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2514120/03/2008

Ruling on working in a law company whose field of work is financial markets

Question: 113898

Is it permissible to work as an IT personal in a law firm if you know the firm mainly involved in Financial Market deals like Mergers and Acquisitions, IPO (Initial Public offerings of new stocks). Besides the firm may be have operations with loan-debt related work. For more information the company name is… .

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Financial markets are
filled with things that are contrary to sharee’ah and often involve haraam
things, such as buying and selling currencies and gold without the
transaction being done hand to hand between the two parties, or dealing with
some systems such as the FOREX and Margin (for the rulings on these please
see the answer to question no. 93334;
dealing with these is haraam); buying and selling shares in companies and
factories that deal in haraam things; buying and selling shares in banks and
organizations that are purely riba-based; and many other things. 

If a person works in a
company or organization that supervises transactions in the financial
markets or other places in which Allaah is disobeyed, such as hotels and
tourist resorts, he will not be free of taking part to some extent in sin,
and will be helping in sin and transgression, especially if his job is
directly involved in organizing haraam actions or dealing with interest
(riba). 

Allaah has forbidden the
Muslim to disobey Him, and He has also forbidden him to help the sinner in
his sin. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):  

“Help you one another in
Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one
another in sin and transgression. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe
in punishment”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]

Hence from looking at the
nature of this work that this company does, we do not think that it is a
permissible job, rather it is haraam, because it directly involves recording
riba and recording sin and disobedience. This not only has to do with the
work of the company itself, rather the company asked about is a law firm
that takes care of the interests of its clients and defends them, and seeks
their dues of their money, which may be money that involves pure riba. Its
work is also not free of other things that are contrary to sharee’ah,
because of the nature of its licence as a law firm. All of its work is based
on man-made laws, not on sharee’ah, so how can it be halaal work? 

The scholars of the
Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said: It is not permissible for a
Muslim to work in a bank or organization or company or for any individual
who deals in riba, because of the evidence which indicates that riba is
haraam, as is helping with riba. There are many jobs, and if a person fears
Allaah, He will make things easy for him. The wording of the hadeeth is: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed
the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it, the one who writes it
down and the two who witness it, and he said: they are all the same. 
Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. Al-Bukhaari narrated part of it
from Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) with the words: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed
the one who consumes riba, the one who pays it, the woman who does tattoos,
the woman who has them done, and the image-maker. End quote. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn
Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah (15/49). 

For information on the
ruling on working as a lawyer, please see the answers to questions no.
9496 and
82799

You should look for another
job, and stop thinking about working in this company. We ask Allaah to
compensate you with good for your strong faith and to grant you goodly
provision in this world. 

And Allaah knows best.

Source

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