Her brother wants loan for questionable enterprise

1-6-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

I live in the West, and recently my brother back home asked me to lend him some money. My mother at first told me that he wanted to enter as a partner in a cafe (Maqha). I pointed out that is something Haram. But she said (no) it is not going to be of that 'bad' type of cafe. I asked 2 of my sisters and they all swore to me that it is going to be a cafe, and that he already took the project by giving bribery, and that he just needed some money from me so that he could go on with the whole project. My sisters advised me not to give him the money. I talked to my brother and he said that it was a place for food. Please advise me on how I should react.

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. The person is asked to manage his money in the way that pleases Allah. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) informed that the person will be asked on The Day of Judgement about his property, how he gathered it and from where he earned it. Al-Tirmizi reported from Abu Bazrah that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "Son of Adam will remain standing on the Day of Judgement till he is questioned about five things: his age, how he spent it; and about his youth (body) as to how he consumed it; and about his wealth from where he acquired it and in what activities he spent it, and about his knowledge and how he utilized it" [ al-Tirmizi ]. Islam urges people to spend their money in all good fields. So, the person should spend on his family as he should give alms to poor and needy people. Allah grants a great reward for alms given to needy relatives as they combine Sadaqa (alms) and Rahim (kinship). So, whatever, the dear questioner gives to her brother to spend on himself and on his family, or for any lawful purpose is highly rewarded. But if her brother wants to invest this money in any unlawful field, then she should not send him any money as doing so would mean helping him in sin and transgression, and Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {… but do not help one another in sin and transgression …}[5: 2]. So, if this man is going to open a café where men mix with alien women or where any forbidden act is committed, then he should not be helped. Rather, he should be exhorted to invest in lawful fields. Allah knows best.