Shafaqna English- Questions on Muslims issues in the West and answers from the Grand Ayatollah Sistani based on the text of the book: “A Code of Practice For Muslims in the West” by ‘Abdul Hadi As-Seyyed Muhammad Taqi Al-Hakim.
Question & Answer
Question: A Muslim works in a non-Muslim country, in a private office, or in a government office, or on contract for a specific project where he is paid by the hour. Is it permissible for him to waste some hours or work negligently or intentionally delay the job? Does he deserve the full wages?
Answer: This is not allowed; and if one does it, he is not entitled to full wages.
Related Question
Question 1: Some Muslims deal in the manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an which they import from Muslim countries. Is this permissible? If the obstacle in selling is the law that forbids selling the Qur’an to non-Muslims, is it possible to overlook this condition so that the deal may be legitimate? If it is permissible, how do we bypass this condition?
Answer: We do not allow this since it is detrimental to the [intellectual and cultural] heritage of the Muslims and their resources.
Question 2: Is it permissible to deal in manuscripts, art works, and Islamic artifacts by importing them from Muslim countries with the purpose of selling them at high prices in, for example, European countries? Or is this considered ruinous to Islamic heritage, and therefore not permissible?
Answer: We do not allow this for the reason mentioned earlier.
Question 3: During some nights the clubs are filled with their non-Muslim customers who usually get drunk, and come out looking for restaurants to eat their meal. Is it permissible for a Muslim to work in such restaurants to serve permissible food to drunkards and sober customers alike? Is it a sin, if that permissible food helps in decreasing the effect of intoxication or other similar effect?
Answer: On its merits, there is no problem in this.
Question 4: Is it permissible for a Muslim to sell pork to those who believe it is permissible for them like the Ahlul Kitab?
Answer: It is not permissible to deal in pork at all.
Question 5: Is it permissible to work at a store that sells pork in the sense that the Muslim supervisor asks one of his employees to give pork to the customer?
Answer: It is not permissible to sell pork, even to those who consider it lawful, be it directly or through an intermediary. As for handling pork for those who consider it lawful, there is problem in it; however, based on obligatory precaution, one should refrain from it.
Question 6: A person knows for sure that one day he will see a haram scene on television or video. Is it then permissible to buy it?
Answer: The reason compels him not to buy.
Question 7: You have said that a Muslim is allowed to buy lottery tickets, if he intends to contribute to a charitable cause, i.e. with no intention of winning the prize. Now, if a Muslim intends that he is donating some part of the price of the lottery ticket for a charitable cause that the lottery company chooses, and the rest of the price is with the intention of winning the prize—would it be permissible to buy the lottery ticket with such intention?
Answer: It is not permissible.
Question 8: Is a Muslim allowed to work in grocery stores that sell liquor in one of its sections, and his work is only as a cashier?
Answer: He is allowed to receive the price of items other than liquor and also the price of liquor, if the buyers are non-Muslims.
Question 9: A printer in the West prints the menus of restaurants. Such menus include pork. Is this allowed? Is he allowed to print the advertisements for pubs and establishments that provide forbidden entertainment knowing well that his business will be affected, if he does not print these kinds of materials?
Answer: It is not permissible for him to do that even if it affects his business.
- Religious questions in Graph
- Ayatollah Sistani’s fatwas
- Religious questions and answers
- Shia answers
- Read more: Shafaqna Directory
Source: sistani.org