['Aalim Network QR] Alcohol - Received as a gift

[Mustafa Rawji <mrawji@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salamun alaykum,

	The reply to the following question was kindly provided by Shaykh
Rasheed.

Wasalaam,

Mustafa Rawji
Moderator, 'Aalim Network

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QUESTION:

Asalaamu Alaikum,

I was recently hired by a company and as a gift they gave me a $400 bottle
of champagne.  I explained to them that I do not drink and offered to return
the bottle, but they refused.  My question is: can I return this bottle of
champagne to a store and receive money?? It seems like such a waste to throw
away $400 and there will be no harm done if I just return the bottle to a
store instead of returning the bottle to the people who gave it to me.

If there are differing opinions on this, I would appreciate all the
different responses.


ANSWER:
 
Wa Alaikum As-Salaam,

I can say with a fair degree of certainty that there's only one answer to
this question. The reason is this: Islam forbids alcohol as an intoxicant
and impurity, meaning it is both Haram and Najis. Islam also forbids a
Muslim to gain any benefit from the sale, transportation, manufacture and
use of Haram and Najis materials, with a few exceptions. In the case of
alcohol, Islam further demands that a Muslim not even remain at the table
where it is consumed. 

In short, you got the world's worst gift. The best thing you can do with it
is destroy it.

Was-Salaam.

Ali Rasheed