Question Summary:
Is my income from students who violate their countries laws haram?

Question Detail:

Assalam alaikum Based in pakistan, I started an online teaching business, for school students around the world. I use online softwares that give voice conferencing services etc. known as VoIP. Use of these softwares is allowed in Pakistan. Some of my students are from Oman, where the omani authorities ban some of these VoIP services, specially whatsapp, skype, imo, etc. and recently they blocked the one i was using to teach i.e zoom.us. VoIP’s can be computer to computer only using internet channel, or computer to a mobile, landline device which would use the telecom infrastructure of the country. (https://tra.gov.om/pdf/draftregulationonvoiceoveriP.pdf) I use the computer to computer only, i.e only internet based. The exact legal status of this VoIP in oman is not clear, with some indications of being illegal as well as legal per se. (https://tra.gov.om/pdf/551decisionno34-2012.pdf) (https://tra.gov.om/newsite1/Portal/Upload/Documents/493_68-2011.pdf) and related pages Oman authorities usually site security reasons for banning these websites and apps, asking providers to get licence first, but its also widely held to be a means of protecting omani telecom company profits. There are tools like VPNs available to bypass this block (students in oman would use it), in pakistan there is no block so I dont need to use any such thing. I’m trying to find the exact law situation, but till then, assuming worst case scenario that it is illegal, my question is that: As only a user of these services, 1) *if using unregistered VoIP is illegal in omani law, and i use a website that is also blocked in oman, and the students use VPN to access my teaching class, would that make my earning on it haram? Or what would be the implications? *if using VoIP is illegal in omani law, but i use a website that isn’t banned in oman yet, so the students can access without VPN, would earning on that be haram still, or permissible? 2) does omani law or any other country’s law where the student would be, affect my earning status religiously or am i only to see pakistani law and abide by that only? Jazakallah

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

You are being paid to teach. The platform used by your students to access that teaching will not affect the halal status of the fees due to you.^[1]  

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

______

^[1]

مجلة الأحكام العدلية (ص: 105)

لو استؤجر أستاذ لتعليم علم أو صنعة فإن ذكرت مدة انعقدت الإجارة على المدة حتى أن الأستاذ يستحق الأجرة لكونه حاضرا ومهيأ للتعليم قرأ التلميذ , أو لم يقرأ وإن لم تذكر مدة انعقدت إجارة فاسدة , وعلى هذه الصورة إن قرأ التلميذ فالأستاذ يستحق الأجرة وإلا فلا