Teacher's income not unlawful if textbooks teach how to calculate interest
18-5-2015 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalamu alikum I am a muslim girl of 30 years age living in India. Suddenly I started having doubts about all sources of income of family being haram. I was working in a publishing house where I worked as an editor of accountancy school books.The syllabus include some entries regarding interest.I became aware that my job is doubtful so since 2012 I did not have food or clothes from dat income bt I wz unable 2 leave d job as I have 2 bear my marriage expenses as in delhi india u have no marriage proposal unless you have dowry to give and my father is not interested in getting me married off.According to him a lot of girls are unmarried so it makes no difference that I will not be married. My question is that so the clothes which I bought from dat income before becoming aware are lawful for me.can I offer prayers in that clothes while IAm still in the same job.secondly I also used to give tuitions of English subject to class 11 and 12 girls so some of them girls come without hijab. I would say them that they should come in hijab but if they do not come in hijab , then can I use the income from tuitions or not.Thirdly my father and younger brother are ironsmith in the city so sometimes their work produces smelly and polluted gases , so is there income is lawful. I am very worried whenever I offer prayers I have doubts that my clothes and food are not from lawful money so I feel to not to offer prayers at all and to supplicate as they will be of no use.we do not have any other source of income and live in a rented house and shop is also on rent.i am very worried and stressful ..please anwser which of our income is lawful or which is not .Sometimes I feel like to end my life in which it is very hard to earn halal income.
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
It is permissible for you to use your salary and whatever was bought with it such as food, clothing and the like, regardless of whether you earned it from your job revising the school textbooks earlier on, or from your work as a teacher of girls, because the textbooks containing things related to Riba (interest and usury) or some female students not wearing Hijab by itself does not involve you doing what is forbidden or helping do it.
Just because the students study how to calculate interest and the like, it does not necessarily follow that they receive interest, because the information is a secondary element and not the purpose in itself. Similarly, just because a female student does not wear the Hijab, it does not prevent from teaching her things that are permissible. However, she should be told to fear Allaah and abide by His commands, and she should be stopped from evil as much as possible.
It is also permissible for you to use the income of your father. Blacksmithery is permissible profession and the fact that such a profession and the like of it may affect the environment does not make it forbidden; rather, it is one of the professions that people need and it is a necessity, like their need for cars, factories and the like, which have the same consequences, like most professions.
As regards the issue of the father's lack of concern with marrying off his daughter, we have already clarified the consequence of this and what the daughter should do in such a case in Fatwa 282694, so please refer to it.
We should point out that this custom is incorrect and has no foundation in Islam, because it is the husband who gives the bridal gift to the wife and not the other way around. We have already explained the ruling on this in Fatwa 85873.
Finally, we ask Allaah to help you to do all that is good and make your affairs easy, and to bless you with a pious husband to your delight, one who will make you happy in this world and in the Hereafter.
Allaah Knows best.