Ruling on selling TVs, VCRs and Playstation

Question

Praise be to Allah.

These items
– TVs, VCRs, etc – are things that may be used for good and bad purposes,
but nowadays they are usually used for evil purposes, such as viewing naked
women, and listening to idle entertainment such as music, etc. In this case
a person should act according to what he thinks is most likely the case.

It is not
permissible to sell them to anyone except one who you think will most likely
use it for permissible purposes.

As for one
whom you know or think it most likely will use it for haraam purposes, it is
not permissible for you to sell it to him, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you
one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but
do not help one another in sin and transgression”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]

It says in
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah: “Everything that will be used in a
haraam manner, or which one thinks will most likely be used in a haraam
manner, it is haraam to manufacture it, import it, sell it, and distribute
it among the Muslims.”

Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 13/109

The Standing
Committee for Issuing Fatwas was also asked the following question:

I work as an
electronic engineer, and part of my work involves fixing radios, TVs, VCRs
and similar equipment. I hope you can advise me as to whether I should
continue in this work, noting that if I give up this work I will miss out on
a lot of experience and lose my profession for which I have studied all my
life, and leaving it might cause me harm.

They
replied:

The shar’i evidence from
the Qur’aan and Sunnah indicates that the Muslim must seek provision from
halaal sources. So you should look for work where your income will be
halaal. Some of the income from the work that you mention is not halaal,
because these machines are usually used for haraam purposes.

Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 14/420.

With regard
to the Playstation and its disks, they come under the same ruling as
mentioned above. It is permissible to sell them to those whom you think will
most likely use them for permissible purposes, and it is haraam to sell them
to those whom you think will most likely use them for haraam purposes.

Many people
nowadays use them for haraam purposes, and instead of leisure being
something to which a person turns occasionally, leisure has become the main
thing for many people, and they spend a lot of their time, money and energy
on playing these kinds of games, and going to clubs and swimming pools,
travelling, sitting with friends, going on trips, etc.

Many of
those who use the Playstation and similar games miss prayers because of
them, and get distracted from many of their religious and worldly interests,
which makes us certain that such things are forbidden.

But for
those who can put things in their proper place, and play these games for a
little while as a form of leisure, but do not miss any of their duties or
worldly or religious interests because of them, whilst ensuring that the
games they play are free of evils such as music and pictures of naked women,
etc, then there is no sin in that, in sha Allaah.

What matters
is that the Muslim should strive to earn halaal money in which there is
nothing dubious. He should remember the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Every body that is nourished from haraam sources, the Fire is more fitting for it.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4519.

And Allaah knows best.