Is it permissible to sell haraam things like pork to non-Muslims?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

It is not permissible for anyone to issue fatwas concerning
the religion of Allaah without knowledge. It is essential to understand the
seriousness of doing that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): (But) the things that my Lord has
indeed forbidden are Al‑Fawaahish (great evil sins and every kind of
unlawful sexual intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of
all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with
Allaah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allaah
of which you have no knowledge”

[al-‘Araaf 7:33]

So it is not permissible for anyone to say, this is halaal
and that is haraam, if he has no sound evidence to that effect. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And say not concerning that which your tongues put forth
falsely: ‘This is lawful and this is forbidden,’ so as to invent lies
against Allaah. Verily, those who invent lies against Allaah will never
prosper”

[al-Nahl 16:116]

Secondly:

Selling pork is haraam whether it is sold to a Muslim or to a
kaafir. The evidence for that is as follows:

1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): I find not in that which has been
revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it,
unless it be Maytah (a dead animal) or blood poured forth (by slaughtering
or the like), or the flesh of salcohol (pork); for that surely, is impure or
impious (unlawful) meat (of an animal) which is slaughtered as a sacrifice
for others than Allaah (or has been slaughtered for idols, or on which
Allaah’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering”

[al-An’aam 6:145]

And the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) taught us an important principle when he said: “When Allaah forbids a
thing, He (also) forbids its price.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3488; classed
as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Ghaayat al-Maraam, 318.

2 – It was narrated from
Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that he heard the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say
when he was in Makkah at the time of the Conquest: “Allaah and His Messenger
have forbidden the sale of alcohol, dead meat, pork and idols.” It was said:
“O Messenger of Allaah, what do you think of the fat of dead animals, for
ships are caulked with it and animal skins are daubed with it, and the
people use it to light their lamps?” He said: “No, it is haraam.” Then the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“May Allaah curse the Jews, for when Allaah forbade them animal fat, they
melted it down and sold it, and consumed its price.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1212; Muslim, 1581.

Al-Nawawi said:

With regard to dead meat, alcohol and pork, the Muslims are
unanimously agreed that it is haraam to sell all of these.

Al-Qaadi said: This hadeeth indicates that whatever we are
forbidden to eat or make use of, we are also forbidden to sell, and it is
not permissible to consume its price, as in the case of the animal fat
mentioned in this hadeeth.

Sharh Muslim, 11/8

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said, after quoting the ahaadeeth about
the prohibition on alcohol:

The conclusion we may
draw from all these ahaadeeth is that whatever Allaah has forbidden us to
make use of, it is also haraam to sell it and consume its price, as is
stated clearly in the hadeeth: “When Allaah forbids a thing, He (also)
forbids its price.” This is a general, comprehensive phrase which applies to
everything which is intended to be used in haraam ways. These fall into two
categories:

(i)Things which are to be used and
will remain as they are, such as idols. The purpose for which they are used
is shirk or association of others with Allaah, which is the greatest of all
sins. We may add to that books of shirk, witchcraft, innovation (bid’ah) and
misguidance, forbidden images, forbidden means of entertainment and also
buying slave women who will serve as singers.

(ii)Things which are to be used and
which will be used up. If in the majority of cases a thing is used for
haraam purposes, then it is haraam to sell it. For example, it is haraam to
sell pork, alcohol and dead meat even though they may – on rare occasions –
be used for a permissible purpose, such as eating dead meat for those who
are in extreme need, or using alcohol to stop oneself choking or to putt out
a fire, or using pig hairs for beading, or making use of the hair and skin
of a pig – according to those who approve of that. But because these are
not the reason for which these things are produced, and the usual use for
pigs and dead meat is to eat them, and the usual use for alcohol is to drink
it, so no attention should be paid to these reasons, and it is haraam to
sell these things.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
indicated this when it was said to him: “What do you think of the fat of
dead animals, for ships are caulked with it and animal skins are daubed with
it, and the people use it to light their lamps?” He said: “No, it is
haraam.”

Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam,
1/415, 416

The Standing
Committee was asked: Is it permissible to deal in alcohol and pork if one is
not selling them to a Muslim? They replied: It is not permissible to deal in
foods and other things that Allaah has forbidden, such as alcohol and pork,
even if one is selling them to kaafirs, because it is proven that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah
forbids a thing, He also forbids its price.” And because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed alcohol, the one who
drinks it, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one who carries
it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who consumes its price, the one
who squeezes (the grapes, etc) and the one for whom it is squeezed.

Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 13/49.

Thirdly:

With regard to the questioner saying, “selling pork to
non-Muslims is not haraam, and there is no text in the Qur’aan or Sunnah
that says that it is haraam to sell it to non-Muslims”, this is not correct.
We have quoted above evidence from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and have stated
that the scholars are agreed that it is haraam to sell pork. The general
meaning of the evidence indicates that it is haraam to sell it to Muslims
and kaafirs alike, because the evidence indicates that the prohibition on
selling it is general in application, and no differentiation is made between
Muslims and others.

Indeed, if we were to say that what is meant by the
prohibition on selling it is selling it to kaafirs, that would not be
far-fetched, because the basic assumption concerning the Muslim is that he
would never buy pork: what would he do with it when he knows that Allaah has
forbidden it?

Similarly, the questioner’s saying that “pork existed at the
time of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
if he had wanted to forbid it and curse it he would have done so as he did
with alcohol” is also not correct, because it is not essential for a thing
to be forbidden that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) should have cursed the one who does it. Rather it is sufficient
that he forbade it or stated that it is haraam, as he forbade the sale of
pork.

Fourthly:

With regard to your taking this money, now that you know that
it is haraam, it is more befiiting for you to refuse to take it, especially
since your taking it is like giving approval to what the company owner is
doing. You have to advise him, denounce what he is doing and exhort him to
give up these haraam actions. Whoever gives up something for the sake of
Allaah, Allaah will compensate him with something better than it.

With regard to the money that you took before you found out
that it is haraam, there is no sin on you, in sha Allah. Allaah says in the
verses in which He forbids riba (usury, interest) (interpretation of the
meaning):

“So whosoever receives
an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Ribaa, shall not be
punished for the past; his case is for Allaah (to judge)”

[al-Baqarah 2:275]

See also questions no.
2429, 8196.

We ask Allaah to granted you a halaal and blessed provision.
And Allaah knows best.