Originally, a Muslim is not permitted to sell pork even to non-Muslims unless there is a necessity that warrants doing so such as a great financial loss that may force one out of his business altogether.
Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states: “Originally, pork is expressly prohibited in the Qur’an. It is not permissible to sell it, either to Muslims or non-Muslims. However, this ruling may be reversed as regards a Muslim living in the West; he may be permitted to sell pork to non-Muslim customers in case of extreme necessity, if the Muslim finds himself forced to sell it lest he’d lose customers and have his business ruined. But while doing this, he must make sure that the profits earned from selling pork are to be kept aside and be distributed among the poor because a Muslim is not permitted to keep unlawful earnings in his possession.”
Moreover, the late, Sheikh Mustafa Az-Zarqa, professor of Jurisprudence at the Syrian Universities, adds:
“I find in the Hanafi school a permission for a Muslim who lives among disbelievers to have in his store items such as pork so that he can sell them to non-Muslim customers. But an extreme caution is needed here, as regards pork; he should not carry it unless it is canned, as it is impure and its impurity is transmissible through touching by the knife, hands etc.
As a precautionary measure, I think revenues earned from selling pork should be kept in a separate box, and their profits should be calculated and given to poor Muslims as an aid for the weak among them or be spent on the general interests of Muslims; the owner of the store should not take them for himself.”
In the light of the above-mentioned Fatwas, it’s clear that selling pork is never deemed permissible, under any circumstances, either to Muslims or to non-Muslims. However, as we know that Islam does not stipulate rigid rulings or teachings in the sense of making things difficult for its followers, it leaves room to flexibility as regards certain situations that may warrant excuse. Selling pork to non-Muslims in the West falls in this category. But we must stress that this is only under extreme necessities, and necessity must be put within its domain.