Question # 518: Assalamu alayakum warahmatulLahi wabarakatuhu, akhi. I’m a student and my parents sustain all my expanses. But money are mixed haram and halal. Can ask them money beyond my essential needs? Can i go and study extra lessons which are for money?

bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: In accordance with Islamic Shari’ah, spending on one’s son/daughter is obligatory for a father. So if the father’s wealth/income is mixed from halal as well as haraam sources, it is haraam on only him as he acquired it, but it is not haraam for anyone else (child) if he/she acquires it from him in a permissible manner. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) used to deal with the Jews even though they used to consume haraam wealth and riba. However, the child should abide by the following rulings:

  • Spend as much as is necessary and not widen the scope of his spending from the father’s illegitimate earnings.
  • Try to earn a halal income to become independent and self-sufficient so as not to be in need of the father’s support.
  • Try as hard as possible to admonish and advise the father (on his own or seek the help of some knowledgeable person) in the hope that Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) guides him towards repentance from haraam earnings.

Long Answer: Expenditure is obligatory upon a father to his son/daughter according to the Islamic law and shari’ah, as regards his/her housing, clothing, food, drink, and the like…The requirement according to Islamic shari’ah are:

  • that the person spent upon is poor or does not own anything, or does not own or possess what is enough for his requirements and is unable to gain their own income.
  • that the one spending has enough wealth to spend on himself and his wife.
  • that the one spending and the one spent upon are of the same religion.

When the son/daughter is in need of expenses, then he/she is allowed to take from his/her father’s earnings even though it is haraam (forbidden).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: Some of the scholars said that in the case of wealth that is haraam because of the way in which it was acquired, the sin is only on the one who earned it, not on the one who takes it in a permissible way from the one who acquired it. This is unlike wealth that is haraam in and of itself, such as alcohol, wealth seized by force, and so on. This view has a strong basis because the Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) bought food from the Jews for his family, and he ate from the lamb that the Jewish women gave him in Khaybar, and he accepted the invitation of a Jew, even though it is well known that most of the Jews consume riba and haraam wealth. Perhaps this view is further supported by the words of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) concerning the meat that was given in charity to Bareerah: “It is a charity for her and a gift from her to us.” (Al-Qawl al-Mufeed ‘ala Kitaab al-Tawheed)

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said: If the father’s earnings are haraam, then it is essential to advise him. Either advise him yourselves, if you can, or seek the help of knowledgeable people who can convince him, or seek the help of his friends who may convince him to avoid this haraam earning. If that is not possible, then you can eat as much as is necessary, and there is no sin on you in that case, but you should not take more than you need, because there is some doubt about eating from one whose income is haraam. (Fataawa Islamiyyah).

[In summary,] while doing so, [the child] should abide by the following observations:

  • Not to expand and widen the scope of taking or accepting from his/her father’s illegitimate earnings.
  • He/she should try if he/she is able to earn a halal income to become independent and self-sufficient and no longer in need of the father’s support.
  • To try as hard as possible all ways to admonish and advise he/her parents in the hope that Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) may guide them towards repentance from haraam

(The above reply is based on various answers on similar topics provided by Islamqa.info)

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam