Question Summary:
I would like to know the permissibility or impermissibility of printing the following in my printing company

Question Detail:

 
I am the owner of a Printing Company, we print flyers, call cards, books, invitations etc. Most of my clients are Non-Muslims.  I would like to know the permissibility or impermissibility of printing the following.
Advertisement for the sale of alcohol.
Logo of a beer company.
Calendars, bill books, etc. for a bar.
Menu for a restaurant which includes among other dishes, pork dishes.
Meat Shop advertisement, selling pork.
Grocery Advertisement, pork or alcohol included in list of items.
Books by Muslim authors with misguided interpretations of Islam.
CD covers for music CDs.
Bill Book for a Food Wholesale Company, one of the listed items is ‘pig tail.’
Pictures of human beings in advertisements, magazines, etc.
Wedding Invitations for Hindus including pictures of their idols.
Invitation to Hindu Prayers or to Church.
Non-Muslim funeral brochure including Christian songs which include praises for Jesus or refer to Jesus as Lord.
Donation envelopes for a Church.
Church prayer to Jesus.
Church Family Day invitation.
Bookmark for a priest.
Tickets for parties.
Mawlud invitation.
Magazine for Muslim organization that practices Bid’ah.
Bill Book for Music Company.
Religious Books for other religions, Hindu, Christian. Etc.
Children’s coloring book, includes cartoon pictures of people, animals.
‘Learn how to read music’ book.
Raffle sheet.
Happy Divali box.
Divali celebration flyers.
Birthday celebration invitations.

 
Additionally, since we always have to deal with different jobs, can you please provide me with some general guidelines that we can use to decipher what is permissible to print or not to print in future?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Sister in Islam,
The guiding principle on what service you can offer and what you cannot offer is stated in verse 2 of Surah Maida. Allah says “And do not assist in sin and oppression” The Fuqahaa have explained the various categories of assisting in sin with their rulings.
Below is our standard answer on assisting in sin.
Accordingly, only the services enumerated in points 3,14,17,18 and 21 are permissible as they could be used for multiple purposes and not confined to a bar, church or music company. We do not understand point 25.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
 


Introduction:
 
It is important for Muslim professionals dealing with non-Muslim employers and clients to be cognizant of the following principle in Islam:
 
 
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ (المائدة: 2)
 
And assist one another in righteousness and piety, but do not assist one another in sin and transgression (al-Māidah: 2)
 
Due to the widespread interest, gambling, and other impermissible factors found in businesses, a Muslim must exercise caution to ensure that he is not involved in these harām acts nor is he assisting others in it.  However, this can only be done when a Muslim understands what exactly constitutes as assisting in sin.  The former Grand Muftī of Pakistan, Muftī Muhammad Shafī' رحمه الله, laid out these principles, along with examples, in an article entitled تفصيل الكلام في مسألة الإعانة على الحرام.  Hereunder, we present the principles behind assisting in sin based on Muftī Shafī's research.
 
 
Types of Assistance in Sin:
 
There are two categories of assistance in sin:
 
1.      Assist in the actual sin itself – الإعانة على المعصية
 
2.      Be a means to bring about the sin – السبب إلى المعصية
 
We will look at each of the two ways and their rulings separately.
 
 
Assisting in the Actual Sin:
 
This is of three categories:
 
1.      The person intends to assist in the sin.
 
a.       For example, selling grape juice with the intention that the buyer will make wine from it
 
2.      The sin is clearly mentioned in the transaction
 
a.       For example, selling grape juice to someone who mentions his intention of making wine from it
 
3.      The person sells something which has no other purpose except sin
 
a.       For example, selling musical instruments
 
 
ما قامت المعصية بعينه هو ما كانت المعصية في نفس فعل المعين بحيث لا تنقطع عنه نسبتها بفعل ذلك الفاعل المختار وذلك بثلاث وجوه: الأول أن يقصد الإعانة على المعصية. فإن من باع العصير بقصد أن يتخذ منه الخمر أو أمرد بقصد أن يفسق به كان عاصيا في نفس هذا البيع بهذه النية والقصد كذا من آجر بيتا بقصد أن يباع فيه الخمر فقامت المعصية بعين هذه الإجارة مع قطع النظرعن فعل فاعل مختار لاقتران هذه النية كما مر مصرحا في الأشباه وحظر رد المحتار والثاني بتصريح المعصية في صلب العقد كمن قال بِعْني هذا العصير لأتخذه خمرا فقال بِعْتُه...فإنه بهذا التصريح تضمن نفس العقد معصية مع قطع النظر عما يحدث بعد ذلك من إتخاذه خمرا...والثالث بيع أشياء ليس لها مصرف إلا في المعصية...ففي جميع هذه الصور قامت المعصية بعين هذا العقد والعاقدان كلاهما آثمان بنفس العقد سواء استعمل بعد ذلك في المعصية أم لا سواء استعملها على هذه الحالة أو بعد إحداث صنعة فيه فإن استعملها في المعصية كان ذلك اثما آخر على الفاعل خاصة (ص447-448)
 
 
All three categories of such assistance in sin are harām.  At the time of the transaction, there is no doubt that sin will be committed as the person either intends the sin himself or he knows of the other person's sin due to his mentioning it or due to the fact that the transaction has no real halāl purpose.
 
