Dear Shaykh, assalaamu alaykum. My question is about working as a systems administrator in a company that uses pirated software. Please note that I will have to maintain and support and also install pirated software on company systems; it is customary to use pirated software in Pakistan. Almost all companies use it, except for some big companies who do not hire without experience. So please kindly clarify whether I can join a company that uses pirated software as their systems administrator with the intention of leaving it later as I will have accumulated experience and join a company that uses licensed software. Please also tell me whether my income from that job will be halal. It is really a miserable situation in Pakistan, as it has even been published that 84% of the software used in Pakistan is illegal, and there is no surprise that every company that you walk in uses some sort of pirated software, and when you try to explain to them that it is illegal and haram, they make fun of you. Please also note that I am currently working in a local company as a junior IT officer, my job here is mostly data-entry related with some troubleshooting of software and hardware issues. I would like to get a Microsoft certification and apply for a systems administrator position as I am really good with computers. Please also note that almost all of the software used here is also pirated, but most of my work is done using custom software that has been developed by the company itelf, though I sometimes have to work on MS Office and other proprietary software and also have to support other employees who use that as well. What is the ruling on that; is my income haram because of that? Kindly also note, as I have said above, that almost every company use pirated software, so I am in a really difficult situation in the end. I am sorry for taking so much of your precious time. May Allaah reward you with good.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

Our advice to you is to not work in a job in which you would most likely have to use whatever you believe to be unlawful. You should seek another job that is void of such prohibitions. You should know that whoever sincerely seeks what is lawful and good, Allah guides him to it; and whoever keenly avoids evil, Allah guards him against it, as the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said. By keenly striving in looking for another job free of such Shariah violations, and by imploring Allah sincerely to help you, you will find that job, Allah willing. The fatwa adopted at Islamweb is that it is prohibited to use pirated programs in order to preserve and respect the rights of their owners and given the consequent harms caused to them as a result of using such programs.

The Council of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in 1405 AH about "Incorporeal rights" resolved that copyrights and patent rights are protected by the Shariah. These rights are recognized by the Shariah and should not be infringed upon, and their holders are entitled to freely dispose of them. It is impermissible to violate these rights.

Hence, you should strive and do your best to find a job where you do not need to use such pirated programs. If you sign a contract to do a lawful job and then you happened to use pirated software programs at work, your salary is lawful but you bear a sin for the unauthorized use of these programs.

For more benefit, please, refer to fatwa 159509.

Allah knows best.