Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

i m a degree holder (Hotel management & catering tech.)i m working in a 5 star hotel where wine is served i have no other option.
what should i do?
my parents want me 2 work as, i have done diploma above mentioned.
they say its not an islamic country 2 c every where halaal &haraam. 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Alcohol wine in restaurant

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statement: ….they say its not an islamic country 2 c every where halaal &haraam. 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 31 Surah Luqman verse 33:

O mankind! Avoid the Wrath of your Lord, and fear the Day, when no father shall avail anything for his son; nor shall any son avail anything for his father. Allah’s Promise is surely True! So let not this world’s life deceive you, nor let The Deceiver (the Shaytaan) deceive you concerning Allah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 57 Surah Hadid verse 4:

4 He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of Authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it; what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you (with His Knowledge) wheresoever ye may be. And Allah sees well all that ye do.

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, absolutely regardless of wheresoever one may be in the universe…absolutely regardless of whether one happens to live in solitude in the remotest part of the universe….absolutely regardless of whether one happens to live in the midst of believers or pagans….absolutely regardless of whether one lives in an Islamic nation or a non-Islamic nation, etc……one who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day should know with absolute conviction that he is not ‘out-of-bounds’ of the All-Encompassing Knowledge of Allah Subhanah!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 5083 Narrated by Abu Dharr

Allah's Messenger (saws) said to him, "Fear Allah wherever you are; if you follow an evil deed with a good one you will obliterate it.”

One who believes in Allah and the Last Day and hopes to refrain from inviting the Wrath and Anger and The Eternal Punishment of the Lord Most High is bound by their covenant of belief to indulge only in what is lawful and abstain from what is unlawful….wheresoever they may be in the Universe!

Your Question: i m a degree holder (Hotel management & catering tech.)i m working in a 5 star hotel where wine is served i have no other option.
what should i do?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 90-91:

90 O ye who believe! Intoxicants (wine, alcohol, etc.), and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination of the Shaytaan's handiwork: eschew (stay far away from) such (abomination) that ye may prosper.

91 The Shaytaan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the Remembrance of Allah and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2776 Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (saws) invoked the Curse of Allah on ten (types of) people in connection with wine: the wine-presser, the one who has it pressed, the one who drinks it, the one who conveys it, the one to whom it is conveyed, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who benefits from the price paid for it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is bought.

Dear and Beloved Brother, all types of intoxicants are so detestable and despicable in the Sight of Allah Subhanah that not only has Allah and His Messenger (saws) declared all types of intoxicants (wine, alcohol, etc.) absolutely unlawful and haraam for the believers to consume, Allah Subhanah has specifically Commanded the believers in His Glorious Quran to ‘stay far far away from it’.

AbdurRahman ibn Wa'alah as-Saba'i asked Abdullah ibn Abbas about that which is extracted from the grapes (wine), whereupon he said: ‘A person presented to Allah's Messenger (saws) a small water-skin of wine. Allah's Messenger (saws) said to him: “Do you know that Allah has forbidden it (wine)?” He said: “No”, and then whispered to another man. Allah's Messenger (saws) asked him what he had whispered. He said: “I advised him to sell that”, whereupon he (the Prophet (saws) said: “Verily He Who has forbidden its drinking has forbidden its sale also.” He (the narrator) said: He opened the waterskin until what was contained in it was spilt.’

It is not lawful for a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to consume, or serve, or sell, or derive any benefit whatsoever from anything that intoxicates.

If one works in a place or environment where alcohol is sold, served and consumed…. one cannot say with absolute conviction that their earnings from this place are all ‘haraam’ or unlawful; nor can one say with conviction that their earnings are absolutely ‘halaal’ and lawful. But without an iota of a doubt, a person who works in a place which sells alcohol would be guilty of associating and facilitating something that has been clearly described and declared as ‘haraam’ by Allah and His Messenger (saws); and thus they will bear an appropriate share of the burden of sin according to their level of participation.

As your brothers and sincere well-wishers in faith, our humble advice to you would be to fear The Wrath and Chastisement of your Lord Most High, and immediately seek to employ your talents elsewhere where the boundaries of Allah are not violated; and if you make this intention and move only for the sake and fear of Allah Subhanah, it is expected that not only will your Lord Most Gracious provide you from His Endless Bounties in the life of this world, but He will appreciate your noble intention and deeds to stay away from the ‘haraam’, and bestow upon you a generous reward in the eternal life of the Hereafter, Insha Allah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan