Ruling on taking rent for a barbershop
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His Eminence the Shaykh: A questioner asks that he has a relative who has a barbershop rented to a worker, and he advised him that this work is forbidden, that the money is illicit, and that it is not permissible to shave the beards of Muslims.So he said: I did not take from the worker anything but the rent for the shop, which is one hundred and fifty riyals, and people are free to shave their beards, and I did not force them to shave them at his place. So if you bring me a fatwa from Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz or Shaykh Muhammad, may Allah preserve them, forbidding the renting of the shop, I will close the shop. So what do you say, O Shaykh, about that? And is there any advice you direct to those of the people who are afflicted with consuming wealth wrongfully?
I say, may Allah reward him with good for this and for his trust in me. As for Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz, he is a place of trust, and I hope that I am likewise, if Allah wills.I say to the brother: If this barbershop has a sign written on it that is enforced, stating: "Shaving beards is prohibited," and if he writes this phrase and refuses to anyone who asks him to shave a beard, then there is no harm in seeking the provision of Allah. But if he will shave for whoever asks him to shave, whether it is shaving the head or the beard, then it is not permissible, and he must replace this barbershop with something better than it. And whoever leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah replaces it with something better than it. So the result is that opening barbershops for shaving involves a distinction: if a person will refrain from shaving what is forbidden to shave, then there is no harm; this is one of the means of provision. And if he will shave what the person asks for, even if it is forbidden, then it is not permissible.
I say, may Allah reward him with good for this and for his trust in me. As for Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz, he is a place of trust, and I hope that I am likewise, if Allah wills.I say to the brother: If this barbershop has a sign written on it that is enforced, stating: "Shaving beards is prohibited," and if he writes this phrase and refuses to anyone who asks him to shave a beard, then there is no harm in seeking the provision of Allah. But if he will shave for whoever asks him to shave, whether it is shaving the head or the beard, then it is not permissible, and he must replace this barbershop with something better than it. And whoever leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah replaces it with something better than it. So the result is that opening barbershops for shaving involves a distinction: if a person will refrain from shaving what is forbidden to shave, then there is no harm; this is one of the means of provision. And if he will shave what the person asks for, even if it is forbidden, then it is not permissible.