Ruling on working as a security guard for a shop in which there are some haraam things

Question: 300731

I am married and lived in France. I work as a security guard for a French company, for which I receive my monthly salary. This company has a contract with several shops, and everything having to do with security. The company sends us to work in several places that have contracts with them, but Allah will that from the first day I should be sent to a place and I have been working there until the present. The place is a large shop; most of what it sells is clothing for men, women, children and infants, as well as household goods, suitcases, sweets, toys, school supplies, accessories and so on. In other words, the entire shop is mixed, and sells things that are permissible according to Islamic teachings and things that are not. But as a whole, the goods in the shop that are permissible greatly outnumber the things that are not permissible, and I do not work inside the shop; rather I work in the storage area of the shop, in the place where goods are delivered. Praise be to Allah, the place has helped me a great deal to offer prayers on time, praise be to Allah, and not to shave my beard, because I work in the storage area, and do not meet customers. My question is: What is the ruling on my working in this shop, noting that the permissible goods greatly outnumber the goods that are not permissible? And what is the ruling on the salary that I receive; is it mixed? Please note that I receive my salary from the company and not from the shop.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

There is nothing wrong with working as a security guard for shops and stores that sell permissible things, clothing and otherwise, but it is not permissible to work as a security guard for places that are built for haraam activities, or where the majority of what goes on in them is haraam, such as riba-based banks, bars, gambling venues, dance halls and the like, because of the prohibition on helping others to commit sin.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2].

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (14/481): Is it permissible for a Muslim soldier to guard churches, bars, cinemas or entertainment venues such as casinos and places where alcohol is sold?

Answer: It is not permissible to work as a guard protecting churches, bars, and entertainment venues such as cinemas and the like, because that comes under the heading of helping in sin, and Allah, may He be exalted, has forbidden cooperating in sin, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty” [al-Maa’idah 5:2].

‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan, ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Baaz. End quote.

Please see the answer to question no. 173073.

If the trader whose store you are guarding mostly deals in permissible things, and you are not directly helping with something that is haraam – such as carrying it or recording it in the ledgers – then there is nothing wrong with you carrying on with this work, based on what is mostly the case.

That is because the presence of some haraam things among the goods sold is a problem that is widespread and difficult to avoid, and the basic principle is that what is secondary may be overlooked and forgiven in a manner that is not applicable in other cases.

And because you mentioned that this work makes it easy for you to pray on time and let your beard grow.

And Allah knows best.

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