsic impurity (ʿayn al‑najāsah) is permitted if it is for some significant and lawful use, such as buying and selling impure animal waste for use as fertilisers.
2. buying and selling usurped (ghaṣbī) property, if this necessitates having disposal over it, such as handing it over and taking possession of it;
3. transactions with money that is no longer legal tender or with counterfeit money, if the other party is unaware of this. If he is aware, the transaction is permitted if that money has a significant value;
   4. transactions of unlawful objects; that is, things that have been made in a form that is usually utilised in an unlawful manner and its value is due to its unlawful utilisation, such as idols, crucifixes, gambling implements, and instruments of unlawful entertainment.
4. transactions in which there is deceit. It is reported that the Most Noble Messenger (Ṣ) said, ‘One who deceives Muslims in his transactions is not one of us. Allah takes away the blessing of his sustenance, closes the path of his livelihood, and leaves him to himself.’ Deceit can take place in different ways, such as:
5. mixing a good item with a bad one or with something else; for example, mixing milk with water.
6. making an item appear better than it really is; for example, spraying water onto old vegetables to make them appear fresh.
7. feigning an item as something else; for example, gold-plating an item without informing the buyer [that it is not solid gold].
8. concealing a defect in an item when a buyer trusts the seller not to conceal defects.

Ayatollah Makrem Shirazi

Ruling 1: Transactions in the following instances are invalid.

1) Selling and purchase of a source of Najaasah (Aynun-Najaasah). Intended by Najaasah is whatever is inherently Najis (impure), according to obligatory precaution (like urine, stool and blood). Based on this, the selling and buying of fertilizer is objectionable. However, there is nothing preventing benefiting from it. As for the sale of blood and purchase of blood in our times, which is used to save the injured and sick, then, it is permissible. Likewise, is the sale of guard dogs and hunting dogs.

2) The sale and purchase of usurped things except when its owner has endorsed the transaction.

3) The sale and purchase of things that have unlawful advantage like the instruments of gambling and similar examples.

4) The sale and purchase of something that has no value in the common perception although it may possess a value with specific individuals, like many insects.

5) Transactions in which there is interest (Ribaa).

6) The sale and purchase of counterfeited and adulterated commodities when the purchaser is unaware of its state, like selling milk mixed with water or oil mixed with fat or something else. This action is called cheating (Ghashsh) and it is a major sin. It has been reported that the Messenger of Allah, Blessings be upon him and his family said: “He who cheats a Muslim or harms him or deceives him is not from us.”