What is the ruling on working as an assistant to a judge in the execution of his rulings?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : The questioner says: I work as an assistant to the judiciary in some Arab countries, meaning I carry out the rulings issued by the judge. Is there a sin on me, even though I have no other job? The questioner says: I work as an assistant to the judiciary in some Arab countries, meaning I carry out the rulings issued by the judge. Is there a sin on me, even though I have no job other than this?
Answer : The rulings issued by judges in any country are either in accordance with the Shari'ah, in which case executing them is cooperation in righteousness and piety, or they are contrary to the Shari'ah, in which case executing them is cooperation in sin and aggression. As for the rulings issued by the judge about whom the questioner asked, if they are in accordance with the Shari'ah, then executing them and following them is part of righteousness and piety, and there is no blame in it.
As for if they are contrary to the Shari'ah, then it is not permissible to cooperate in them or follow them; rather, it is obligatory to advise this judge about them so that he returns to his right mind. What? As for the matter of the job, if it necessitates assisting the judge in sin and aggression, he must leave the job.
But Satan stands in his way, saying: How can you leave the job and let the children be neglected? The boy cries, the girl cries, the wife gets angry, and the landlord comes to you for his rent, and so on. How can you leave the job? And I say to this person whom Satan whispers these whispers to: Let him fear Allah. He will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he does not expect,[At-Talaq 65:4-5] and he thinks it is a loss, but Allah replaces it with something better. And among the transmitted sayings is: Whoever leaves something for the sake of Allah, Allah replaces it with something better for him.
The presenter : May Allah reward you.
Answer : The rulings issued by judges in any country are either in accordance with the Shari'ah, in which case executing them is cooperation in righteousness and piety, or they are contrary to the Shari'ah, in which case executing them is cooperation in sin and aggression. As for the rulings issued by the judge about whom the questioner asked, if they are in accordance with the Shari'ah, then executing them and following them is part of righteousness and piety, and there is no blame in it.
As for if they are contrary to the Shari'ah, then it is not permissible to cooperate in them or follow them; rather, it is obligatory to advise this judge about them so that he returns to his right mind. What? As for the matter of the job, if it necessitates assisting the judge in sin and aggression, he must leave the job.
But Satan stands in his way, saying: How can you leave the job and let the children be neglected? The boy cries, the girl cries, the wife gets angry, and the landlord comes to you for his rent, and so on. How can you leave the job? And I say to this person whom Satan whispers these whispers to: Let him fear Allah. He will make a way out for him and provide for him from where he does not expect,
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him of his matter ease. (5) That is the command of Allah, which He has sent down to you; and whoever fears Allah - He will remove for him his misdeeds
وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْرًا ذَٰلِكَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ أَنزَلَهُ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِThe presenter : May Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 13 - 16 - دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام للعام 1413 هـ - الدرس الثالث عشر - الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين — youtube.com (1:09:17)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.