Working where pork and lottery tickets are sold

29-6-2000 | IslamWeb

Question:

WORKING IN A GAS STATION WHERE YOU SELL LOTTO AND SANDWISHES WHICH HAVE A HAM OR PORK IN IT KNOWING THAT YOU CAN FIND ANOTHER JOB BUT YOU USED TO THIS JOB PLUS KNOWING THAT ABU HANIFA OK THAT ALSO, DO YOU THINK THAT THE HADITH WHICH PRETAIN TO THOSE WHO LIVE IN UNISLAMIC STATE MAY NOT GET THE MERCY OR RAHMA OF ALLAH IN THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT WHILE IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO MUSLIM TO PRACTICE ISLAM IN ITS WHOLE WITHOUT RESERVATION IN ISLALMIC STATE AND AS A RESULT YOU SEE MUSLIM SCATARD ALL OVER THE WORLD SEARCHING FOR DIGNITY, RESPECT, AND PROTECTON FROM BROTHER AND SISTER IN ISLAMIC STATE WHO ARE EITHER IN POWER OR KNOW SOME ONE IN POWER. MAY ALLAH REWARED YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CARE WASLAM ALYKUM.

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
It is prohibited for a Muslim to sell pork. The Prophet forbade it. Jabir said I heard Allah's Apostle, in the year of the Conquest of Mecca, saying, "Allah and His Apostle made illegal the trade of alcohol, dead animals, pigs and idols." The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What about the fat of dead animals, for it was used for greasing the boats and the hides; and people use it for lights?" He said, "No, it is illegal." Allah's Apostle further said, "May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah made the fat (of animals) illegal for them, yet they melted the fat and sold it and ate its price." This Hadith establishes the prohibition of the mentioned things, pork is among them. It is known that Muslims neither eat pork nor sell it to one another. Selling pork is prohibited in general whether it is done among the Muslims or between them and non-Muslims. Probably Hadith prohibits selling it to non-Muslim not to Muslims and this meaning is the first one that strikes one's mind whenever he reads the above mentioned Hadeeth. This is the consensus of Muslim Scholars as Imam Munziri narrated. So this is the correct opinion and one should not give any different statement. Therefore, you should seek an excuse from selling pork. If you are not able to do so then you give up this work and search for Halal work. Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, surely Allah will compensate him with better than what he has given up. What you said about Imam Abu Hanifah is not correct. One should practice what is established through sound evidence and consensus of Scholars. The Hadith you mentioned in your question "Those who live in an UnIslamic State may not get the Mercy of Allah." is not known by these words. But if one approves of or judges favorably the Kufr (disbelief) of non-Muslims and support them, then he becomes Mushrik (polytheist); we seek Allah's refuge from that. Allah Says (Interpretation of meaning): {And if any amongst you takes them as Auliyâ', then surely he is one of them.}[5:51]. So he does not deserve the Mercy of Allah on the Day of Resurrection because Allah does not forgive the one who sets up partners with Him. On the other hand, if one lives in non-Muslim countries without approving their Kufr, and without supporting them then he is disobedient to Allah. But this disobedience does not restrain from the Mercy of Allah.
The Muslim Ummah unanimously agree that if a Muslim dies without committing shirk, his sins, no matter how numerous they are, do not restrain him from getting the Mercy of Allah. Allah Says (Interpretation of meaning): {Verily, Allâh forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allâh in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin.}[4:48] "Anything else" means any sin other than Shirk. There are many Ahadith that establish this point. Yes, there is a Hadith on this matter: the Prophet said: "I am exempt from any Muslim who lives among polytheists." The meaning of this Hadith is to warn Muslims against living in non-Muslim countries. If one does so he gets involved in a grave sin but it does not mean that one becomes Kafir. The meaning of this Hadith is just as the meaning of the Hadith: "If a village's people spend a night while a person among them is hungry, then they become exempted from the guarantee of Allah and His Prophet." If the people of any village do not care about a poor person and leave him hungry, no doubt they commit a grave sin, but it does not mean that they become Kafir. In short, living in a non-Muslim country is prohibited except for the one who is compelled to do so. If one lives there without compulsion, he becomes disobedient of Allah, but not a Kafir. No doubt, there is much corruption and immorality spread in Muslim countries but still they are better than non-Muslim countries. So, for the practice of his religion, it is best for every Muslim to live in a Muslim country and try to make it better.
Allah knows best.