Can I Make a Dress for an Idol?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question 

A lady is making a dress for a customer but discovers that the dress is for an idol. What should she do?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. 

May Allah guide us to that which is pleasing to Him. May He protect us from the plot of Satan, Amin.

Making a dress is harmless, even when the customer uses it for evil unless the order was explicitly made “for an idol.” In this case, if the seamstress has not delivered the dress yet, she should preferably not do so. If she had already given the dress to the customer, there is no blame on her for what she did not know, and Allah knows best.

Accountability for One’s Clients

When our products, services, and transactions are lawful, then we are innocent by Allah. A person could, for example, purchase a harmless rope and use it for murder, but you have no control over that. Unless the customer says, “sell me a rope to kill someone with,” which would be unlawful. One has no control over the actions of others and will not be held accountable by Allah for their deeds. Allah says: “And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.” [Qur’an 6:164]

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan. 

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. He served as the resident Imam of Masjid al-Munowar in Retreat, Cape Town, for several years.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.