Q655 :A relative of mine has a modest monthly
salary, but he is leading a life of plenty. He seems to be able to have
whatever money he needs. I know that his extra earnings are unlawful.
Is it permissible to eat anything at his house? How are his children
and the rest of the family affected by his actions?
A655 : I object to your statement, “I know that his
earnings are unlawful”. How do you know? I believe that this is only an
assumption on your part. Your relative may have another very lawful
source of innete which you do not know. He might have got into a
business partnership with someone and that is giving him his extra
innete. As Muslims, we always think well of one another. We do not form
our judgment on mere suspicion. You may have good reasons for your
suspicion, but you do not claim it to be the truth unless you can
substantiate it with irrefutable evidence. Having said that, I move on
to answering your specific questions. If you are absolutely certain
that the majority of your relative’s earnings are unlawful, then it is
the right thing for you to avoid eating anything in his house or
receive any benefits from him. As for the position of his wife and
family, it depends on whether they know of his misdeeds or not. If his
wife is aware of the fact that his earnings are unlawful and she
encourages him, then she is his partner in sin. If she is unaware of
what he does, then she is not accountable for his deeds. His children
are not responsible for what their father does, particularly if they
are young. However, a Muslim is always keen to feed his children only
with what he knows to be lawfully earned. It is that type of lawful
earning that brings blessing and good future to a family.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )