Assalamualaikum
I work for a sofware company as a full-time employee which is planning to sub-contract me to another company and that company will further be sub-contracting me to an Insurance company that offers Life Insurance and group insurance. My job there will be to automate the insursnce company’s software. Until I join the job I would not know for certain whether the software being automated deals with interest or not. Is accepting such a job permissible?
JazakAllahu Khairan
الجواب وباللہ التوفیق
To work for a company (as mentioned in your question) and to receive income from them, where your responsibility is to prepare such software which will be used for accounting and documentation of of interest based transactions (and insurance), is not free of karahat (strict dislikeness). Even though this may not involve documenting interest based transactions in itself but there is cooperation in such documentation to some level, and in hadith-e-mubarakah, in addition to taking and giving interest, documentation of interest based transactions is also described as a source of becoming cursed.
عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- آكِلَ الرِّبَا وَمُوكِلَهُ وَكَاتِبَهُ وَشَاهِدَيْهِ وَقَالَ هُمْ سَوَاءٌ. (صحیح مسلم: باب لَعْنِ آكِلِ الرِّبَا وَمُؤْكِلِهِ،۴۱۷۷)
Therefore, the cooperation in documentation of the interest based transactions will not be free from such karahat. However, if the software is free of interest calculations and none of its options relate to interest, then it will be permissible to work for such a company without any karahat.
قال المرغینانی: ویکرہ بیع السلاح في أیام الفتنة، معناہ: ممن یعرف أنہ من أہل الفتنة؛ لأنہ تسبیب إلی المعصیة وقدبیناہ في السیر، وإن کان لا یعرف أنہ من أہل الفتنے، لابأس بذلک؛ لأنہ یحتمل أن لا یستعملہ في الفتنة، فلا یکرہ بالشک (الہدایة: ۴/۳۷۸، کتاب الکراہیة، فصل في البیع، دار إحیاء التراث العربي، بیروت) وإن کان سببًا ناصرًا للمعصیة مع عدم العلم أنہ تتفعل بہ المعصیة ومع عدم قصر المعصیة أولا، فلا حرج فیہ وإن کان مع العلم أنہ تُفْعَلُ بہ المعصیة، فہو قسمان: إما تُفْعَلُ بہ المعصیة بغیر تغیر فیہ، فیکون مکروہًا تحریمیًا، وإن کان مع تغییر فیہ، فیکون مکروھا تنزیھیًا․ (جواہر الفقہ)
فقط واللہ اعلم بالصواب