The Ruling on Money Taken from a Tenant Who Operates Shisha

The questioner : He says: We are a group of partners who own commercial properties, including a complex consisting of a gas station, a grocery store, a butcher shop, a restaurant, and a cafe. These properties are rented out, and among them is this cafe, where the tenant provides shisha or nargileh to any customer who wants it. This arrangement has been in place for a long time. The question here is: What is the ruling on the money taken from the tenant? What is the ruling on renting to him, knowing that he will operate this shisha? And what is the ruling on the money taken from him in previous years? I ask for an answer. May Allah grant you success.

The Shaykh : As for the money taken in past years out of ignorance, when he learned the truth, repented, and turned back to Allah, it is lawful for him, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: . However, if he knew that renting the premises to someone who engages in forbidden activities within them is forbidden, but he was lax in his observance, and then Allah granted him guidance afterward, he must dispose of all the earnings he gained from that, either by giving it in charity, or by contributing to a mosque, or to road repair, or to printing books, or to building schools, or something similar. This is the position of the Honorable Shaykh in these days and others.