I Have Lied in Job Interviews. Are My Earnings Permissible?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question

1. I entered a degree course with the help of someone without taking the entrance exam and based on that qualification, I got a job. Have I done something impermissible?

2. I have lied during several job interviews about my experience. Am I sinful? Are my earnings permissible?

Answer

(1) If this was an impermissible way of getting into the course, then it would be considered deception and cheating, and you would need to repent for your error. If it involved any payments you didn’t make, you would need to pay back the course center.

(2) Yes, lying is impermissible and sinful, and you need to repent from it.

However, your income will remain unaffected.

Please see: A Reader on Tawba (Repentance)

And Allah alone knows best.

wassalam,

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan, and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.