How Can Organizers Avoid Facilitating Guests’ Alcohol Consumption?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I organize university lecture dinners where attendees sometimes bring their own wine. Some restaurants charge a corkage fee for this, which I pay upfront and get reimbursed. Does paying this fee—even temporarily—count as paying for alcohol, and is it sinful to be involved in this way?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Yes, it may be sinful to facilitate alcohol consumption, even indirectly. Paying the fee makes you an active participant, and even reimbursed payments involve initial burden sharing. This can be seen as aiding in sin, which the Quran warns against.
Allah Most High said,
“Do not assist one another in sin and transgression.” [Quran 5:2]
Degrees of Assisting Another in Sin
In the Hanafi School, this has levels:
- It is haram to do that which is a direct cause for sin;
- It is disliked doing that which is an indirect cause for sin;
- It is better to avoid that which could be a cause for sin. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Zayla‘i, Tabyin al-Haqa’iq; Nahlawi, Durar al-Mubaha; ‘Usmani, Fiqh al-Buyu‘]
Possible Alternatives
To avoid, you might consider:
- Choosing venues with no corkage policy (or where alcohol isn’t part of the setting).
- Making it clear in your event guidelines that guests who bring wine must handle their own corkage payments.
- Delegating the booking to someone else.
Related
- What are the principles of work and Assistance in sin? [Video]
- How to Distinguish When Something Is Indirect or Direct Assistance in Sin?
- Is It Permissible to Deliver Haram Things to Non-Muslims?
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
