Chapter: A Concise Discussion of Lawful and Unlawful Earnings

Among the ways of earning whose prohibition is unanimously agreed upon are: ribā (usury), the fees of prostitution, suḥt (illicit gain), rishwah (bribes), accepting payment for professional wailing or for singing, for soothsaying, for claiming knowledge of the unseen or of heavenly secrets, for deceptive tricks, games, and every form of falsehood. Equally classified as unquestionably illicit are gains obtained by usurpation, theft, and anything taken from the property of a Muslim or a dhimmī when the owner does not voluntarily consent—property for which people would lawfully fight to the death.

A Muslim should avoid doubtful matters; whoever does so has safeguarded his religion. Nothing within this grey area is definitively declared forbidden unless its prohibition becomes clear and the doubt is dispelled, yet avoiding it is still better and closer to God-consciousness.

If a man transacts with someone whose wealth is suspected of being unlawful, the sale is not annulled unless the item traded is itself clearly forbidden; in that case the sale concerning that specific item is void. And there is no harm in eating