What is the ruling on haram wealth for one who embraced Islam after acquiring it from haram sources, such as the trade of narcotics?
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The questioner : O Shaykh (may Allah preserve him), we have a brother in the city who came from America and recently embraced Islam. During his days of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, he acquired a great deal of wealth through the trade of narcotics. He brought this wealth with him, built a magnificent library with it, and married three women with it. Recently, he was told that it is not permissible for him to give this wealth in charity, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is Good and accepts only that which is good. He asks you what he must do with this wealth and how accurate this statement is?
The Shaykh : We say to this brother, whom Allah has blessed with Islam after he acquired haram wealth: I tell him, let him be glad, for this wealth is halal for him, halal, and there is no sin upon him in it, neither in keeping it with him, nor in what he built with it, nor in what he married with it. This is because Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Book:[Al-Anfal 8:38] All that has passed, and "what" "what " is one of the forms of generality, because it is a relative pronoun, meaning: everything that preceded is forgiven, even if he had killed a soul, meaning a forbidden soul, or taken wealth, it is forgiven for him. But the wealth he usurped from its owner, he must return it to him. As for the wealth he acquired through mutual consent between people, even if it is haram, such as what he acquired through riba (usury or interest) or narcotics or otherwise, it is halal for him. This is based on His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Anfal 8:38] And likewise, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to 'Amr ibn al-'As when he embraced Islam: Mishkat al-Masabih 28Sahīh (Zubair `Aliza'i) It demolishes what remains of it.
Many of the disbelievers embraced Islam after they had killed some of the Muslims, and yet they were not held accountable for what they had done. So tell this brother that his wealth is halal and there is no harm in it. Let him give charity from it, and let him marry a second woman if he has only one, and a third and fourth if he knows, and let him do what he wishes... As for what was said to him, it is not based on a principle.
The Shaykh : We say to this brother, whom Allah has blessed with Islam after he acquired haram wealth: I tell him, let him be glad, for this wealth is halal for him, halal, and there is no sin upon him in it, neither in keeping it with him, nor in what he built with it, nor in what he married with it. This is because Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Book:
Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them
قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَSay to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them
قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَIslam demolishes what preceded it
إن الإسلام يهدم ما قبلهMany of the disbelievers embraced Islam after they had killed some of the Muslims, and yet they were not held accountable for what they had done. So tell this brother that his wealth is halal and there is no harm in it. Let him give charity from it, and let him marry a second woman if he has only one, and a third and fourth if he knows, and let him do what he wishes... As for what was said to him, it is not based on a principle.