Fatwa ID: 07695

 

 

Answered by Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat

 

 

Question:

 

 

I work for a freelance-based transcription company. It’s a marketplace where clients upload their files. I can take any file I like, and work on it. All the files that clients upload are displayed on the website with the amount I get for each file. For example, if I transcribe a 50 min file, I earn $10. The $10 then will immediately be added to my account once I finish and submit the file. I get paid every Friday for the amount I earned the entire week.

 

 

But since it’s a marketplace, anyone can upload any kind of files, whether halal or haram. Usually, most files are medical files, court files, research, podcasts, Zoom meetings, interviews, etc. A very famous Islamic figure is our regular client. The company does not give me a salary, I get paid for individual files that I work on, and I always work on files that are 100% halal. But will it be permissible to work on a marketplace like this where both halal and haram files can be uploaded?

 

 

Will I be sinful if haram files are being transcribed by other workers of the company even if I don’t take any haram files?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer:

 

 

In Hanafi Fiqh, if a person is working in a lawful profession and specifically chooses permissible tasks while avoiding any impermissible (haram) activities, their income is considered halal. This applies even if the broader environment contains elements that may not align with Islamic guidelines, so long as the individual’s actions remain within the bounds of halal, which is affirmed by the Quran in Surah Maaida:88 “ Eat of the good, lawful things provided to you by Allah. And be mindful of Allah in Whom you believe”

 

 

Since you work on a platform where both halal and haram files may be uploaded, but you personally choose only halal files, it will be permissible.

 

 

Your transaction company sounds like what is called a partnership based on your expertise (Shirkatul Bilabdaan…) ( شركة بالبدان فقط…….)– where partners do not contribute any capital, but their expertise and skill is used and profits are shared accordingly, in your case you are paid according to your skill for each file that you have transcribed and this makes it halal and permissible as the company is aware of this.

 

 

Therefore, if you are selecting only halal files and abstaining from impermissible ones, your income is considered halal. You are not responsible for haram files processed by others on the platform, as you are not engaging with or supporting these files.

 

 

Therefore, working in such a marketplace is permissible for you, and there is no sin in your income if your selection remains within the halal content.

 

 

I hope that this answers the question.

 

 

 

Only Allah knows best.

Answered by Alimah Shireen Mangera-Badat

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

References

 

 

 وَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ حَلَـٰلًۭا طَيِّبًۭا ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنتُم بِهِۦ مُؤْمِنُونَ

 

 Iqtisaad Islaami page 14