Is Working as a Valet at a Hotel That Has a Casino Haram?
Question: السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته Is working valet for a hotel that includes a casino haram? JazakAllah Khairan.
Summary:
If the hotel contains a gambling casino, and the valet service serves both the hotel and the casino, such that the employee parks the cars of casino patrons and facilitates their entry to it, then this work is not permissible, because it constitutes assisting in sin. The casino is a place in which the major sin of gambling is practiced, and Allah has prohibited cooperating in sin. However, if the casino is separate and the employee’s work is restricted to a permissible part of the hotel, and he does not serve casino patrons or assist in its activities, then the matter is less severe. The reality of his work and the extent of its connection to what is prohibited must be considered.
Answer:
First: Gambling Is Prohibited by the Explicit Text of the Qur’an
From the Qur'an:
- [Surah al-Ma’idah: 90–91]
“O you who believe! Indeed, intoxicants, gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows are an abomination from the work of Satan, so avoid them so that you may be successful. Satan only wants to cause between you enmity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling, and to prevent you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you then desist?”
Al-maysir means gambling.
- [Surah al-Ma’idah: 2]
“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression.”
Therefore, every type of work that constitutes direct assistance, or close assistance, in gambling is impermissible.
Second: Applying This to Valet Parking Services. Valet parking, in and of itself, is permissible work. However, its ruling changes according to the place being served. If the employee receives the cars of both hotel guests and casino patrons without distinction, takes the cars of those who have come to gamble, parks them for them, and then returns their cars to them, his work becomes part of the services that the hotel provides to those who frequent the casino. Therefore, it falls under assisting in the prohibited activity. However, the mere fact that a hotel contains sinful activities does not mean that every type of work connected to the hotel is prohibited in every circumstance. Rather, consideration is given to the actual nature of the work and its connection to what is prohibited. The scholars have established that the criterion for permissible work is that the work itself must be permissible and that it must not involve assisting in something prohibited. Third: The Fatwa of the Permanent Committee
From the Scholars:
- The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta was asked about someone working in a hotel in which objectionable acts occur, including fornication, drinking alcohol, and gambling. It stated:
“It is not permissible for you to work for someone who rents out rooms and furnished apartments that are used for acts of disobedience and objectionable deeds, because this constitutes cooperation in sin and transgression.”
This is from the fatwa of the Permanent Committee concerning the ruling on working in a hotel in which objectionable acts occur. It also stated that wages received in return for prohibited work are unlawful, and it instructed the person to seek provision through permissible means. The fatwa was cited from Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Da’imah (15/110).
- The Committee was also asked about someone working as an accountant in a hotel that serves alcohol and in which objectionable acts take place. It stated:
“It is not permissible to work in hotels in which objectionable acts are practiced and intoxicants are sold, because working in them constitutes cooperation in sin and transgression.”
Fourth: The Statement of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen رحمه الله
From the Scholars:
- He رحمه الله said concerning working in a factory that produces intoxicants:
“It is not permissible for a Muslim to work in a factory that produces intoxicants, because this constitutes assisting in sin and transgression.” He cited as evidence the statement of Allah the Exalted: “And do not cooperate in sin and transgression.”
- He رحمه الله also applied the principle of assisting in sin when discussing selling something to a person who will use what is sold for gambling, saying:
“It is not permissible, because it constitutes cooperation in sin and transgression.”
Fifth: Working in the Casino Itself. The scholars have explicitly stated that working in a gambling hall is prohibited, even if the work consists of security, surveillance, reception, or similar duties, because such jobs serve the prohibited activity and assist in its continuation. This strengthens the ruling regarding valet parking when the service is provided to the casino’s patrons themselves, even though the worker is not the one who gambles or receives the gambling money. Conclusion: It is not permissible to work in valet parking if the service includes casino patrons and is provided to them as part of the hotel’s services, because by doing so the worker assists in facilitating access to the place of gambling and in serving those who frequent it. However, if his work can be completely separate from the casino, such that he does not park the cars of casino patrons and does not provide any service to the casino or its customers, but instead works in an independent, permissible part of the hotel, then his work is not ruled prohibited merely because a casino exists in the building. Rather, consideration is given to the actual nature of his job. The more cautious course and the one that is safer for a person’s religion, particularly if the casino is a major part of the hotel — is to look for work that is not connected to these prohibited activities. Allah the Exalted says: “And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out, and He will provide for him from where he does not expect.” [Surah al-Talaq: 2–3]
And Allah knows best.
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