TORONTO — In a recent ruling addressing the intersection of modern technology, professional development, and classical Islamic law, prominent Islamic scholar Shaykh Faraz Rabbani has advised a Muslim software developer that it is permissible to build a Jewish estate-planning platform based on halacha, or Jewish law. The guidance addresses complex questions regarding professional ethics, indirect cooperation, and the boundaries of permitted labor under the Hanafi legal tradition.
The inquiry came from a Muslim software developer who several years ago engineered a will-writing platform designed to help Muslims create estates compliant with Faraid, the Islamic system of jurisprudence governing inheritance. Recently, the developer’s client approached them with a new project: building a parallel platform tailored for Jewish clients. This new system would automate the distribution of estates according to halacha, including specific traditional legal nuances such as the rule granting a firstborn son a double share.
Under the proposed specifications, any estate distribution differing from the halachic default would require explicit approval from a rabbi or a Beth Din—a rabbinical court—before the will could be finalized. Additional features of the planned software include a module for establishing Hekdesh, a religious charitable trust, and a dedicated interface for recording burial and mourning preferences in accordance with Jewish custom.
The developer would be solely responsible for authoring the codebase, which includes implementing the logic that executes halacha and engineering the software gate requiring rabbinic sign-off. Seeking to adhere strictly to Islamic ethical standards, the developer submitted a religious inquiry to determine whether building such a platform would violate the Qur’anic prohibition against cooperating in sin, as referenced in Surah al-Ma’ida.
In his detailed response, Shaykh Rabbani affirmed that the developer is permitted to undertake the project and that the earnings generated from it are entirely lawful, or halal. However, the ruling included an explicit caveat urging the developer to thoroughly investigate potential institutional ties to Zionism or pro-Israel political causes, advising that any association with such movements should prompt a refusal of the contract out of solidarity with Palestinians.
The Jurisprudential Framework of Assistance
Explaining the legal reasoning behind the permission, Shaykh Rabbani drew upon classical texts of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. He noted that within this legal tradition, writing the code for such a platform does not constitute direct assistance in a prohibited act. The labor itself—coding logic structures—is inherently neutral, while the ultimate application of the tool remains the independent choice of the end user.
This distinction separates direct participation in a wrongful act from the provision of a generalized service or tool that another person subsequently utilizes through their own free agency. To illustrate this principle, the scholar referenced Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, a foundational legal compendium of the later Hanafi school, which explicitly addresses employment scenarios involving non-Muslims. According to the text, if a non-Muslim hires a Muslim to construct a house of worship for their faith, the employment is permissible, and the wages earned are entirely wholesome.
Further reinforcing this position, Shaykh Rabbani cited al-Hidaya, a premier legal treatise authored by Imam Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani. The text records a ruling from Imam Abu Hanifa concerning the rental of a residential property to a tenant who subsequently uses it for religious worship. The legal rationale establishes that moral culpability for any religious transgression or divergent belief rests solely with the actor who freely chooses to commit it, thereby severing direct liability from the property owner or service provider.
Applying these classical legal axioms to the contemporary software project, the scholar argued that a developer’s position is even further removed from direct participation than a physical builder or landlord. In the case of the estate-planning platform, Jewish families independently choose how to divide their personal estates, establish charitable trusts, and record their final wishes. Furthermore, users are required to consult a rabbi before modifying default distributions. Because the software merely records and executes the autonomous decisions of the users without endorsing the underlying religious doctrine, the developer’s technical contribution remains legally permissible under Hanafi principles.
Ethical Boundaries Regarding Political and Institutional Ties
Despite validating the technical nature of the software development work under Islamic jurisprudence, Shaykh Rabbani placed strong emphasis on the external political and institutional context surrounding the project. He instructed the developer to conduct a clear investigation into the client, the contracting firm, and the broader product ecosystem to identify any explicit connections to Zionism or state-backed pro-Israel causes.
The guidance stressed that even when labor is permissible in its technical capacity, an individual’s conscience and broader ethical commitments can necessitate stepping away from a contract. Referencing prophetic traditions that advise leaving matters that induce moral uncertainty in favor of clear alternatives, the scholar underscored that professional skills are regarded in Islam as a trust from God that should not be lent to causes deemed harmful to fellow human beings.
Acknowledging the practical difficulty of turning down lucrative employment opportunities, particularly in competitive technology sectors, the response directed the inquirer toward patience and reliance on divine provision. Citing Qur’anic verses regarding mindfulness of God and trust in His sustenance, Shaykh Rabbani concluded that adherence to ethical principles ultimately secures lawful provision and opens unexpected avenues for those who maintain their religious integrity.
The ruling aligns with a broader body of contemporary contemporary fatwas addressing the digital economy, where Islamic scholars routinely examine the degree of separation between tech workers and the end-use of software applications ranging from financial institutions to multi-faith administrative tools.