Question Summary:
What if someone is working for a stock exchange broker, securities company or holding company under similar conditions. Will it still be permissible?….I have a confusion regarding fatwa # 16250 that although one is not directly involved ….

Question Detail:

This is with reference to fatwa # 16250,

1- What if someone is working for a stock exchange broker, securities company or holding company under similar conditions. Will it still be permissible?
2- I have a confusion regarding fatwa # 16250 that although one is not directly involved in interest based transactions but aren't they assisting in developing a software that would be used for a interest based business. Please explain. Jazakullah

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
1) It will be permissible to be employed under such companies as long as the person is not personally involved in the interest-based transactions of the company. For example, he may be an accountant or a software tester. (Contemporary Fatawa, P. 160-161, Idara-e-Islamiat)
2) Fatwa #16250 was referring to a software tester for a company who is not personally involved in the impermissible transactions. Therefore, he is not an actual participant of the transaction itself in any way.  Another example that can be given is if a foreign exchange firm uses the phone to call clients for their transactions. If a Muslim is called in to test and fix their phone lines he will not be sinful because he is not involved in the company's transactions himself, even though he may know that they use their phones to execute impermissible transactions.
The softwares used by these companies are calculators of interest. If one were to sell calculators to a foreign exchange firm it will be permissible, although he may know that the calculators might be used to calculate interest. Again, this is because he is not actually involved in the transactions himself.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Asif Umar,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah