What is the position on helping companies e.g. by
– trademarking/protecting their logos and intellectual property e.g. assisting them if it appeared someone was infringing on their rights to their logo/name
– drafting contracts for them
– advising them on complying with data protection laws
– helping them get foreign workers into the country
Obviously helping alcohol or gambling businesses is not permissible, but what about companies that are not inherently impermissible businesses. E.g. a restaurant business is halal, but what if the company doesn’t serve halal food or also has alcohol on the menu? Or what about a hotel business? Or another example, helping an advertising company, which produces ads/videos for halal purposes like furniture as well as for haram businesses like music artists? Or one that produces adverts containing music or the like?
Would one need to investigate all companies in detail before working on such matters? Would the lawyer be blameworthy?
The way I’d thought about it was – would an electrician be blameworthy for fixing lights in the premises of any of these businesses? Would that count as assisting in sin? I thought no, but now I am not so sure.
الجواب حامدا ومصليا ومسلما ومنه الصدق والصواب
It is permissible to assist companies that run a business deemed lawful in Islam by:
- trademarking/protecting their logos and intellectual property and assisting them in any unlawful infringements;
- drafting contracts for them that do not contain any unlawful clauses; and
- advising them on complying with data protection laws; and helping them get foreign workers into the country.
If the activities of the business comprise both permissible and impermissible activities, the ruling will depend on the ratio of permissible versus impermissible activities, unless the assistance was related to specifically impermissible activities. If the impermissible activities amount to less than one third, it will be permissible to assist such business generically. E.g. the fundamental activity of the business is permissible investments, but the business also has impermissible investments that amount to less than a third, it will be permissible to assist such business generically. However, if the assistance is related specifically to the impermissible investments, then, despite more than two thirds of the business being permissible, such assistance would be impermissible. The ruling may also differ depending on the religion of the business owners. E.g. if a restaurant was owned by a Muslim and served haram food and alcohol, it would not be permissible to assist such company in these activities. However, if the same restaurant was owned by a non-Muslim serving the exact same food and alcohol, it would then not be impermissible to assist such company in these activities as these are permissible activities for non-Muslims.
You would need to investigate each client in sufficient detail to ascertain that their impermissible activities do not reach one third before working on such matters. Failure to do so would make you blameworthy.
And Allah knows best.