Carrying drunk customers in his taxi Fatwa No: 90518
- Fatwa Date:14-9-2005
I am a Muslim from Palestine. I became a US citizen, and I am student, I am married to a Muslim woman from my homeland, and I have three babies, and I do drive a taxi in US to support my family life and needs. I do work at night shift, because during the daytime I go to school, and during my work, I do carry drunk customers, and they do carry their beers (alcohol), and we can't ask them not to do so, and I take them from club to club by my taxi that I lease, is my work Haraam or Halaal?
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Carrying disobedient people and sinners to places of enjoyment or sin is forbidden as we mentioned in Fataawa 83469 and 86416 as this is a kind of cooperation in sin. Allaah Says (what means): {And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allaah; indeed, Allaah is severe in penalty.}[Quran 5:2]
Similarly, carrying their wine or taking wages against this service is also forbidden according to the correct opinion of the scholars. The prophet cursed ten people who have involvement in wine; one of them is the bearer of it. Taking wages against carrying it are wages taken against a sin.
Ibn Wahb asked Ibn 'Umar and said: "I have carrying-camels in the market, and the profit of them is allocated to be spent in charity, they carry food and sometimes, if there is no food, they carry wine. He answered: “Its price (i.e. wine's), its wages and everything related to it is forbidden and should be abandoned.”
Moreover, Maalik Ibn Kulthoom said: “I asked Sa'eed Ibn Al-Musayyib about my slaves who work in the market with my animals, and they sometime carry wine containers. He strongly prohibited this type of work and said: “If you can avoid entering in a house that contains wine you should not enter in it.”
So, you are not allowed to carry dissolute people or their wine in your car and the wages that you take against such work is not lawful for you.
We supplicate Allaah to provide you with better customers and grant you lawful provision.
Allaah Knows best.