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Fatwa CenterWearing clothes that bear Nike logo
Question
Is it permissible to wear clothes that bear the Nike loge? And is it haram to give such items for charity to other Muslims or non-Muslims.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
We have already issued fatwas 5810 and 82398 highlighting that it is forbidden to wear clothing that bears the Nike logo because it is the name of one of the Greek gods; thus, it represents a polytheistic symbol; so please refer to the above fatwas.
With regard to the brands imported from the non-Muslims, in principle there is nothing wrong in using the things on which these brands are marked, unless they include Islamic prohibitions, such as the symbols of non-Muslim religions or beliefs and so forth.
The Standing Committee for issuing Fataawa in Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa which reads as follows:
“There are some details about the clothing that bear the logos of non-Muslims, as follows:
1- If these logos symbolize polytheistic religions, such as the cross and the like: then in such case it is not permissible to import these clothes, sell them, or wear them.
2- If these logos symbolize glorifying a disbeliever, such as putting his picture, or writing his name, and so on: then this is also forbidden like the first case.
3- If these logos do not symbolize worship and do not glorify a person but are only permissible trademarks, then there is no harm in them.”
Since it is forbidden to wear clothes that bear that logo, then they should not be given for a Muslim to wear them while they bear that logo regardless of whether giving it to him is with the intention of charity or as a gift and the like.
They should also not be given to a non-Muslim to wear them because the non-Muslims are also addressed by the branches of the Islamic legislation according to the preponderant opinion of the scholars, which is also the view that we adopt here at Islamweb. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 85569.
We have already highlighted in our Arabic website that it is not permissible to help a non-Muslim in what is forbidden in Islam.
Ahkaam Ahluth-Thimmah (The Rulings on the Thimmi people [Thimmi means Jew or Christian living under the care of the Muslim state]), authored by Ibn Al-Qayyim, reads:
“The narration of Muhammad ibn Yahya Al-Kahhaal (from Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) reads about a man who has a Christian wife or a slave-girl and she tells him, ‘Buy me a sash (worn by Christians);’ he does not buy it for her, and she should go out herself to buy it. He (Imaam Ahmad) was asked, ‘His maid makes sashes;’ he replied, ‘No (she should not be allowed to do that).’ Al-Qaadhi said, ‘His saying, 'He does not buy it for her,' is because the sash is intended to show the rituals of disbelief; it is for this reason that he forbade him from buying it, and he should not allow his maid to make sashes because he is the one who benefits from the compensation (the money and profit made from them) and it becomes his property, just as it is forbidden to sell silk garments to men if it is known that they will wear them, and it is also forbidden to sell grape juice for whomever would turn it into wine.’”
If it is possible to remove that logo from the clothes or blur it, then there is no harm from benefiting from such clothes, whether by wearing them or gifting them to others, as long as the reason for which they are forbidden no longer exists. The ruling, as it is known, depends on the reason for the prohibition, and if there is no reason for the prohibition, then it is not prohibited.
Allah knows best.
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