Halaal Food Vendors
QUESTION:
Is it permissible to for a person to host a Halaal food stall at a market (festival) where there is alcohol and music playing in the background? The vendor feels that it’s down to their intention to provide the Halaal food, and for the money earned.
ANSWER:
From the outset, the Quraan Majeed explicitly and categorically commands females to remain within the home. Hence, they should not emerge except due to necessity. A necessity refers to such a need that, if it is not fulfilled one will be harmed, such as going out to purchase food items if no other person is available to attend to it.
Now coming to your query, it is not permissible for one (especially a woman) to have a pop up business in such a place where there is music in the background or alcohol, as they maybe alternative venues that are void of the above-mentioned vices.
Furthermore, the marketplace is generally a place of Fitnah and perhaps many roamers are there with evil intentions, hence, a single conversation with the opposite gender is sufficient to destroy an entire home. Also, when male shopkeepers attend to male customers, then the transaction is concluded within a few minutes, while male customers prolong their conversations and discussions with females (and vice versa), as the Nafs derives enjoyment from such conversations. During the pop-up, a female will also have to perform Wudhu and Salaah at its fixed time and since sufficient privacy is not found, she will be exposing herself before males during Wudhu and Salaah.
Yes, if she is required to earn a livelihood as no one is prepared to support her, then she may sell items from her home. She may also prepare the items which she intends selling and have them dropped off (by some Mahram) at stores that are willing to market it for her. In this way, she will be remaining within her home as required by Shari’ah and earning a livelihood. In conclusion, a female should always remain within the confines of her home as required by Shari’ah.
Sadly, the gravest plight today is that one is willing to destroy his/her Aakhirah in the process of acquiring Dunya but how many of us have dented our Dunya to earn our Aakhirah?
أمرهن رضي الله تعالى عنهن بملازمة البيوت وهو أمر مطلوب من سائر النساء أخرج الترمذي والبزار عن إبن مسعود عن النبي صلى الله تعالى عليه وسلم قال : إن المرأة عورة فإذا خرجت من بيتها أستشرفها الشيطان وأقرب ما تكون من رحمة ربها وهي في قعر بيتها
روح المعاني (إحياء التراث العربي) (22/ 6)
والمعنى : إلزمن يا نساء النبي بيوتكن واثبتن في مساكنكن
روح البيان – إحياء التراث (7/ 131)
والخطاب وإن كان لنساء النبي فقد دخل فيه غيرهن.
تفسير القرطبي (14/ 179)
وَإِنْ كَانَ الْخِطَابُ لِنِسَاءِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَدْ دَخَلَ غَيْرُهُنَّ فِيهِ بِالْمَعْنَى. هَذَا لَوْ لَمْ يَرِدْ دَلِيلٌ يَخُصُّ جَمِيعَ النِّسَاءِ، كَيْفَ وَالشَّرِيعَةُ طَافِحَةٌ بِلُزُومِ النِّسَاءِ بُيُوتَهَنَّ، وَالِانْكِفَافِ عَنِ الْخُرُوجِ مِنْهَا إِلَّا لِضَرُورَةٍ، عَلَى مَا تَقَدَّمَ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْضِعٍ. فَأَمَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمُلَازَمَةِ بُيُوتِهِنَّ، وَخَاطَبَهُنَّ بِذَلِكَ تَشْرِيفًا لَهُنَّ
Also consider the following Hadith:
عن عبد الله رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إن المرأة عورة فإذا خرجت استشرفها الشيطان وأقرب ما تكون من وجه ربها وهي في قعر بيتها
(مسند البزار، الرقم: 1820)
Hadrat Abdullah bin Mas’ood Radiallahu Anhu reports that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “A woman should be concealed (from strange men). When she leaves her home, Shaytaan looks at her. The time that she is closest to her Rabb is when she is within the confines of her home.”
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: 16 Dhul Hijjah 1447 / 03 June 2026
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Yacoob Vally Saheb