Selling tickets of airline companies that serve intoxicants

13/05/2009| IslamWeb

Question:

 Al sallamu Al laikoum Is it permissible to sell air flights tickets of air lines which serves Alcohol beverages on board on demand? And what if we recommended that they do not serve any Muslim a haram product even if they have requested so? Jazzakoum Allahu khair

 

Fatwa:

 

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.

 

It is permissible to sell the tickets which you mentioned in the question, because the passenger pays the price in return for getting on the plane and travelling to the destination he wants and not in return for intoxicants. Although the price of the ticket includes the services which are given to the passenger, like drinking and eating, but this is in general and not precisely on the intoxicants. The passenger has the right to choose the food and drink which he wants; a passenger might board and travel on the plane without eating or drinking anything, but he is not entitled to ask the airline company to reimburse him part of the cost. This proves that the cost of the ticket is solely in return for travelling on the plane.

 

Moreover, the airline companies that serve intoxicants are legally prohibited from carrying intoxicants aboard their planes when travelling to some countries like Saudi Arabia, yet the price of the ticket does not differ when compared to other countries to which the airline travels and which is of the same distance as that of Saudi Arabia; all this again proves that the price of the ticket does not have anything to do with intoxicants.

 

Undoubtedly, offering intoxicants to the passengers is forbidden as the Prophet cursed (among others) the person who carries intoxicants and the one to whom it is carried. It is very sad that many Muslim airline companies commit this great evil, so whoever is able to change this evil is obliged to change it.

As regards your last question, if you are able to prevent serving intoxicants and other prohibitions for the Muslims, then it is an obligation upon you to do so in compliance with the commandment of enjoining good and forbidding evil. However, if you are unable to change it, then you may talk to the company and try to stop this and you will be rewarded by Allah for doing so.

Allah Knows best.

 

Fatwa answered by:The Fatwa Center at Islamweb