Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterIs one sinful if he sees alcohol in a shop where he works and doesn't throw it away?
Question
Assalamu AlaikumAm I sinful if I see alcohol in the Shop I often work it and don’t throw it away so I mean if it is for example your boss and he is a Muslim and buys and keeps Alcohol because a friend of his wants him to buy it and store it, tho (the boss) doesn’t drink but just buys it and keeps it for a friend to pick it up and If I throw it away the Boss would be angry and yelling at me so am I committing in a sin or even worse a major sin that might put the curse of Allah upon me if I DO NOT throw away the bottles of Alcohol.JazzakAllah KhairAssalamu Alaikum
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.
There is no doubt that what your friend is doing is reprehensible, as it is forbidden to provide any kind of assistance in drinking alcohol.
Forbidding evil is a communal obligation (fard kifayah), and it may be fard 'ayn (individual obligation) if the person is in a place where there are no others to forbid evil, as An-Nawawi 
said. A hadeeth reported in Sahih Muslim explains the phases of forbidding evil. The Prophet said: “Whoever amongst you sees an evil, he must change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is unable to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest form of faith”. Although the hadeeth mentions changing an evil with the hand first, the scholars state that one begins changing evil with the tongue and then with the hand. Ibn al-Arabi, may Allaah havem mercy upon him, mentioned this in his book Ahkam al-Qur’an.
So admonish your friend verbally in a good manner, and remind him of Allah Almighty and his painful punishment. If you fear harm, it is sufficient for you to deny it in your heart, and there will be no sin on you for that.
As for forbidding evil by hand, it applies to one who has authority over the one who does the evil, but if he does not have authority over him, then it is most likely that changing by hand would result in evil consequences and, in your case, you are merely a worker for this man, with no authority over him, and you might live in a country where alcohol is permitted - Allah forbid - and is protected by law.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
