The lightning-fast development of IT requires answers to many existential questions. For Muslims working in this field, it is fundamentally important to understand how religion relates to information technology. In the Republic of Ingushetia, one of the Muslim regions of Russia, where the community "Ingternet" is actively engaged in education in the field of IT. The YouTube channel of Ingush enthusiasts has posted a podcast "Muslim in IT", in which took part the doctor of sciences in Muslim law, associate professor and senior lecturer of the Department of Economics of the International Islamic University of Malaysia Gapur Oziev.
The conversation began with a question about the permissibility of working as a programmer in commercial banks. The invited expert noted that the upcoming conversation should in no way be perceived as sabotage of the existing system of any secular state. However, Muslims should clearly answer the question of how permitted or prohibited this or that activity in IT is from the point of view of Sharia without any ambiguity.
There are two general approaches to working in commercial banks. The first approach categorically prohibits such employment, since the basis of any financial institution, especially banks, is usury. At the same time, even if a Muslim does not work specifically in the credit department, he or she contributes to the full functioning of the organization in one way or another. This is the opinion of the majority of Muslim scholars, both classics and moderns.
There is another group of scholars who believe that such work is permitted, but with very strict and tough conditions: if there are no Islamic banks in the country where you live, or if a person finds himself in a hopeless situation and cannot find a job to provide for himself, then in this case, he should avoid working in the credit department, and also not strive for career growth. These are general conditions, but the main thing is to quit such work at the first opportunity.
Some companies where IT specialists work may be bought out by one or another bank. Even if the employee's direct activity is not related to credit operations, in his new position he is already busy promoting the interests of the new owners. In such a case, it is important to determine the circumstances that have arisen, since it is possible that the company's property is pledged or the organization will be resold to a third party engaged in activities permitted from the point of view of Islam. But if the company remains the property of the bank, you should leave such work. Of course, there are exceptional situations, but the situation of hopelessness should not be abused. Otherwise, a substitution of concepts may occur, because "zarurat" (necessity, hopelessness) implies a state when a Muslim is left without shelter and food.
At the same time, any financial institutions that do not have an Islamic financial system are engaged in usury in one way or another. For example, even in the case of buying and selling currency or precious metals, these funds are delayed in various accounts, resold and placed on digital platforms - in a word, the principle "from hand to hand" permitted by Sharia is violated.
Answering a question about the nuances of dismissal from a company that is engaged in activities prohibited from the point of view of Islam, Gapur Oziev called for starting from the immediate situation. This is about the appropriateness of voicing the reason for leaving. According to the expert, demonstrating religious principles is correct behavior. However, such an approach to this issue should be carried out with respect, without rudeness and arrogance. A Muslim should never be ashamed of his faith; otherwise, his relationship with Allah is worth little.
There are cases when the main activity of the company you work for is not prohibited from the point of view of Islam, but individual areas of the organization cannot be classified as permitted (for example, Avito is an aggregator of free ads; it also issues loans). Then the issue can be considered from several positions. The fundamental approach is illustrated by the example of a fly in the ointment - when at least a little bit of haram gets into the conditional "halal", everything becomes prohibited.
However, modern scholars, well acquainted with the sacred primary sources and knowledge of various aspects of everyday life, try to make decisions that are flexible in such matters. Depending on the authoritative opinion, the proportion of prohibited activity should not exceed 5, 30 or 33 percent. In this case, it is allowed to work in this company, buy its shares, and so on. But an important condition remains.
A Muslim should clarify what percentage is allocated to the forbidden activity. For example, it is equal to 10 percent, and the employee's or shareholder's income is 1000 conventional units. Then one tenth of this amount, that is, the equivalent of the share of the forbidden activity, he must spend on charitable purposes, thus purifying his earnings before the Almighty. But this should in no way be perceived as "sadaqah", and the beneficiaries of charity should not be under your guardianship. By the way, this is the opinion not only of modern scholars: Izzuddin ibn Abdussalam (1181-1262) - "the sultan of all scholars" - adhered to a similar judgment.
