Standards Used to Determine Halal Writing Opportunities

This week, I started a new feature on this blog called Halal Writing Opportunities.

Since my non-Muslim visitors might not be familiar with the term halal, I thought it would be a good idea to explain what distinguishes these listings from others on the Internet. It is also a good chance for me to define the standards I am using to my Muslim visitors as well.

In basic terms, halal means "permissible according to Islamic law." When I say that a job opportunity is halal, I mean that it does not fall into the category of haram (prohibited according to Islamic law). As I explained initially, there are many industries that a practicing Muslim might find problematic to write about. These include (but are not limited to):

Any promotion of alcohol, gambling, drugs, interest/usury, dating, intimate relationships outside the realm of marriage, certain types of music/entertainment, and others.

So, when I compile my list of Halal Writing Opportunities each day, I am mainly looking to avoid these industries and provide access to more neutral topics, such as home improvement, health care, science, technology, history, and others. If an ad is too vague, I don't list it. If it sounds like a scam, I don't list it.

In addition, I have decided to list only paying markets. That is because these are jobs and not dawah opportunities (opportunities to share Islam). Writing for free may be appropriate in certain circumstances, but not usually when you are working to build another person's business.

Again, please note that I cannot vouch for any of the jobs/companies listed or even guarantee that they are 100% halal (you must take the time to thoroughly investigate any job you apply for), but I am attempting to go one level beyond what is provided on most writing sites/blogs by filtering out the jobs that are obviously undesirable to practicing Muslims. Many of the jobs may also be of interest to people of other faiths who also want to avoid certain industries.