It is not permissible to rent property to a tenant who carries out forbidden activities, such as selling wines, drugs or pornography, or to someone who carries out usurious transactions. This ruling is stated by Shaikh Abdullah ibn Jibreen.
A man’s wife and children who are unable to earn their own living through lawful means may live on the unlawful earnings of their husband or father. However, they must try their best to persuade him to find a different job that gives him only lawful earnings. This is the ruling stated in Decision 23 (11-3) of the Islamic Fiqh Council.
It is permissible for Muslim students to obtain loans offered by non-Muslim governments to their citizens during their university studies, providing such loans are free of any usurious increase related to the living cost indicator. This is stated in Decision 4-18 of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
It is obligatory for a Muslim who is earning wages through the work he does to inform the relevant government authorities of this. It is forbidden for a Muslim to claim unemployment benefit while he is in work unless his earnings are within the low-pay limits the government allows for those who are employed. This is the ruling of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
It is permissible for a Muslim to become a partner in a commercial company when the source of funds provided by other partners may vary, with some legitimately earned and some borrowed at interest. However a condition applies here: The loans must not be secured against a mortgage of the company’s assets. Moreover, the Muslim partner must have the authority to run the business, or to be able to monitor its activities to ensure that they are consistent with Islamic law. This is the ruling stated in Fatwa No. 1-16 of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. The late Shaikh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baz said in his relevant fatwa: In principle, it is permissible for a Muslim to be in partnership in a commercial enterprise with a non-Muslim, provided that such partnership does not lead to a relationship of alliance or to commit or neglect something God has forbidden or made obligatory. Moreover, the Muslim partner should be the one who is in control. Nevertheless, it is preferable not to have such a partnership but rather to seek Muslim partners.
Scholars have two different views regarding taking the interest from one’s bank account and giving it to charities. The first view considers that it is not permissible to deposit one’s money in a usurious bank in the first place. If one finds it necessary to do so in order to keep his money safe and he does not receive interest on it, then there is no harm. However, if the account earns interest, then it is not permissible. If he uses the funds that represent the interest, out of ignorance or carelessness, and then repents he should give the money to charity and not add it to his own account. This is the view of Shaikh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baz.
Contemporary scholars have given two different opinions on this question. The first view, which is the view of the majority of scholars, including the Islamic Fiqh Council and Shaikh Muhammad ibn Uthaimeen and other scholars, makes it forbidden for a Muslim to buy a house through usurious financing in any situation.
Normally, working for a usurious bank is prohibited. This is endorsed by the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatwa and Shaikh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baz. Decision 7-5 of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America suggests making an exception for jobs that do not involve dealing directly with usury, which includes preparing documentation, acting as a witness or providing any help or service, if one needs to take up such a job because one cannot find a legitimate job elsewhere.
It is not permissible for a Muslim who invests or works in the shops that are part of petrol stations, or anywhere else, to sell the lottery tickets or other forbidden articles that are normally sold in such places.
It is permissible for a Muslim to work or invest in such shops provided that the buyer and seller exchange goods and money in situations where such an exchange is required.
Decision 13-5 of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America makes clear that it is perfectly permissible to receive the price of the goods one sells through payment by credit card.
Letting space to install cash machines (ATMs) for people to obtain cash is permissible according to Decision 13-5 of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, adopted at its fifth convention held in 1428 AH, 2007, in Manama, Bahrain, and Decision 5-18 of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
In Decision 13 of the fifth convention, held in Manama, Bahrain, 1428 AH, 2007, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America stated that a Muslim may not make an application to open a restaurant or fast-food cafeteria which sells forbidden items of food or drink unless his application is limited to the food and drink that are permissible in Islam.
When a Muslim lives in a non-Muslim country he is exposed to integration or assimilation in society. This may result in shedding some religious and cultural aspects that are essentially Islamic. What should be a Muslim’s attitude to integration? Can integration be achieved while retaining such essentials?
It is the duty of a Muslim to support his Muslim brother. This duty may be a collective one, in which once support is given in sufficient measure the duty is rendered to have been discharged, or it may be a personal one, when the support is not enough without him and he is able to give it.
Scholars have expressed two different views on this question. The first view says that a Muslim leaving a Muslim country to live in a non-Muslim one is permissible provided that he is able to declare his faith without being harmed and does not fear to yield to temptation.
Religious coexistence is an ambiguous term that means several things, including peaceful coexistence between the followers of different religions and agreeing a formula that ensures the common interests of all groups, particularly those living in the same regions or having common interests that require their cooperation. It may also mean trying to concoct something out of different faiths, or putting together a common religious framework that dilutes the distinctive beliefs of different religions.
If a non-Muslim wishes to take part in Islamic prayer alongside Muslims he must not be prevented, particularly if it is felt that this will incline him towards Islam. However, he should be in a separate row or at the end of a row, so that the rows are not interrupted. It is generally agreed that belief is a condition for the validity and acceptability of all actions. This view is endorsed by the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (Decision 14-5) and by Shaikh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baz.
