Signing A Document for An Employee to Open A Bank Account

17-9-2019 | IslamWeb

Question:

Dear scholars
I am the same person who submitted the question in the fatwa No: 398932 please kindly refer to it in order to gain contextual information pertaining to this very follow up question I am inquiring about. Our petrol company requires employees to have a current bank account for salary payments. Now the problem is that there is only one Islamic bank in the whole country. Unfortunately, the majority are conventional banks. When employees open bank accounts they bring to us a salary undertaking form from their respective bank which I occasionally sign as a confirmation to their respective bank that the employee is a staff at our organisation. What is the ruling on me signing this document? I will like to reiterate that the company forces us all (including myself) to have a bank account in order to receive salary. I hope my question is clear. Thank you

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Answer:

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 is His slave and Messenger.

Signing a paper that proves that the employee works in that company in order to open a bank account so that his salary (from his work) can be deposited in it; there is nothing wrong in doing so. This is because it is the employee's right upon his employer to give him such proof. You not involved in what is forbidden in this case nor are you doing anything intentional to help him do something prohibited.

If the employee uses that proof in what is forbidden, then the sin falls upon him and not upon you. Allah Says (what means): {And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.} [Quran 6:164]

Allah knows best.