Question
I am an accountant and took up employment at FNB commercial property division as a management accountant. With reference to my job, please advise the Shariah/ Islamic legality of the position. I have been employed for about a year. If the position is not suitable, do I save up and dispose of the income earned during my employment at the bank? Should I ask for a possible transfer to Islamic banking?
Answer
Allah Ta'ala states in the Qur'aan Majeed: "Do not aid one another in sin and transgression." Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said that all those involved in riba (interest) transactions in whatever capacity, be they witnesses to the deal, are equal in sin. The Qur'aan Majeed further issues an ultimatum of war for those who indulge in riba, and brands them as mad people driven to insanity by the "touch of shaitaan".
All commercial banks, including the so-called Islamic banks, are capitalist institutions of riba. Riba is the very life-blood and breathing of the capitalist banks. As such it is not permissible to work in a bank even in a so-called 'Islamic' bank. Working in a bank is to aid and abet in sin and transgression.
Therefore, your job at the bank is not permissible. While it is not permissible to work at the bank, there is no incumbent need for you to save up and dispose of what you have already earned at the bank. This ruling is governed by certain principles of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Nevertheless, you should be on the lookout for other work.
- Source
- themajlis.co.za
- Published in
- The Majlis Vol 20 No 11
- PDF page
- 2
Appears under Questions and Answers (approximate).