Short answer
Yes. Driving passengers or delivering food is lawful work, and earning by your own hands is praised in the hadith. Turn off or decline alcohol and pork orders where you can, since the Hanafi school dislikes delivering them and the other schools forbid it. Where a passenger goes is their own responsibility.
Ride-hailing and delivery are permitted, as hire for transport (ijarah). Delivering sealed alcohol for a non-Muslim is makruh according to Abu Yusuf and Muhammad (permitted by Abu Hanifa), so decline such orders where possible and never deliver alcohol to a Muslim. Driving a passenger to a bar or casino is not a sin on you, since the ride itself is lawful.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Wages for carrying, serving or delivering alcohol are haram, whoever the customer is; there is no exception for a non-Muslim.
- Maliki
- Wages for carrying, serving or delivering alcohol are haram, whoever the customer is; there is no exception for a non-Muslim.
- Hanbali
- Wages for carrying, serving or delivering alcohol are haram, whoever the customer is; there is no exception for a non-Muslim.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said no one eats better food than what he earns with his own hands. Driving and delivery are honest work, and the Quran tells believers to go out after prayer and seek the bounty of Allah (62:10).
Alcohol and pork orders. The hadith curses the one who carries alcohol and the one it is carried to. Imam Abu Hanifa held that a hired carrier's wage is not haram when the alcohol is for a non-Muslim, since the sin is in the drinking; his students Abu Yusuf and Muhammad held it makruh, and the other three schools forbid it. Many apps let drivers opt out of alcohol deliveries, so use that setting. Meals containing pork follow the same caution.
Passengers. You are hired to drive, not for what the passenger does at the other end. Taking someone to a bar, a club or a church is permitted for you. A passenger carrying their own alcohol, or a drunk passenger you drive home safely, does not make your fare haram. Keep your dealings with passengers of the opposite sex brief and professional.
Other points:
- Tips and bonuses from the app are halal. See Is tipping halal?
- Legally required car insurance is allowed. See Is car insurance haram?
- Avoid financing your car with an interest loan.
- Plan your shifts around salah, and pray on time.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Jumu'a 62:10
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٠﴾
And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed.
Seeking a living through lawful work is encouraged.
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:2
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُحِلُّوا۟ شَعَٰٓئِرَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا ٱلشَّهْرَ ٱلْحَرَامَ وَلَا ٱلْهَدْىَ وَلَا ٱلْقَلَٰٓئِدَ وَلَآ ءَآمِّينَ ٱلْبَيْتَ ٱلْحَرَامَ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًۭا مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرِضْوَٰنًۭا ۚ وَإِذَا حَلَلْتُمْ فَٱصْطَادُوا۟ ۚ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَـَٔانُ قَوْمٍ أَن صَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ أَن تَعْتَدُوا۟ ۘ وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ ﴿٢﴾
O you who have believed, do not violate the rites of Allah or [the sanctity of] the sacred month or [neglect the marking of] the sacrificial animals and garlanding [them] or [violate the safety of] those coming to the Sacred House seeking bounty from their Lord and [His] approval. But when you come out of ihram, then [you may] hunt. And do not let the hatred of a people for having obstructed you from al-Masjid al-Haram lead you to transgress. And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.
Carrying alcohol is avoided because it helps in sin.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2072
Sahih... ما أكل أحد طعاما قط خيرا من أن يأكل من عمل يده ...
"No one has ever eaten better food than what he eats from the work of his own hands."
Earning through your own labour is praised.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3674
Graded sahih... وعاصرها ومعتصرها وحاملها والمحمولة إليه ...
"And the one who presses it, the one it is pressed for, the one who carries it and the one it is carried to."
Carrying alcohol is named in the curse.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, on carrying wine for a non-Muslim. Abu Hanifa's view and his students' view on wages for carrying wine.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Ijara, on hire for transport. Hiring out transport is a valid contract.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.