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What is the ruling on working with innovators (ahl al-bidʻah), and is that considered assisting them in sin and transgression, especially if the nature of the work (such as a lawyer or accountant) allows them to manipulate and seize the rights of others through unjust means?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible for a Muslim to perform lawful work for disbelievers or innovators. Evidence for this is the practice of the Companions working for hire with the Jews, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not disapprove of them. Ibn Qudamah used this as proof for the permissibility of a disbeliever hiring a Muslim for a specific task. Similarly, the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' stated that there is no objection to a Muslim hiring himself out to a disbeliever if the work is lawful. However, if the work is unlawful, then it is not permissible, based on the Almighty's saying: "And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression" [Al-Ma'idah: 2].

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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