In Islamic law, a Muslim is expected to avoid cooperating in sin or transgression, based on the verse:

“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and transgression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.”
(Surat al-Mā’idah, 5:2)

However, the application of this principle varies depending on whether the assistance is direct or indirect, intentional or incidental, and whether the work is primarily ḥalāl or revolves around prohibited acts.

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1. General Principle: Transporting Alcohol Is Not Permissible

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Indeed, Allah has cursed alcohol: the one who drinks it, the one who serves it, the one who sells it, the one who buys it, the one who squeezes (the grapes), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who carries it, and the one to whom it is carried.”
(Sunan Abu Dawūd, 3674; graded sahih by al-Albānī)

This hadith explicitly includes the one who carries it (ḥāmiluhā) and the one to whom it is delivered (al-maḥmūl ilayhi) among those who are cursed — indicating that intentionally transporting alcohol is a serious sin in Islam.

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2. Working in a Mixed Role Like UPS Delivery Driver

In the case of a delivery driver working for a large logistics company like UPS:

• The majority of your job involves delivering permissible items (documents, food, clothing, books, supplies, etc.).
• You are not hired specifically to deliver ḥarām goods, and such deliveries are incidental to your job.
• You may not even know which boxes contain alcohol unless clearly labeled.

Because of this, many contemporary scholars and fatwa bodies — including those from minority Muslim contexts — have ruled that such mixed employment is not ḥarām, but may fall into the category of makrūh (discouraged) if the worker knowsingly and voluntarily delivers ḥarām items without objection or avoidance.

If the worker has no control over the content or cannot refuse individual deliveries, and the job is essential for their livelihood, then it would be classified as permissible with dislike (makrūh tanzīhan), and not outright sinful.

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3. Practical Guidance and Recommendation

• If it is possible to avoid delivering alcohol by requesting route adjustments or asking to be excused from certain deliveries, that is the preferred and safer approach.
• If such avoidance is not possible and the job remains mostly ḥalāl in nature, then continuing the job is not sinful, especially if one has no other alternative and relies on the income to support one’s family.
• The worker should maintain the intention to seek purely ḥalāl income and make du‘ā for a better alternative.

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Conclusion:

Working as a UPS delivery driver is not ḥarām in itself, even if occasional deliveries involve ḥarām items such as alcohol — as long as:

• These deliveries are not the main part of the job,
• The worker does not intend or support the ḥarām activity,
• And the role primarily involves ḥalāl goods and services.

However, delivering alcohol knowingly and willingly remains prohibited, and a believer should avoid it when possible, seek Allah’s forgiveness, and look for work that is free of doubtful or sinful elements, especially if alternatives exist.