What is the ruling of Islamic law on an employee in the private sector working overtime outside official working hours, whether for personal gain or for another entity, and is the income generated from this work lawful (halal) or unlawful (haram), especially given the existence of contractual conditions that prohibit it?

We thank the questioner for his observation regarding the contradiction in fatwas. The reason for this contradiction lies in the differing circumstances of the questioners, the phrasing of the questions, and the variations in the statements of scholars.

Regarding the employer’s condition that the employee not work outside working hours:

If the employer has a valid reason for this condition, and the employee accepts it, then it is obligatory to fulfill it, based on the words of Allah Almighty: "O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts." An example of a valid reason is if working outside regular hours would affect the employee's energy and productivity. However, if the employer did not stipulate this, or stipulated it out of stubbornness without a valid reason, then this condition is not considered valid. If the condition is binding and the employee works outside his working hours without permission, he is sinful for violating the condition, but what he earns from this work is not forbidden for him. There is no contradiction between the second and fourth cases in Fatwa No. (48391). The second case discusses a condition that was stipulated and accepted by the employee, while the fourth case discusses the employer's silence regarding the condition, leaving the ruling based on the original principle, which is the permissibility of working outside regular hours.