What is the Ruling on Taking Illicit Earnings of a Prostitute Wife?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on benefiting from the unlawful earnings of a wife who is a prostitute?
❖ Answer:
Such earnings are absolutely ḥarām (forbidden) and illegitimate in Islam.
◈ Clear Prohibition in the Sunnah
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Masʿūd رضي الله عنه narrated:
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن ثمن الكلب، ومهر البغي، وحلوان الكاهن.
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the price of a dog, the earnings of a prostitute, and the payment to a soothsayer.”
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2237; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1567]
❀ Sayyidunā Rāfiʿ bin Khadīj رضي الله عنه reported:
ثمن الكلب خبيث، ومهر البغي خبيث، وكسب الحجام خبيث.
“The price of a dog is impure, the earnings of a prostitute are impure, and the wage of a cupper (ḥajjām) is impure.”
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1568]
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن كسب الحجام، وكسب البغي، وثمن الكلب.
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited the earnings of a cupper, a prostitute, and the price of a dog.”
📚 [Musnad Aḥmad: 7976; Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 4673 – sanad ṣaḥīḥ]
❀ A narration states:
لا يحل ثمن الكلب، ولا حلوان الكاهن، ولا مهر البغي.
“The price of a dog is not ḥalāl, nor is the earning of a soothsayer, nor the wage of a prostitute.”
📚 [Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 3484; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn ʿAwnah: 5273 – sanad ḥasan]
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله graded this narration’s chain as ḥasan (sound).
📚 [Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/426]
✅ Conclusion:
① All forms of income from prostitution are completely ḥarām.
② The Prophet ﷺ explicitly forbade taking such money.
③ A husband is not permitted to benefit from such earnings.
④ The ruling is supported by multiple sound ḥadīths.
This includes anyone, not just the woman herself—even if she is one’s wife, her illicit earnings remain impermissible.
