Most of the
Muslims think Islam doesn’t give any permission to work as a lawyer and some of
us completely dislike about the law profession. Because they think it involves
in referring to something other than the laws of Allaah for the judgement. I
think this is completely a misconception. As Muslims, we shouldn't be narrow
minded to that far. Working as a lawyer is not harm in and of itself, because it is not judged
according to something other than that which Allaah has revealed, rather it is
acting as a people’s deputy or representative in cases of dispute, which is a
permissible kind of deputation or representation. But the lawyer must be
careful and make sure of the case before getting involved in it.
If it is a claim
regarding some right that has been taken away in a wrong manner, then it is
permissible for you to argue on his behalf to have his rights restored to him
and the wrongdoing stopped. This comes under the heading of cooperating in
righteousness and piety. But if the case involves taking away people’s rights
and transgressing against them, then it is not permissible for you to act as
his representative, because that comes under the heading of cooperating in sin
and transgression. Allaah has issued a warning to those who cooperate in this
sin, as He says “Help you one another in Al Birr and At Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.
And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment” [al-Maa'idah 5:2]. When we consider
about fatwas from some of the scholars about this issue:
1 – Shaykh ‘abed al-‘Azeez Ibn Baaz - I do not know of
anything wrong with working as a lawyer, because it is acting as a person’s
representative in claims and defense, so long as the lawyer seeks to do what is
right and does not deliberately tell lies, as applies to all cases of
representing or acting on behalf of others. Fataawa Islamiyyah (3/5050).
2 –Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan - Undoubtedly there is nothing
wrong with one person acting on behalf of another in cases of dispute, but it
depends on the type of dispute: first one is If the case is well founded and the
representative is basing his case on facts that he knows, and there is no
perjury, lying or trickery involved, and he is representing the person in order
to present his proof and evidence as to the truth of his claim or to defend
him, there is nothing wrong with that.another one is But
if the dispute involves some false claim or speaking on behalf of someone who
is in the wrong, then this is not permissible. Allaah said to His Prophet “so
be not a pleader for the treacherous” [al-Nisa’ 4:105].
We all know that if the
case is a just one and he does not use any kind of lying or perjury, then there
is nothing wrong with that, especially if the person is weak and cannot defend
himself or establish his claim to what is his right. Appointing someone who is
stronger than him to represent him is permitted in sharee’ah. Allaah
says “But if the debtor is of poor understanding, or weak, or is unable to
dictate for himself, then let his guardian dictate in justice” [al-Baqarah
2:282]. Acting on behalf of a weak person in order to ensure that he gets what
is rightfully his or to ward off wrongdoing from him is a good thing. But if it
is other than that, i.e., helping a person who is in the wrong or defending
wrongdoing or using false evidence, and the deputy or representative knows that
the case is basically wrong, such as representing a person with regard to
something haraam such as riba (interest), then it is not permissible.
It is not permissible for a Muslim to act as a deputy or
representative with regard to falsehood or to act as a lawyer in transactions
that involve riba (interest), because then he is helping in the consumption of
riba and so the curse applies to him. Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan (3/288,
289). Secondly: The fact that you live in a country that is not
ruled in accordance with that which Allaah has revealed and is rather ruled by
man-made laws, does not mean that it is haraam to work as a lawyer if the
intention is to attain the rights and ward off wrongs. The person who has been
wronged is compelled by necessity to refer to these laws in order to attain his
rights, otherwise people would wrong one another with impunity and chaos would
overtake the society. But if the law gives him more than he is entitled to,
then it is haraam for him to take it. He should only take what he is entitled
to.
If he refers for judgement to these laws in order to attain his rights and
ward off wrongdoing, there is no sin on the one who has been wronged or on the
lawyer who represents him in a dispute by referring to these laws for
judgement. Rather the sin falls on the one who replaced the laws of Allaah with
these laws and forced the people to refer to them for judgement. Ibn al-Qayyim
referred to this in his bookal-Turuq al-Hukmiyyah (p. 185). - (Principles of
Fiqh: Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid). our aim should
always be to support and help those who have been wronged. There are glad
tidings for you in the words of the Messenger prophetMuhammed “Whoever walks
with one who has been wronged until he establishes his rights, Allaah will make
his feet firm on the Siraat on the Day when feet slip.”
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