Applying for a job with a forged certificate

21-1-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

Salaam aleykum I am referring to one of your answers to the question: ”I would like to know we can use forged certificates for any job?” that someone have asked. Your answer included this citation: ”Know that if having genuine certificate is a condition to be accepted for work then it is not permissible to provide a forged certificate. If the people you want to work with consider the certificate a symbolic matter and experience is what is important for them, then you are allowed to work there.” My question is: What do you mean with symbolic matter? Can you apply for a job with that certificate if they do not necessarily recuire it? If the answer is yes: If a person applies for a job that do not recuire this certificate, is it then haram for this person to receive a higher salary (because having this certificate, or an education/training) even if this job do not recuire this certificate or an education? Please answer as soon as possible.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

What is meant is that if the employer requires the certificate as a condition, that is, he would not have accepted the applicant for the job and would not have given him that salary, even if he has experience but does not have the required certificate, then it is not permissible for the applicant to work based on that certificate and he does not deserve that salary conditioned on the real certificate even if he is experienced and competent.

However, if we presume – and this is possible – that the employer's objective is the experience and efficiency of the applicant, regardless of whether or not he really has the certificate, then in this case, it is permissible for him to work and the salary is also permissible because it is compensation for the work, and the employee does the work in the required manner.

In any case, forging certificates is Islamically forbidden in principle even if the employer does not consider it necessary to get the job.

Allaah Knows best.