Working With Non Halal Food

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: Is it permissible to deliver non-halal foods? I am considering working as a food delivery driver. This may involve having to deliver food and drink such as pork and alcohol.

Answer: Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

My dear brother, I pray you are well.

Assisting in Sin

This issue returns to the fiqh principle of assisting in sin. According to Imam Abu Hanifa, the actual form of employment is permissible. Whoever the food or wine got to would ingest it voluntarily, through personal choice – which you are not responsible for. (Zayla’i, Tabyin al Haqa’iq)

However, given that Imam Abu Yusuf and Muhammad – the most prominent students of Imam Abu Hanifa – and the other three schools of fiqh consider it impermissible, it would be superior for you to seek alternative forms of employment.

It is better for your source of income to be a profession that all of the righteous mujtahid imams agreed on. This would be better for your relationship with Allah if it is something that is achievable in your situation.

Please refer to our archived answers on assisting in sin.

The Virtue of Asking

May Allah reward you abundantly for making the effort to ask before accepting the job. This is one of the implications of the verse ”Ask those who know the reminder if you do not.” (Qur’an,16:43) Doing so ensures that you have a sound answer to present on the Day of Judgement, and you have the reward of others who benefit from the answer.

May Allah reward you with the best of both worlds.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with erudite scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish, and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic with teachers such as Dr. Ashraf Muneeb, Dr. Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, and others. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabir and Shaykh Yahya Qandil. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.