Software Engineer for a Bank

Question

Assalamualaikum wr wb! May Allah bless and reward Mufti saab for doing such noble service. I have been loosing peace thinking about this and I came across the website where i can clarify my doubt. Alhamdulillah. My name is …, I am from India, moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in January 2022 with my wife who is a student here. I have been giving interviews for several companies in the UK out of which two companies choose to offer me jobs with sponsorship, which is my requirement to settle down here. one of the company i was selected for is BJSS its a gambling company, but I declined the offer because of what they work for. Another company that has offered me a job is Lloyds banking group. although I do not work in their bank, I develop software for their company that deals with banking and other sectors. I do not have any other job right now and my sustenance depends on it. is it permissible for me to work in such company? Also I have seen many other Muslims working in the company but I seek further clarification on this and if it is not permissible can I at least work until I find another job?

Answer

A bank’s income comes from a variety of sources. Some of them are lawful whilst others are unlawful. The majority is usually from deposits which are deemed to be lawful. For this reason, it would be permissible to be employed by a bank provided that the tasks you are paid to carry out are lawful. In your case, developing software is a lawful task and therefore this role would be permissible.

We would advise however that working for a bank is not ideal as they engage in many activities that violate shari’ah rulings. Hence, whilst continuing your current employment if you are able to find alternative work then this would be better.

Fiqh al-Buyu’ 2:1064

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel

Source:

https://fatwacentre.org/business-trade/software-engineer-for-a-bank/