Permissible and Impermissible employment

Earnings of an insurance broker

Q: My father works in an insurance company which is being run by Muslims and follows Muslim laws. He himself is an insurance agent who does insurance of different people and the more people participate, the more commission he gets. I want to know whether the money he earns is considered halal? Because the insurance policies he introduces gives that person money time by time.

Earning by taking ID photos

Q: I am currently employed by taking ID photos of people that want to make ID documents or want to renew their drivers licence. Am I commiting a sin? I have no other work to support myself or my family. Currently there is a demand for ID photos in my town. Even Muslim people come to me for photos for passports. Please advice me. 

Online advertising

Q: Please clarify the following for me:

Generally, companies run through advertising and it thus plays a major part of many businesses. Therefore:

1. Some people specialise in doing the marketing/advertising for the company and get paid for their services.

2. Some people with computer abilities upload such ads on websites and get paid by the companies.

Are these types of jobs impermissible? If so, will magazines, radio stations etc. charging people for advertising also be impermissible?

Working as a software developer in a gaming company

Q: I want to know if it is permissible to work in the gaming industry according to Islamic law.

The gaming company in question has many popular games but those games contain some aspects of nudity, violence and crime related missions. The job is not a game developer per se, but some other software development work like tools development, server handling and all.

My doubt is that even if it's some other software development work, isn't it ultimately helping in the release of the game and thus should be prohibited?

Designing a bible app

Q: I am a mobile application developer. I have been working on a bible mobile app for years. For a couple of days I am feeling that being a Muslim I should not have done this. Was it wrong? I will immediately stop doing it if this is not good but what should I do about my past, would taubah be enough?

Paying per hour and changing work hours

Q: We at a school employ teachers who are paid per hour. Working hours are fixed by the administration. Can their working hours be reduced in the next year without their consent. E.g. a teacher started work in 2018 and he was given 4 hrs teaching. 50 rands a hour (2hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the afternoon.

1. In 2019 can we reduce his working hrs to 3hrs a day without his consent. In other words his work and salary will be reduced.

2. Can we impose on him to teach more hrs e.g. 5 hrs and pay him accordingly.

Working in a glass manufacturing business that sells bottles to wine companies

Q: After two months of unemployments, I found a job which manufactures glass bottles from scratch, literally from sand. Then they manufacture different sorts of empty glass bottles. They sell the empty bottles to juice companies like Snapple’s, Ketchup companies like Heinz, etc. More than 40 percent of their customers orders are from beer and wine companies which I found out later. Should I continue working here? I work in their software IT division.

Getting a certificate to earn a promotion

Q: If a person has done a diploma in a particular field and has a good work experience but for promotion and growth of the company, they ask for a degree. There are institutes which will give a degree in 1 year through lateral entry inspite of 4 years which will be valid and recognized, not a fake or forged one. The person knows his work but just needs a certificate for the promtion. Is it permissible to get such a certificate?