Can Someone Fill Out a Form on Another Person’s Behalf?

Question: As Salaamu Alaykum, I am a university student and in order to get a bursary from them I had to fill out a form and my parents also,
For my parents form, by brother filled it out on their behalf and they put the signature down, or the declaration box where the signature goes also has a box for a date and the names in block capitals and all these details have to be filled by the parents even if someone helped them with the form,

Now in my second year I’ve had to get another fork filled and my brother has not filled the signature but he did the date and the block capital signature it seems so I attempt (at this time) to tipex it and get it re-done

Now I think about my last years form where my brother may have done the same (excluding the actual signature) and as a result I was able to get the grant, what would I have to do?

 

Answer:

Thank you for the query. May Allah make your studies easy and facilitate the payment thereof.

Filling out the application form is a type of shahada. Shahada is when a person provides information regarding a right or obligation relating to another (Tuhfa al-muhtaj sharh al-minhaj 4.318).

Shahada does not accept agency (wakala), and thus it is not permissible for you to appoint an agent to bear witness on your behalf. This is because shahada is based on certainty (yaqin) in which agency has no place (Tuhfa al-muhtaj sharh al-minhaj 4.322).

Based on the information that you have provided, your brother served as an agent to fill out the form on your parent’s behalf. He did not bear testimony on their behalf.

 

Filling out the form:

Filling out a form (kitaba) on somebody else’s behalf is entirely permissible. ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) wrote on behalf of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) at the Sulh of Hudaybiyya.

In conclusion, the bursary received based on this application is valid. And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Muhammad Carr

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani