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How is a Muslim's work in cleaning passageways and airplanes at an international airport, which involves dealing with waste containing empty wine bottles, viewed? Is this considered a humiliation for the Muslim or an assistance to sin, especially given the large number of Arabs and Muslims working in the same place?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The prohibited aspect of a Muslim working for a disbeliever is that which involves humiliation and subjugation. This does not apply to working in public services such as airports and gas stations. Cleaning the passenger aisle of an airplane and changing trash bags is not intended to serve alcohol, nor does it lead to aiding in its consumption, unlike working in cleaning restaurants that serve alcohol. Accordingly, it is not forbidden for the questioner to remain in his aforementioned job, even though another job might be more preferable.

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

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