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:

Advance Eid wishes to u Mr. Burhan and all others whos helpin us frm here..

I have a shop and im giving the shop for rental for some people. if the people stayin thr is doing lottery business, i want to know whether the rent they r gonna pay me is haraam or not.. or am i responsible for that business being done.... is my income is pure or not... please need a quick reply... soon...

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Answer:

Rent premises to unlawful

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.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 2:

Help ye (O believers) one another in righteousness and piety but help ye not one another in sin and rancor.  Fear Allah!; for Allah is strict in punishment.

If one knows for sure that the people one intends to rents their premises would indulge in the ‘haraam’ like alcohol, ‘fahisha’ (indecency), etc., it would better and purer for him to fear Allah and abstain from associating or profiting in any way from such transactions.  

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.267         Narrated by An Numan bin Bashir

The Prophet (saws) said "Both halaal and haraam things are obvious, and in between them are (suspicious) doubtful matters.  So whoever forsakes those doubtful things lest he may commit a sin, will definitely avoid what is clearly illegal; and whoever indulges in these (suspicious) doubtful things bravely, is likely to commit what is clearly illegal. Sins are Allah's Hima (i.e. private pasture) and whoever pastures (his sheep) near it, is likely to get in it at any moment."

If the person who owns or rents his property has no knowledge that his tenants will indulge in the unlawful in his premises, neither is he involved in any way in participating in the ‘haraam’ himself, one cannot declare with conviction that the rental earnings of the property would be ‘haraam’ earnings; but if one does rent one’s property knowing that the ‘haraam’ would be committed in his premises, he would definitely be responsible for being an accomplice in facilitating the performance of the ‘haraam’, and thus earn a part of the sin.

Even in the laws of this world, when a nation or government declares something as absolutely forbidden; be it drugs, or alcohol, or prostitution, or gambling, or ‘terrorism’, etc.; if one knowingly shelters, associates, or facilitates the unlawful in any way, they would be charged and prosecuted by the state for being an accomplice to the crime.

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