What is the ruling on dealing with a man whose wealth is partly forbidden and partly lawful, and is it permissible for one who hosts him to eat at his place or accept a gift from him?
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The questioner : Now, if a man gives us, for example, a gift of food, and he works in a job that contains both lawful and unlawful earnings, does this person eat from this gift? Or if he visits him at his home, does he also eat from his food and hope for good from him?
The Shaykh : First, the criterion is what predominates in this person’s earnings, whether lawful or unlawful. Whichever predominates, he takes its ruling. If the predominant part is forbidden, it is forbidden; if the predominant part is lawful, it is lawful. Second, suppose it is forbidden, like a bank manager, for example, or any employee in a bank who has no other earnings except this forbidden wealth. We direct the question to such a person. The answer is that the one who eats from his food or accepts his gift looks at his intention—the intention of the eater and the one who receives the gift. If he does not want anything behind it except the perishable things of this world, i.e., worldly gain, then it is not permissible. But if he wants to take that as a means and a way to offer him advice to purify his earnings, then it is permissible from the perspective of this public benefit that he aims for. This is because we know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to eat from the food of the polytheists as long as it did not contain what is forbidden by the Shari'ah, just as he used to eat from the food of the People of the Book. The story of the Jewish woman who presented a sheep’s leg to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and had put poison in it is well known, and it is a sound story. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not refrain from eating from the food of this Jewish woman. Therefore, if a Muslim eats from the food of one whose earnings are forbidden, and he seeks behind that not wealth, but rather to draw near to that person to bring him closer to enjoining good and forbidding evil, that is the conclusion.
The questioner : I have a question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : First, the criterion is what predominates in this person’s earnings, whether lawful or unlawful. Whichever predominates, he takes its ruling. If the predominant part is forbidden, it is forbidden; if the predominant part is lawful, it is lawful. Second, suppose it is forbidden, like a bank manager, for example, or any employee in a bank who has no other earnings except this forbidden wealth. We direct the question to such a person. The answer is that the one who eats from his food or accepts his gift looks at his intention—the intention of the eater and the one who receives the gift. If he does not want anything behind it except the perishable things of this world, i.e., worldly gain, then it is not permissible. But if he wants to take that as a means and a way to offer him advice to purify his earnings, then it is permissible from the perspective of this public benefit that he aims for. This is because we know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to eat from the food of the polytheists as long as it did not contain what is forbidden by the Shari'ah, just as he used to eat from the food of the People of the Book. The story of the Jewish woman who presented a sheep’s leg to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and had put poison in it is well known, and it is a sound story. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not refrain from eating from the food of this Jewish woman. Therefore, if a Muslim eats from the food of one whose earnings are forbidden, and he seeks behind that not wealth, but rather to draw near to that person to bring him closer to enjoining good and forbidding evil, that is the conclusion.
The questioner : I have a question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
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