Question:
Assalmualaikum ustaz. I would like to ask a question. What is the ruling for a person who works as a rider in any food delivery company services delivering food to those who are not fasting?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wbt,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the many countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Fasting in the month of Ramadhan is one of the obligations upon each mukallaf Muslim. In fact, Ramadhan fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam itself. The evidence on the obligation of fasting in Ramadhan is in accordance with the saying of Allah SWT:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it
Surah al-Baqarah (185)
In the phrase فَلْيَصُمْهُ, there is لام الأمر which indicates an obligation to fast in the month of Ramadhan. Hence, fasting is an obligation and refuting it by leaving Ramadhan fasting intentionally is prohibited.
Sultan al Ulama’ al Izz ibn Abd al-Salam said:
الأَمْرُ بِالشَيءِ نهْي عَنْ ضِدِّهِ
“A command towards something is a prohibition towards the opposite.”
Refer Al Waraqat, Izz Ibn Abd al-Salam (pg. 10)
To answer the question presented, we state the saying of Allah SWT as the following:
وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ
“Do not cooperate in sin and aggression.”
Surah al-Ma’idah (2)
Imam al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir Rahimahullah said in his comment upon this verse: “He (Allah SWT) forbid you from cooperating towards sin, aggression and what has been prohibited”.
Imam Ibn Jarir said: Sin is abandoning Allah’s command. And the meaning of al-‘Udwan is transgression from what Allah has set in your religion and going against what Allah has obligated upon you and the others. Refer Tafsir Al-Quran Al-‘Azhim, Ibn Katsir (3/7).
Therefore, this verse is a sarih (clear/direct) dalil in stating the prohibition of helping others in committing sinful and prohibited acts.
In fact, there is a maxim based on the above excerpt of al-Quran which states:
إِعَانَةُ المَعْصِيَةِ مَعْصِيَةٌ
“Helping towards sin is a ma’siah”
Hence, helping others in doing ma’siah is also considered as ma’siah even if he himself did not commit it.
Conclusion
To conclude, we state that the act of giving or delivering food to those who intentionally leave their fasts is haram because this helps them in ma’siah of abandoning their fast without any permissible excuse by syara’.
While for those working in the food delivery industry, if he does not know whether the order comes from a person who should fast or not, it is permissible for him to deliver the food. This is because, there are other possibilities for the order such as it is from a woman in her menses, sick people and the like.
However, if he knows for certain that the order comes from a person who intentionally neglects his fast without permissible excuse, then he should not deliver the food.
Lastly, may Allah SWT give us all the correct understanding in religion. Amin.