Is it Permissible to Accept Donations and Sponsorships from Non-Muslim Companies That Have Haram Elements?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Generally, one should ask for donations or sponsorships from companies whose income is from halal (lawful) sources. If the entire wealth of a company is from haram (unlawful) sources, then the funds should be spent on helping the poor. In the case of a mixture of halal and haram sources, one should determine which source is dominant. If the halal source is dominant, accepting the donation or sponsorship would be permissible.

Donations and Sponsorship from Non-Muslims

It would be permissible to take donations from non-Muslims. However, if it is from unlawful means or a mix, then there is detail:

Donations from Haram Sources

The ruling of a donation from someone whose complete wealth was purely from haram means it should be given to the poor and needy without the intention of gaining a reward.

Donation from a Mix Source

If, however, one’s wealth was a mixture of halal and haram, then if more than half of one’s wealth is halal and less than half haram, it would be permissible to accept this as a donation even without investigating whether one is donating from the unlawful or lawful part of the wealth, as the ruling is given according to what is dominant. [Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related

•  How Should One Dispose of Mixed Acquired Money? – (seekersguidance.org)
• Is Disposing of Haram Income With the Intention of Reward Disbelief? (seekersguidance.org)

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I pray this helps answer your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.