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Fatwa CenterPromoting credit cards; scanning a cartoon book
Question
I have two questions here and I'm in hunger of their answers and I'll appreciate if you answer them promptly.
1) I want to work in store as a Sales Associate and part of my job is to open store's Credit Cards to the customers and in this process I have to be very persuasive and try to make these customers to open a Credit Card and in exchange they get a discount in that moment. On the other hand, the customer has the power to say yes or to say no. Is this job Halaal or Haraam according to Qur'aan and Sunnah?
2) I was working with my professor in Anatomy and Physiology as a TA, but this summer, part of my job was to scan a "big book" which contained cartoons pictures and saved them in the computer. Was this job Halaal or Haraam? How do regular pictures and cartoon pictures differ Islaamicly? Will it be permissible to do such thing again in the future? Please help me out! I really want to know which is which.
Answer
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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
It is forbidden for a woman to work in advertising and persuading customers unless the following conditions are met: To avoid mixing with men, wearing a complete Hijab, not to speak in a soft voice with marriageable men, and to speak to them according to the need only, and be secure from being tempted by them, and the like. So this is in general regarding working with them in this field. As regards working in advertising and encouraging customers to open credit cards, for this to be permissible, in addition to the above conditions, these credit cards should be free from Ribaa (usury and interest) in case the customer delays in repayments, because any additional amount to the original is Ribaa. In the principles of Sharee'ah it is forbidden to help in committing sins like Ribaa, gambling, and the like, whether it is by way of employment or else. Allaah says (interpretation of meaning): {Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.}[5:2]. So this is in relation to the first question.
As regards the second question, if the pictures are of non-living creatures, then there is no harm about them, but if they are pictures of living creatures, then in principle they are forbidden whether they are drawings or sculptures, cartoons, or otherwise. However, if these cartoons are educational because of the need in educational fields, then there is no harm in this. The scholars made an exception for this kind of educational material. As regards real photographic pictures, the ruling of the scholars differed about it. Some of them believe that they are forbidden giving the evidence of the narrations of the Prophet 
that they are general, like his saying: "Angels do not enter a house where there is a picture or a dog." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] They say that the reason that they are forbidden is that this is considered as an emulation of the creation of Allaah; this reason applies to photographic pictures, so they are forbidden. However, some other scholars are of the view that this is permissible, because taking a picture with a photo or video camera is not an emulation of the creation of Allaah but this is taking a picture with this device of what Allaah has already created, so it is just an impression and the human being has no interference in it. But there is no doubt that if there is no need for these pictures, it is more appropriate to avoid them in order to be free from suspicion and out of fear that this act would be included in the general meaning of the narrations of the Prophet which forbid taking pictures.
Allaah knows best.
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