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Fatwa CenterIt is lawful to eat with disbelievers with condition
Question
1) I am a Moroccan Muslim, I am now living in Italia, I want to know if I take a meal in a house of an Italian, is it Halal, I mean eating with Christians is Haram.
2) I am working in a restaurant as a cleaner, in this restaurant there is the wine, it s forbidden, some times I go to church to ask for help. What Shariah says?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. A Kafir (disbeliever) is not impure in person (his body); rather he is impure by his heart and belief. Allah Almighty Says: {Verily the Mushrikin (polytheist, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) are impure}[9:28]. Accordingly, there is no problem in your eating with a disbeliever (a Christian or otherwise), whether you eat with him at the same table or from the same dish, provided that the food is Halal (lawful), that there is no Haram (unlawful) food or drink present on the table, and that there is nothing Haram accompanying the meal such as music, mixing of sexes, etc. Imam Ahmad narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) answered an invitation by a Jew to have some food with barley bread. As concerns working in a restaurant where wine is served, it is well-known that wine is decisively forbidden. Allah Almighty Says: {Satan wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from As-Salat (prayers). So will you not then abstain?}[5:91]. A Muslim must keep away from such forbidden things and must also avoid such kinds of work that help committing such Haram matters even if it is acceptable to clean dishes. Allah Almighty Says: {Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but not help one another in sin and transgression.}[4:2]. A Muslim has to know also that whatever thing he or she leaves for the Sake of Allah, Allah Almighty will surely facilitate for him/her variant means of provision and sustenance: {And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine.}[65:2-3]. As for going to the church, the dominant opinion of the scholars is that it is permissible to enter it if there is nothing prohibited in it such as pictures, music, drinking wine, etc. As for asking for help from Christians, it is permissible in case of need, whether that kind of help is financial or otherwise. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessing be upon him) accepted gifts from some disbelieving kings. Yet, you have to beware of accepting such help or gift at the expense of your religion or if your accepting it helps them in their conspiracies and plots. You have to also be cautious of being heart-drawn to them for human beings are inclined, by nature, to love those who do favour to them. So, if you find in yourself something of that, then it is safer to keep away. Allah knows best.
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