Buying or Ordering From Muslim Restaurant That Serves Alcohol?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question
Is it permissible to buy or order food from a premise that is fully licensed for alcohol or just BYO, provided, of course, their meat is halal?
Or is it best to avoid such places?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate
I hope you’re doing well, inshaAllah.
In terms of taqwa, it is superior to avoid—and not to support Muslim establishments that serve alcohol or allow it. Muslims are responsible for following the guidance of Allah and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is our duty to command good and forbid the wrong with wisdom and grace.
Keeping Away from the Dubious
al-Nu‘man ibn Bashir (Allah be pleased with him) relates that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
“Indeed, the lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear. Between the are unclear matters that most don’t know about. So whoever avoids the unclear has safeguarded their religion and honor.
And whoever falls into the unclear falls into the unlawful. This is like a shepherd who grazes their flock around a sanctuary, such that is it feared that this folk will end up trespassing.
Truly, every king has a sanctuary, and Allah’s sanctuary is His prohibitions.
Truly, in the body is a morsel of flesh that, if sound, the entire body is sound; and if corrupted, the entire body is corrupted. Truly, it is the heart.” [Agreed Upon – Bukhari; Muslim]
The scholars tell us, “In the lawful, there is complete sufficiency from the unlawful.”
And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center