The next question concerned the methods of distributing paid educational courses on the Internet – is it permissible to use them if someone else has purchased the educational programs and made them freely available to others? If it is known that people worked on developing the courses, finances and other resources were involved, and someone managed to obtain them somehow and distribute them, then the latter is incorrect even from the point of view of non-Islamic jurisprudence.
Another aspect is the following: in most cases, these so-called "leaks" are incomplete. For example, there is no feedback from the author of the course. Therefore, distributing them, and even more so selling them, is unlawful from the point of view of Islam. It is not scary if a person has found some useful information for himself and studied it. There is another situation: when a person has purchased an educational program for a certain amount and decided to resell it. In this case, the seller has no reason to limit the buyer in his rights. However, modern scientists agree: the buyer can resell or give away the product he purchased (that is, some kind of information carrier or most often a digital file). But copying it for the purpose of earning money or free distribution is already considered unfair.
The answer to the question about the permissibility of developing curricula for studying secular subjects turned out to be interesting. Gapur Oziev clarified that if we are talking about natural sciences such as chemistry, physics, and so on, in which great scientists of the Muslim world managed to achieve heights, then the listed disciplines can be called Islamic, and such a direction of activity is only encouraged by religion.
Many questions were related to work in the industries related to the development of computer games. In particular, are Muslims allowed to construct 3D models of living beings? The answer was a clear prohibition, as evidenced by numerous hadiths. However, there are some exceptions that can be found in the interpretations of modern scientists. Their diversity comes down to the following: if the depicted object is devoid of signs of animation (that is, there is no face or any vital part of the body), the construction of such 3D models is allowed.
Any activity of a Muslim should be useful. Therefore, if there is nothing forbidden in the game being developed, but it also does not bring significant benefits and has only one goal - entertainment, a Muslim should not engage in such activities. Touching on the topic of writing fantasy plots for games, Gapur Oziev called for attention to be paid to the cultural heritage of Islam. The history of religion contains a rich variety of amazing stories, such as the night journey and the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . There is no need to invent anything; just need to turn to the sacred ayats and reliable hadiths. The only thing is that it is important to present the information taking into account the audience. Children should be told in an accessible and understandable way, and adults can be initiated into more complex details.
When discussing the issue of the permissibility of providing communication services and technical support to mining firms engaged in the production of cryptocurrency, Gapur Oziev referred to the article "Cryptocurrency from the point of view of Sharia", co-authored by him and associate professor of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Magomet Yandiev. The expert emphasized that the blockchain technology itself is ideal in terms of storing and transmitting information. At the same time, the blockchain can function without cryptocurrency, but it does not work in reverse.
Gapur Oziev called on the audience to pay attention to a significant problem with cryptocurrencies, namely the lack of any guarantees. The state is responsible for servicing transactions with conventional currencies. If you lose your bank card, you can always contact your bank or government agency to resolve the problem. Even when a person dies suddenly, his savings can be inherited by his family without significant obstacles, and so on. With cryptocurrency, everything is different. What to do if you lost the keys to your crypto wallet? There is nowhere to turn.
Leaving aside the terrible volatility of cryptocurrencies, we should consider other aspects of digital money. Officially issued currencies are able to measure the value of any item, including the same bitcoin. The cryptocurrency itself is artificially created, tied to traditional banknotes and cannot objectively evaluate the goods. It is absolutely known that it is unclear in which direction this train is moving. Everyone is rushing to jump on it, but where the final stop will be - no one knows. In such circumstances, it is difficult to assess the issue from the point of view of Sharia. The more they invest in cryptocurrency, the faster the abstract train accelerates.
In this regard, Gapur Oziev recommends to refrain from cryptocurrency- related activities. The only exception can be made if a Muslim needs to purchase an asset that is sold only for certain cryptocurrencies.
The last question concerned participation in the development of streaming services or various sports and news Internet portals, where the content can be both prohibited and permitted. Even if the programmer does not work directly with the content, it is advisable to leave this position. Otherwise, there is a risk of spending a lot of time not only worrying about the future content of the site, but also becoming an accomplice as a result of the work process. In order to maintain a relationship with the Almighty and live peacefully, it is necessary to move away from dubious earnings.
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