Fatwa ID: 05571

Answered by: Maulana Muhammad Asadullah Anwar Adam

Question:

1. My sister recently bought some makeup items for me as a gift. These were expensive and I had really wanted them for a long time. But the thing is that I’m not sure if her earnings are Halaal or not. She’s a graphic designer and illustrator. Some things about her job are okay such as posters or logos but other things such as drawing characters are either very wrong or very debatable. She’s worked in Muslim countries so even if having to draw she’s drawn characters promoting good and Islamic values/culture as opposed to promoting westernisation. I really don’t know what to do can I use these items for myself? , will throwing them away be wasteful? I really don’t want to hurt her feeling because this gift meant a lot for both of us. Can I use them with the intention of pleasing my sister and not consuming unlawful goods? I’m very worried as I don’t want to hurt her. And yes my family has debated about her earnings and she herself is aware/concerned about lawful and unlawful but she earned money doing several different freelance jobs so she used it for this gift. Please guide.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

There is a principle in Islamic jurisprudence which is:

“A change of the reason of ownership leads to a change of essence”[1]

When a person has unlawful income, it becomes impermissible for them to use it, however, it is still permissible for others to receive it from them in a permissible transaction, including gifting.

For example. A’s income is unlawful, it is sinful for them to use it. If they purchase something halal from B, there is no sin on B if he uses what he received from A because he received that money in a permissible transaction.

In your case, it is permissible to receive gifts from your sister and use them.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Maulana Muhammad Asadullah Anwar Adam

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

[1] [Qawaid Fiqhiyah, page 90]

{تبدل سبب الملك كتبدل الذات}