Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
A Muslim is not allowed to rent his house to be used as a bar. So, if you rented your house to be used as a bar, you should correct the situation through the legal means.
In responding to your question, Prof. Dr. Monzer Kahf, Professor of Islamic Finance and Economics at Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, states:
If you rented the house to this man without any conditions, knowing that he is not a Muslim or a Muslim who sells or manufacture beer, which limit his use of the house, also if you gave him a power of attorney on the house without restricting the use of the property, you are then a part of sale and manufacturing.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us that ten functions are prohibited with regard to alcoholic drinks one of them is selling it and another is manufacturing it.
Besides, selling liquor makes its price also haram and your portion of the price is also haram. You must give it to a Muslim charity for distribution to the poor and the needy.
If a part of the house is used for his residence, the rent of that part is not haram although he may drink inside it because a residence is rented for living and drinking is only incidental.
If you rented the house for residence and he violates the condition, you must prevent him from that even through courts but the rent is not haram until the use of the house is rectified.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.