[Arrecteve]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

Is bookkeeping/accounting haram? I talked with a person today and told him that I have a summer job at a bookkeeping office. He told me that it is haram/problematic because it involves Riba then he went on to quote the hadith about the Prophet (pbuh) cursing the kaatib and since as a part of bookkeeping I write/record the amount riba-based debt that I am also a kaatib. I would like some scholarly information on this issue with sources since this is a matter of importance to me.

[foonlesse]

I have heard a Shaykh named Abdal Qadir As-Sufi also known as Ian Dallas say that book keeping, accounting and even learning the ways that the kafirun do business and run their firms so that a Muslim can get a job is haraam. But of course his view can be rejected by people who may not accept him as expert.

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

Is bookkeeping/accounting haram? I talked with a person today and told him that I have a summer job at a bookkeeping office. He told me that it is haram/problematic because it involves Riba then he went on to quote the hadith about the Prophet (pbuh) cursing the kaatib and since as a part of bookkeeping I write/record the amount riba-based debt that I am also a kaatib. I would like some scholarly information on this issue with sources since this is a matter of importance to me.

[freevideoandoicsI]

Most book keeping in accounting is not aiding the transaction rather only recording that transaction in ledger. The prohibition is for writing down the transaction which is being carried out. So you will have to see your particular job duties to see whether its permissible or not. You may email your job description to admin@daruliftaa.net and someone will go through them and inform you, inshAllah.

[Arrecteve]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

What I do is that I receive a client's (of the company where I have my work placement) bank register which lists all of the client's transactions and I also receive the receipts of the client. Then I register all of these on the balance sheets (debit and credit, double-entry bookkeeping). For some companies our company handles their billing system also. This means that I put bills into envelopes and those bills can have interest on it. I don't check if the bill has interest though.

I want to thank you for responding, abuhajira. This is a big issue to me due to personal reasons.

I don't wish to open up a can of worms but people such as Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aaal al-Shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd and Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen say that accounting/bookkeeping is absolutely haram. I know about the rift between the above mentioned scholars who are usely labelled Salafis and the rest. I don't know which to go there but I would still like to know if their opinion is totally without merit in this case.


What have the scholars of the past such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Malik, ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Nawawi, Ibn al-Hajar, Ibn Kathir said something on this (if anything since I doubt they lived in a similar context as we do). The reason why I ask is because in other cases where there is a rift/disagreement between Salafis and Deobandis, followers of the four madhabs etc. the latter groups can support their arguement with the scholars of the past and this brings comfort to me since those past people, i.e Imam Abu Hanif, Malik etc, I mentioned and others from that period are accepted. They serve as a reference point for me, if you will. I apologise if this question has been asked without the proper etiquette but this is a big issue for me. I don't mean to imply or put your scholarship into question. But try to view this from my point of view since I am layman and this is a heavy issue for me.

If possible, could you reply in this thread quickly, abuhajira? This is a big concern for me and it grieves me. I have e-mailed these two posts of mine in this thread to the e-mail you asked also in case you are not able to reply.

[moohassinny]

http://www.askimam.org/public/question_detail/15277

http://www.askimam.org/public/question_detail/19110

[freevideoandoicsI]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

What I do is that I receive a client's (of the company where I have my work placement) bank register which lists all of the client's transactions and I also receive the receipts of the client. Then I register all of these on the balance sheets (debit and credit, double-entry bookkeeping). For some companies our company handles their billing system also. This means that I put bills into envelopes and those bills can have interest on it. I don't check if the bill has interest though.

I want to thank you for responding, abuhajira. This is a big issue to me due to personal reasons.

I don't wish to open up a can of worms but people such as Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aaal al-Shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd and Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen say that accounting/bookkeeping is absolutely haram. I know about the rift between the above mentioned scholars who are usely labelled Salafis and the rest. I don't know which to go there but I would still like to know if their opinion is totally without merit in this case.


What have the scholars of the past such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Malik, ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Nawawi, Ibn al-Hajar, Ibn Kathir said something on this (if anything since I doubt they lived in a similar context as we do). The reason why I ask is because in other cases where there is a rift/disagreement between Salafis and Deobandis, followers of the four madhabs etc. the latter groups can support their arguement with the scholars of the past and this brings comfort to me since those past people, i.e Imam Abu Hanif, Malik etc, I mentioned and others from that period are accepted. They serve as a reference point for me, if you will. I apologise if this question has been asked without the proper etiquette but this is a big issue for me. I don't mean to imply or put your scholarship into question. But try to view this from my point of view since I am layman and this is a heavy issue for me.

If possible, could you reply in this thread quickly, abuhajira? This is a big concern for me and it grieves me. I have e-mailed these two posts of mine in this thread to the e-mail you asked also in case you are not able to reply.

The above two answers should suffice, but I will also check up for the ibarat for you. Accounting/Auditing/book-keeping is a very common question which we receive at The Darul Iftaa. So there are numerous answers on the issue.

Since I am a Hanafi, I can only provide you with Hanafi opinion. So I will not tackle any comparison of other madhahib or Sh. Bin Baaz etc from my own self, insha'Allah

check : Are accountants who record transaction under the hadeeth of ribaa? : http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/18004

[Arrecteve]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

I want to thank you a lot, Abu Hajira, for responding to me.

I would like to ask you a question concerning the link you put up: http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/18004

"The commentators of Hadith explain that whilst the abovementioned narration explicitly forbids one from writing the transactions of interest, it does not include those people or accountants who record these transactions later and were not involved in the transaction itself.

وهذا إنما يقع على من واطأ صاحب الربا عليه فأما من كتبه أو شهد القصة ليشهد بها على ما هي عليه ليعمل فيها بالحق فهذا جميل القصد لا يدخل في الوعيد المذكور وإنما يدخل فيه من أعان صاحب الربا بكتابته وشهادته

(Fath al-Bari (Ibn Hajr) Vol.4 Pg.394 – Qadeemi Kutub Khana)

(Contemporary Fatawa (Mufti Taqi Usmani) Pg.160 – Idara-e-Islamiyat)"

Is the Arabic from the famous commentary of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani?

What does the Arabic say excactly?

Jazakumu Allahu khairan

I am sorry for all the questions.

[Arrecteve]

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

I also want to thank the two other brothers, Abu Zakir and Badrud Duja, for responding.

[Goksiodiffeli]

I know many muslim accountants.

[Arrecteve]

The above two answers should suffice, but I will also check up for the ibarat for you.

As-salamu 'alaikum wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuh

I am bumping this thread up.