What should a person do with the profits he made from selling cigarettes, when it has been mixed with other lawful money?
Praise be to Allah.
He who has
done business in things that are prohibited in Islam, such as musical
instruments, prohibited cassettes, cigarettes etc. while knowing the ruling
on them then wishes to repent, needs to give away in charity all the profits
he made from them. This will be a means of purification and will not be
counted as spending in the way of Allah, for Allah is pure and does not
accept but the pure.
Further, if
this money gets mixed up with other earnings, as in the case of a shop owner
who sells many other items, then if he can compute the amount of profits
made from them, he should do so in the hope of purifying the rest of his
earnings.
In other
words, he who has some money earned through unlawful means and intends to
repent, should:
1- If he was an unbeliever at the time of earning the money, he is not
obliged to atone for them or seek their purification. For the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not demand from his followers that
they purify their wealth after coming into the fold of Islam.
2- If he was Muslim at the time of earning the money, well aware of its
Islamic ban and prohibition, then he should separate it out at the time of
repentance.