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Fatwa CenterWorking In a Mixed environment and Distributing Medicine Including Alcohol
Question
1. After long search for a halal job he found a job in a warehouse for plants. But when he got there he saw that men and women worked in the same place. He got very disappointed because of that and worked there for only two days. Is it allowed for him to keep the money he earned there which was about 150 euro or does he have to give it as charity or something like that?2. After some time he found a new job as a delivery driver for medicaments to old people. He really hoped that this time he found a halal job where he has nothing unislamic in his work. But some of the female customers as they were very old used to call him inside their houses so that they can pay the medicaments. The problem was that in those cases he was alone with those old woman in one room for a short time. He worked there for 3 weeks because he did not feel comfortable because he did not know whether this is haraam or not and feared his earning to be haraam as well. So what is the ruling on this job is he allowed to keep this money as well or does he have to estimate how often he got in those situations and then substract the amount of money he earned and then give it as charity?3. I have a small book with ahaadith qudsii translated into german. I saw that most of the ahaadith there are from sahih al bukhaary and sahih al muslim but there are also ahaadith from the sunan books of kutub as sittah. As i dont know whether these ahaadith are all sahih or not i wanted to ask whether it is allowed to distribute this book for dawah purposes? As i said most of the ahaadith were from the sahihayn.4. Is it allowed for me to work for a warehouse that is specialized in delivering medicaments to pharmacies including the delivery of narcotics? I read in a farwaa that the basic principle is that using narcotics is haraam unless it is used for medical purposes and there are no alternative medications plus some conditions have to be met. Would it be halaal for me to work there or would i be sinning?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
The mixing between men and non-Mahram women in workplaces and other places is a door leading to temptation. However, if one is in need to work and the workplace is a mixed environment, then he must observe the Islamic conditions, such as lowering the gaze, avoiding being in seclusion with women, having suspicious mixing with them, and speaking to them without need.
Nonetheless, the salary that one earns from a lawful job is lawful. Therefore, the money that this man earned from his job in a plants’ warehouse is lawful as long as he has done his job properly, and he is not obliged to get rid of this money.
The same thing applies to the driver who delivers medicine to the elderly. His work is permissible in principle, and his salary is lawful, as long as he does what he is required to do. As regards being in seclusion with an elderly woman, then the view of the majority of the scholars is that it is not permissible, but some scholars from the Hanafi and Maaliki Schools permitted it.
Distributing the translated book that includes the Qudsi Ahadeeth taken from the six books of Sunnah is permissible.
Working as a distributer of medicine to pharmacies is permissible, but it is not permissible to deliver narcotic drugs that are used in a forbidden manner.
With regard to some narcotic drugs that are used in anesthesia during surgical operations, as well as medicines containing some anesthetic ingredients that dissolve (and no trace remains of them) and that are irreplaceable, then they are permissible since it is a need and selling them is also permissible.
One of the issues of the magazine produced by the Islamic Fiqh Committee stated: "A Muslim patient may consume medications containing a percentage of alcohol if he cannot find one without alcohol, provided it is prescribed by a doctor who is trustworthy in his profession." (3/1311)
Additionally, the decision of the Islamic Fiqh Committee stipulated: "It is permissible to use alcohol externally as an antiseptic for body wounds, as a bacteria killer, and in creams and lotions for external use. The Islamic Fiqh Committee recommends that pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacists in Muslim countries and drug importers should strive to exclude alcohol as an ingredient in drugs and use other alternatives. The Islamic Fiqh Committee also recommends doctors to not prescribe medicines that contain alcohol as much as possible." [End of quote]
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 369097 and 348787.
Allah knows best.
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