Question: What if one gives sadaqah out of haram?
ANSWER
If one gives sadaqah out of haram and if the receiver, with the full knowledge that it is from haram, says “May Allah be pleased with you” or “May Allah accept it” and then if the donor says "Amin”, both of them fall into disbelief (kufr).

Property is considered one's halal possession, even if it was stolen or acquired by way of interest, unless it is known for sure that it has been acquired by way of haram means. If one gives it to another party, it is permissible to accept it, even though the property is tainted (mulk-i khabith). If the gifted property is known to be haram in any case, it will by no means be permissible to accept it.

It is not permissible to give something haram as a gift. It is not permissible, either, to receive it if one knows that it is something haram. If one obtains something haram, e.g., haram money, one must return it to its owner. If its owner is not known, one must give it to a poor person as sadaqah. It is sinful to give it anywhere else. It is not permissible for anyone, except the poor, to receive it. Only an heir can receive inheritance even if he or she knows that it is from haram. If a poor person whom one has given something haram as sadaqah gives it back to the donor as sadaqah, then the donor can make use it as well.

It is permissible to accept the gift given by someone whose wealth, one thinks, is predominantly from halal sources. If it is from haram, then it is not permissible.

Turbid water is counted as clean because water is clean by its very nature. Its being impure is dubious. If a person’s income is predominantly haram, it is makruh, not haram, to accept something given by him unless one knows for sure that it is something from haram. If his wealth is predominantly halal, it is permissible to accept a gift given by him. If most of one’s wealth is haram, a person must accept one’s gift if one says that it is from halal. If one does not explain it, then the receiver should investigate and act on his/her assumption.

Question: I have some money that, I doubt, fell out of my pocket. I know that it is haram to give something haram as sadaqah. What should I do with this money?
ANSWER
If you are poor, then you can make use of it. If you are rich, give it to a poor person. The money you found is not something haram. There is nothing wrong with giving it to a poor person.

Question: It is written in fiqh books, “If something earned by haram means is given as sadaqah and if the receiver says ‘May Allah accept it’ with the full knowledge that it is from haram, he/she becomes a disbeliever. If he/she says 'May Allah be pleased with you', it will not cause disbelief.” Why is the former disbelief while the latter not?
ANSWER
Thawab must not be expected in return for giving something haram. Our religion says that there is no thawab for giving something haram. If one says “May Allah accept it,” it means that one does not accept what our religion says. Saying “May Allah be pleased with you” however does not mean “May Allah be pleased with you because of the fact that you commit haram.” If one means this, of course it causes disbelief, too. It is a prayer with the meaning “May Allah change your condition with the one He is pleased with.” One can make this prayer even for a disbeliever when occasion arises. That is, one is saying a prayer for his/her guidance, which is permissible. However, it is not permissible to say such a prayer for a disbeliever “May Allah have mercy on you.”

Question: Is it permissible to get a mosque done with halal and haram money collected? Can haram money be spent on charitable donations? Is it permissible to say “May Allah be pleased with you” to a person who has given haram money?
ANSWER
It is written in the Sharh on Wasiyyatnama of Birghiwi, “If one gives sadaqah from something definitely haram and expects thawab and if the poor receiver says ‘May Allah be pleased with you’ with the full knowledge that it is from haram and if the donor or anyone else says ‘Amin’, all of them become disbelievers.” Hadrat Ibn Abidin says, “It causes disbelief to get a mosque done or to do any charitable deed with something known to be haram and then to expect thawab.” (Se’adet-i Ebediyye)

Earning money through haram ways and giving sadaqah from haram is different from mixing haram and halal things and making use of them. The permissibility of making use of them does not mean the permissibility of haram. One who earns money through haram ways will certainly be imposed punishment. The answer to the question we asked our late Master pertaining to this matter is as follows:

If two or more haram things are mixed together or with other halal things, they become one’s possessions, and it is permissible to make us of them however one wants. That is, one can get a mosque done with it. It is permissible to say “May Allah be pleased with you” to someone who has given haram money, but it causes disbelief to say “May Allah accept it.”

It causes disbelief because one expects thawab due to doing something haram in this case; however, Allahu ta’ala may turn him to a condition in which He is pleased with him. This du’a can be made even for a disbeliever for his guidance. Saying “May Allah be pleased with you” does not mean “May Allah be pleased with this condition of yours” but means “May He change your condition to that which pleases Him.”That is, having this intention, one can say “May Allah be pleased with you” even to a disbeliever. But it causes disbelief to say it without having this intention.

It is not permissible to perform salat in a mosque which has been built with purely haram money.