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Is the rent collected by the landlord from a tenant who offers shisha in his shop unlawful (haram) or permissible (mubah)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to rent a shop to someone who will use it for sinful acts, such as a café owner who serves shisha or shows films and other forbidden things. This is because it constitutes aiding in sin and transgression, and Allah Almighty says: (And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression). Nor is it valid to rent a place for a forbidden purpose, such as selling alcohol, or for singing and musical instruments, whether this is stipulated or known through circumstantial evidence. However, if the lessor stipulates that forbidden acts are not to be committed, and the lessee violates this condition, then the lessor has the right to terminate the lease. As for the rent received, it is mixed between lawful and unlawful. The lessor must repent and call upon the lessee to abandon forbidden acts. If the lessee does not respond, then the contract should not be renewed unless the condition of abandoning forbidden acts is met.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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