Fatwa ID: 08623

 

 

Answered by Alimah Saleha Bukhari Islam

 

Question:

 

I have received a job offer for an IT role in a real estate company and I wanted to ask if the company’s source of income is halal as I know more than 50% of the revenue has to be permissible in order for the job to be halal. The main activity of the company is to offer investment advice to businesses who want to purchase property. They receive a fee from the client for this advice.

 

Most of the property investments are funded using an interest-based loan. The company sometimes helps clients with obtaining funding (which will usually involve interest) but for the majority of transactions they only advise the client on which property to purchase and then the client will obtain the funding separately.

 

Is the company facilitating sin by advising a client on a property purchase if they know that the client will independently obtain an interest-based loan to fund this purchase? In this scenario, the company’s only involvement with the client is property advice; they have no involvement in the clients’ interest-based loan acquisition.

 

 

 

 

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

 

Answer:

 

Your IT role at the real estate company would be permissible (halal) so long as your job does not directly involve facilitating or assisting with the client’s interest-based loans. Simply advising clients on which properties to purchase, even if they then independently finance the purchase through an interest (Riba) based method does not make one complicit in the sin. If your IT role is limited to lawful property advice, then it is permissible. This aligns with our Islamic values from the Quran:

 

“Help one another in righteousness and piety, but do not help one another in sin and aggression. And be mindful of Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment.”

[Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:2] [1]

 

Furthermore, it should align with the Islamic legal maxim (al-Qai’dah al-Fiqhiyyah):

 

“Al-I’bratu fil-uqūd lil-maqāsid wal-maānī lā lil-alfāz wal-mabānī”
[Consideration in contracts is given to objectives and meanings, not merely to wording and structure.] [2]

 

Suppose a company says, “We are just advising clients on properties” but they are actively also arranging haram loans. Even if they avoid using the word “broker” or “loan facilitator,” the Shariah looks at what they are actively engaged in, not just what they are calling it. Thus, if their real activity is genuine advice only, it’s permitted but if their real activities include facilitating Riba, then it’s forbidden.

 

Thus, if your IT role is limited to lawful property advice, then it is permissible. However, if your work requires you to directly assist with or manage interest-bearing transactions, then that specific involvement would not be permissible. [3]

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

[1]  وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ ٢

 

[2]  العبرة في العقود للمقاصد والمعاني، لا للألفاظ والمباني (م/٣)

ص403 – كتاب القواعد الفقهية وتطبيقاتها في المذاهب الأربعة – القاعدة العبرة في العقود للمقاصد والمعاني لا للألفاظ والمباني – المكتبة الشاملة

 

[3]  إذَا اجْتَمَعَ الْحَلَالُ وَالْحَرَامُ غَلَبَ الْحَرَامُ وَبِمَعْنَاهَا مَا اجْتَمَعَ مُحَرِّمٌ وَمُبِيحٌ إلَّا غَلَبَ الْمُحَرِّمُ، وَالْعِبَارَةُ الْأُولَى لَفْظُ حَدِيثٍ أَوْرَدَهُ جَمَاعَةٌ «مَا اجْتَمَعَ الْحَلَالُ وَالْحَرَامُ إلَّا غَلَبَ الْحَرَامُ الْحَلَالَ» ) . ٢ – قَالَ الْعِرَاقِيُّ: لَا أَصْلَ لَهُ وَضَعَّفَهُ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ، وَأَخْرَجَهُ عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ مَوْقُوفًا عَلَى ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ – رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ -، وَذَكَرَهُ الزَّيْلَعِيُّ شَارِحُ الْكَنْزِ فِي كِتَابِ الصَّيْدِ مَرْفُوعًا.

ص335 – كتاب غمز عيون البصائر في شرح الأشباه والنظائر – القاعدة الثانية إذا اجتمع الحلال والحرام غلب الحرام – المكتبة الشاملة

 

 

 

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Alimah Saleha Bukhari Islam

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham