Is It Permissible for Us to Eat in a Bar?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is it a sin if one goes to a restaurant to only eat food and not go to the bar, none of us will drink. We would only be sitting away from the bar and eating the food.
Is this haram and sinful?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well.
It is disliked to eat at a table where wine is being drunk, as has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), that he forbade Muslims to eat at a table where wine is being drunk. [Hakim, al-Mustadrak; Abu Dawud]
Another reason is that sitting at a table where alcohol is consumed increases the gathering of sinful people. And it shows acceptance of what they are doing, and that is not permissible for Muslims. [Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut]
Bar-Equipped Restaurants Run by Muslims
In the above Hadith we find the prohibition relates to “sitting at a table where alcohol is consumed,” so as long as that is avoided, there is no sin. Although, such places might be restaurants that are owned by Muslims, they are best to be avoided. Unless one is travelling, or there is a reasonable consideration, and one finds no alternative.
Bar-Equipped Restaurants Run by Non-Muslims
As for restaurants and bars, owned by non-Muslims, the ruling is stricter because they are places of sin and there is a strong possibility of contamination of food and drink items.
Caution
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt.” [Tirmidhi]
However, when difficult, like there is no other halal place than it, or there are other reasonable considerations, then you should stay within the limits, and you’ll be rewarded as per your intention and not as to what actually happened. This is the mercy of our Religion.
Below are some links for you to understand the issue further:
Buying or Ordering From Muslim Restaurant That Serves Alcohol – SeekersGuidance
Should I Eat at Restaurants With Food Cross-Contamination Problems?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
