What is the ruling on financially benefiting from project information that I obtain by virtue of my work as a business development manager in a contracting company, by informing other companies of these requirements in exchange for money, given that these companies are not competitors and that the employment system does not allow me to work with anyone other than the employer? And is this benefit considered a violation of the law and Sharia, or is it intellectual property from which I am permitted to benefit?
It is obligatory to invest knowledge and expertise in developing the company and its operations. The first beneficiary of your expertise is your company, given your employment there. If you offer advice to your company and the expertise falls outside its scope of specialization or its capacity for development, then there is no harm in benefiting from the knowledge and information you have acquired, as long as it does not pertain to a matter specific to the company, or something you were entrusted with, or something the company expended resources on. And if you identify requirements that your company does not fulfill, and you guide others to them for a fee, there is no harm in that; it falls under permissible brokerage.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Original fatwa ID
- 21079
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy