Question :
I am a salesperson at SALE Distribution and Communication. My employment contract strictly prohibits dealing with competitors and one who does so gets a dismissal, which did happen to a college of mine. As a salesperson, I have capital and want to trade in the products of this company although this goes against its policy. Is my doing so lawful or unlawful?
The Answer :
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May Allah`s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
In principle, Muslims must abide by the conditions that they have made. The evidence on this is that Allah the Almighty Says: "O ye who believe! fulfill (all) obligations." {Al-Ma`idah, 1}. Also, the Messenger of Allah Says: "Muslims will be held to their conditions…." {Abu Dawoud}. This is provided that the conditions don`t violate the rules of Sharia for if they do then it isn`t permissible to abide by them.
The conditions, which some companies require their staff members to abide by and aren`t against the rules of Sharia, are lawful and must be followed to avoid discord, conflict and being accused with dishonoring trusts. For example, it is conditioned that an employee doesn`t trade in company products through unlawful channels, doesn`t deal with rivals in whatever is connected with company`s work and doesn`t sell company products for a specific price. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
