Can I Work for a Restaurant Serving Pork and Alcohol?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: I just got a job as a server at a seafood restaurant. Even though I won’t be preparing the pork or alcohol directly, I’ll still have to serve it to the customer if they order it. Can I work at such a place? Should I quit the job since it serves these two things?

Answer: assalamu alaykum

Actually serving pork and alcohol to customers would be problematic and impermissible. You should avoid this line of work and find an alternative.

If immediately leaving this job will cause significant difficulty to you, such as inability to pay rent and fulfill basic needs, it would be permitted for you to continue working in this role while you actively seek out an alternative and permissible line of work.

Wassalam,
[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.