Being a Means for the Sin:
 
Even though a person may not assist in the sin itself, he may still be a means for the sin to take place.  This is referred to as السبب إلى المعصية, and it also has three categories.
 
1.     Direct means such that if it had not been for this person, the sin would not have been committed
 
a.     For example, insulting the deities of another person and, thus, causing him to insult Allāh.  Had this person not insulted the other person's deity, he would not have insulted Allāh.  The same applies to insulting someone else's parents.
 
2.     Means such that it directly helps the sinner achieve the sinful act
 
a.     For example, bringing alcohol to someone who wants to drink it or bringing a sword to someone who wants to kill unjustly.  Even though this act itself did not bring about the sin, however, it directly helped the sinner to commit the sin
 
3.     Distant, indirect means
 
a.     For example, selling grapes to someone who will use it to make wine or selling wood to someone who will use it to build a church
 
 
سبب محرك للمعصية بحيث لو لاه لما أقدم الفاعل على هذه المعصية كسب آلهة الكفار بحيث يكون سببا مفضيا لسب الله سبحانه وتعالى ومثله نهي أمهات المؤمنين عن الخدوع في الكلام للأجانب ونهي النساء عن ضرب أرجلهن لكون ذلك الخدوع وضرب الأرجل سببا جالبا للمعصية وإن خلا عن نية المعصية كما هو ظاهر عن شأن أمهات المؤمنين ونساء المؤمنين.
وسبب ليس كذلك ولكنه يعين لمريد المعصية ويوصله إلى ما يهواه كإحضار الخمر لمن يريد شربه وإعطاء السيف بيد من يريد قتلا بغير حق ومثلها سائر الجزئيات المذكورة سابقا فإنها ليست أسبابا محركة وباعثة على المعصية بل أسباب تعين لباغي الشر على شره...فالقسم الأول من السبب القريب حرام بنص القرآن قال تعالى ولا تسبوا الذين يدعون من دون الله فيسبوا الله عدوا بغير علم (الأنعام)...القسم الثاني من السبب القريب أعنى ما لم يكن محركا وباعثا بل موصلا محضا فحرمته وإن لم تكن منصوصة ولكنه داخل فيه باشتراك العلة وهي الإفضاء إلى الشر والمعصية ولهذا أطلق الفقهاء رحمهم الله عليها لفظ كراهة التحريم لا الحرمة كما في سائر الجزئيات المذكورة سابقا فإنهم قالوا إنها تكره كراهة التحريم كما صرح به في الخانية جزما واختاره كثير من أرباب الفتوى ومن أطلق عليه لفظ الجواز فيحمل على جواز العقد بمعنى الصحة دون رفع الاثم كما هو معهود عند فقهائنا في مواضع لا تحصى...
وأما السبب البعيد كبيع الحديد من أهل الفتنة وبيع العنب ممن يبتخذه خمرا وبيع الآجر والحطب ممن يتخذها كنيسة أو بيعة وكذا إجارة الدابة لمن يريد سفر معصية وأمثالها إذا علم فتكره تنزيها (ص 449-452)
 
 
Assisting in the sin itself is harām, whereas being a means for the sin is makrūh tahrīmī.  In terms of practice, both of these types are completely impermissible, regardless of whether the person had a sinful intention or not.
 
As for being an indirect means of sin, if the person knew that the sin would be committed, then it is undesirable. However, if the person did not know that the sin would be committed at the time of the transaction, but rather only learned of it later, then one will be excused.
 
 
Conclusion:
After understanding the above mentioned categories of assistance in sin, each person must now analyze their dealings and see if their actions fall in any of these categories.  In regards to your question on developing and maintaining banking software, the answer depends on the functionality of the software.
 
If the software is developed to calculate and charge interest such that it has no other purpose, then it would constitute assisting in the actual sin itself and would, therefore, be impermissible.  However, if the software has several functions, one of which is the calculation of interest which the bank uses to pay or charge the customer, then it would be a direct means for the sin to come about and, thus, impermissible.  Finally, if the software is not meant to calculate interest, but rather the bank uses the functions of the software to calculate interest, then this would be permissible, but disliked if the person knows that the bank will use it for this purpose, since this is an indirect and distant means for the sin to occur.
 
 
And Allāh Knows Best
Abrar Mirza
Student, Darul Iftāa