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Fatwa CenterEmploying a non-Muslim and responding to his invitation
Question
I work in a firm in which a Hindu has been recently employed. Once, he invited us to attend his sister's wedding and we responded to his invitation. They served dinner but we did not eat anything. However, some people told us that it is not permissible to drink there or even to go to that wedding in the first place.
Given that all other employees are Muslims, what is the Sharee‘ah ruling on employing this person in this firm? What is the ruling on eating and drinking from their food and drinks and on socializing with them?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. In principle, it is permissible to employ a non-Muslim in a Muslim-owned firm; however, it is preferable to look for Muslim employees. If the owner of the firm manages to find a Muslim who is as efficient as the non-Muslim and receives the same wage, and he does not find any advantages that make the non-Muslim better than the Muslim, then he should employ the Muslim. If the owner of the firm fails to do so, this would indicate a defect in his faith and would detract from his allegiance towards Islam. Responding to the invitation of a non-Muslim to a meal is permissible as long as he does not offer unlawful or partially unlawful food and as long as there is nothing prohibited by the Sharee‘ah there. It was reported on the authority of Anas We emphasize that the Muslims' obligation towards non-Muslims is to do their utmost to call them to Islam. The Muslim can give them Islamic books and audio cassettes in their language as gifts. They can seek help to obtain these books and tapes from Da‘wah (Islamic propagation) centers that are available in many countries, and all perfect praise be to Allaah. Allaah Knows best. 
that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, responded to the invitation of a Jew and ate his food. [Ahmad]
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