Question Summary:
Processing Haraam merchandise as a Cashier

Question Detail:

I am a student at university doing my Master's. I am currently working at a grocery store to cover my living expenses and university fees. But the store I'm working in as a cashier/ cleaner sells lottery,cigarettes and some ham sandwiches among other things. The store also has halal stuff such as cool drink, soda, slurpees, coffee, medicine, bathroom supplies, milk bread etc. My question is, is it haram for me to work at this store, is the earning made through this job haram for me? What is the ruling on this one. I'd really appreciate if you could answer my questions.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
In principle, there are two aspects which are considered in determining whether one’s income is Halaal or not:
1. The major source of the funds from which the employees of the company are remunerated.
2. The nature of the job profile/description itself.
As far as your query is concerned, if majority of the income of the store you work for are from Halaal sources, both your income and job will be Halaal. Your job as a cashier is merely to process the transactions or clean the merchandise. Since you are not directly conducting the sale on behalf of your employer, your job is permissible.[1]
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Nabeel Valli
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net