Fatwa ID: 08818
Answered by Maulana Muhammad Zubair Khan Alizai
Question:
I attend a high school in Bangladesh. In my nation, many people fabricate their birth dates in order to receive additional government work benefits and possibly other benefits. On my birth certificate, my parents also lowered my age.
Now that I am in high school, my passport and all other school-related documents contain incorrect birth dates. You must use the birthdate given on your birth certificate if you need to register for anything related to school or education. Whenever registering for anything related to those, I worry that I might have to lie. Even when I pursue higher education in the near future.
Kindly be advised that I am not in a position to request that my parents amend my birth certificate. Since my age has been dropped by three years, the school might question us if we were able to. Maybe they will not allow me to continue my schooling. As far as I know, there is an age limit for each grade. My birth certificate was created years ago, and my official passport also shows fake age. I do not think it is really conceivable for me to modify my age in any way. Even if it were, a bribe is likely to be required. Even if it is not that way, they will undoubtedly ask me if I suddenly increase my age by three years and it does not match my passport. It will undoubtedly cause me issues in many ways.
Now what am I supposed to do? To the best of my knowledge, whether they ask for the date of birth when registering, applying, or completing any other paperwork pertaining to education or in general, they are referring to the age listed on the birth certificate. Would I be allowed to use that fake age in those terms, then?
Remembering that I use my true age in my daily life?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Generally speaking when it comes to forging documents or giving false information, then it is not lawful as it comes under cheating and lying which is haram in Islam.
Also, many a times this discrepancy in birthdate or birth year was not due to cheating in documents but rather because when the child was born there wouldn’t be anyone to go to the city to register the child, and many months or even a year could go by before the child would be registered.
There is an Islamic principle that allows for ease when it comes to worldly matters that are not entirely unlawful or such that it could lead to even more harm if that route was chosen, then in that case it would be allowed, and as soon as that harm is removed or there is a new law in your country that facilitates the changing then it would be incumbent upon you to have it changed.
In your situation as this is something that has been done by your parents and changing it would mean more hardship and incurring extra financial burden, then you don’t need to change it and you can continue using that birth certificate.
References:
- القواعد الفقهية المكتبة دار الترمذي الصفحة ٤٥
٣٢. الحاجة تنزل منزلة الضرورة عامة كانت او خاصة في اباحة المحظور
Only Allah Taala knows best
Written by Maulana Muhammad Zubair Khan Alizai
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
