Should I quit my job if my company does business with Israel?

Yasir Qadhi differentiates between companies directly aiding and abetting genocide — such as those manufacturing weapons or building factories on occupied land — and generic corporations that merely do some business with Israel. Working for companies directly involved in weapons manufacturing or occupation infrastructure is haram and one should resign. However, the vast majority of corporations (70-80%) have some indirect ties, and declaring all such employment haram is unrealistic and not supported by the Shariah. Boycotting should be done with knowledge, following official BDS lists, not emotional reactions.

Is it haram to work for a defense contractor?

Yasir Qadhi differentiates between companies directly aiding and abetting genocide — such as those manufacturing weapons or building factories on occupied land — and generic corporations that merely do some business with Israel. Working for companies directly involved in weapons manufacturing or occupation infrastructure is haram and one should resign. However, the vast majority of corporations (70-80%) have some indirect ties, and declaring all such employment haram is unrealistic and not supported by the Shariah. Boycotting should be done with knowledge, following official BDS lists, not emotional reactions.

Which companies should Muslims boycott?

Yasir Qadhi differentiates between companies directly aiding and abetting genocide — such as those manufacturing weapons or building factories on occupied land — and generic corporations that merely do some business with Israel. Working for companies directly involved in weapons manufacturing or occupation infrastructure is haram and one should resign. However, the vast majority of corporations (70-80%) have some indirect ties, and declaring all such employment haram is unrealistic and not supported by the Shariah. Boycotting should be done with knowledge, following official BDS lists, not emotional reactions.

Is it sinful to work for a company that profits from Israel?

Yasir Qadhi differentiates between companies directly aiding and abetting genocide — such as those manufacturing weapons or building factories on occupied land — and generic corporations that merely do some business with Israel. Working for companies directly involved in weapons manufacturing or occupation infrastructure is haram and one should resign. However, the vast majority of corporations (70-80%) have some indirect ties, and declaring all such employment haram is unrealistic and not supported by the Shariah. Boycotting should be done with knowledge, following official BDS lists, not emotional reactions.

Does BDS apply to my workplace in Islam?

Yasir Qadhi differentiates between companies directly aiding and abetting genocide — such as those manufacturing weapons or building factories on occupied land — and generic corporations that merely do some business with Israel. Working for companies directly involved in weapons manufacturing or occupation infrastructure is haram and one should resign. However, the vast majority of corporations (70-80%) have some indirect ties, and declaring all such employment haram is unrealistic and not supported by the Shariah. Boycotting should be done with knowledge, following official BDS lists, not emotional reactions.

Is it haram to work for a company that has business ties to Israel?

Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)

The Question — 14:00

I have learned that my job — some of the profits go to Israel. Should I stay in my job or should I quit my job?

The Distinction Between Direct and Indirect Ties — 14:07

This question is a bit ambiguous, because the problem comes — and Allah protect me, sometimes my critics want to take anything and make the worst out of it. My dear brothers who are working in corporations: what percentage of corporations in this country have ties to that country? A very high percentage. If one were to be theoretical and say any cooperation means your job is haram, then the fact of the matter is 70-80% of IT, pharmaceutical, and other companies would be included. What type of fatwa is this? I'm sorry, I can't give that fatwa. We live in the real world, and let the critics say what they will — this is the real world.

So I differentiate between companies and corporations that are aiding and abetting the genocide directly versus a company and corporation that is doing business around the world and yes, it's also doing business with people in that part of the world. There's a massive difference.

Companies Directly Involved — 15:10

Let me give you an example: working for a company that is creating technology to use guided missiles in that region — how can you as a Muslim work for a company that is aiding and abetting bombs and weapons and whatever issues that are killing people in that region? Fear Allah — and I say that money is haram. How can you directly work for a corporation that has blood on its hands?

But that is not the same as a generic IT company that has a generic utility software that everybody's buying. There are people in this country also buying it, or this country has subcontracted to some engineers to do some programming, and this IT software is halal overall. If you're going to say, "My company is profiting from that region" — then I mean, literally almost every company qualifies. Well then, how about us paying taxes in this country? So we have to be reasonable, and the Shariah is not asking us to be that unreasonable.

Use Official BDS Lists — 16:30

So I differentiate between corporations that are directly either aiding and abetting occupation — and there's a whole list, there's an official list. There's an official BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement. Go log on to the website and they will tell you: these companies are profiting from occupation, these companies are building factories on land that has been taken over from the Palestinians. Yes, let's boycott those companies.

Also, another genre of corporations are those that are directly involved with the equipment or the technology needed for genocide. I mean, let's be honest — there are companies even within this vicinity that we live in where a good portion of their work is actually aiding and abetting the creation of bombs for that region. Now you're going to say, "Oh, but I'm working in this department." Yeah, but this company is the one literally manufacturing the bomb. I mean, come on. Your job, even if it's in a separate department — it's the company that is selling the bombs. So come on — don't work for the company that's constructing the bombs. You have to put your foot down for that.

The Practical Advice — 17:30

So use your common sense. These are the two areas where I would say yes, resign. If your resignation can cause a ripple effect — whatever good letter you send to colleagues — if you know best that it's going to make an impact, do it. And if that's not going to happen, then as long as you resign and can find another job, that's sufficient.

Otherwise, any type of generic business relationship doesn't make it haram. In fact, we can even use generic aspects of the Sunnah — the Jewish tribes in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) still had business relationships with various Muslim merchants throughout the entire time frame. Individual business — we have to be pragmatic. The Shariah deals with the real world, not with abstract concepts.