Is a Job with a Non-Solicitation Clause Permissible?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is it permissible to accept a job that includes a non-solicitation clause? The clause prohibits me from encouraging any customers, potential customers, employees, or contractors of the company to end or alter their relationship with the company during my employment and for 18 months afterwards.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is permissible to take a job with a non-solicitation clause if you feel comfortable. While the clause is not enforceable under Sharia, it is a promise you can uphold from a moral perspective.
A non-solicitation clause in a contract is unenforceable in Sharia because it is considered an invalid condition. However, the contract itself remains valid, and the condition will be void.
Awf Al-Muzani narrated from his father and grandfather that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “All the conditions agreed upon by Muslims are maintained, except a condition which permits what is prohibited or prohibits what is permitted.” [Tirmidhi]
Item 189.
In the case of a sale subject to a condition not to the benefit of either party, the sale is valid, but the condition is voidable.
Example: The sale of an animal is subject to a condition that it shall not be sold to a third party or that it shall be put out to graze. In such a case, the sale is valid, but the condition is of no effect. [Majalla al-Ahkam al-Adaliyya]
If two men partner together, one brings a thousand dirhams and the other two thousand dirhams. They jointly agree that the profit is divided between them into two halves, and the trust is divided between them; this is a corrupt partnership that is not permissible. [Shaybani, Al-Asl]
In summary, the unfair condition does not undermine the core of the contract. While the term itself is unfair, it does not impact the overall contract.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction:
Provision and Work: A Reader
I pray this helps answer your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
