Working for mail companies that transport parcels that may be both permissible and haraam

Question

Praise be to Allah.

It is permissible to work in companies that deliver mail
and parcels, if the material being distributed is permissible. As for
haraam material such as alcohol, cigarettes, riba-based contracts and so
on, it is not permissible to transport them or record them, or to help
with them in any way, because that comes under the heading of helping
others with sin, and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, 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. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]

This ruling is connected to knowing that there is something
haraam inside the parcels, such as knowing that the parcel contains alcohol
or cigarettes. But if it is not known what the parcels contain, there is
nothing wrong with transporting them, organizing their movements and so on,
because the basic principle is that it is permissible, unless it is the case
that with some of the people from whom you pick up parcels, most of the time
they contain haraam things, in which case it is not permissible to pick up
parcels from them, based on what is likely to be the case.

It says in Kashshaaf al-Qina‘ (3/559): It is not valid to
hire oneself out to carry dead meat and the like for people to eat who are
not forced to do so, because that is helping in sin; but if it is being
carried to people who are forced to eat it, then it is valid. It is not
valid to hire oneself out to carry alcohol to those who will drink it,
because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) cursed the
one who carries it and the one to whom it is carried. And no wage is to be
paid to him, i.e., to the person who is hired to do something haraam,
because of the reasons stated above. End quote.

The Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked: I work
in the mail and transportation field. I work as a driver, distributing
letters and so on to postal centres. In these bags in which the letters and
so on are carried, there are occasionally glass bottles of alcohol which
come from foreign countries. I do not know exactly where and when I am
carrying these bottles of alcohol, because they come from abroad wrapped up
inside the bags. I found out about that from a friend of mine. The
transportation company has other centres which specialize in other things,
such as transporting telephone equipment, wireless equipment, and other
things. Please advise me: can I do this job without there being anything
wrong, or should I resign or move to another centre in the mail and
transportation field, such as the telephone centre and so on?

They replied: It is not permissible for you to transport the
haraam things that come in the mail to other people if you know about them,
because that is helping in sin, and Allah 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].

You have to look for another job, or move from this job to a
place where nothing haraam is done. May Allah make things easy for you and
help us all to do that which pleases Him. And Allah is the Source of
strength. Blessings and peace of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his
family and Companions. End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd
al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allah ibn Ghadyaan

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah

See also the answer to question no.
112902

And Allah knows best.