Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Is auditing permissible?

· 24 Jumada I 1436 AH1 min readFatwa 31786English

Question

I am working as a trainee in an audit firm. The purpose of an audit is to check the financial statements prepared by companies and report whether they present a true and fair view. In order to achieve this purpose we have to check the financial records from which the financial statements have been prepared and also the accounting process and calculations carried out by companies. These companies are involved in activities such as obtaining interest-based loans, having insurance and paying tax. Such activities exist in all kinds of companies even if their business itself is halal e.g. manufacturing companies. This means that we are obliged to check the accounting for interest, insurance and tax, without which we cannot give our report. My question is, is it lawful to perform audit?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātu

The work of an auditor to check financial statements and merely report on that is permissible. The auditor is not directly involved in the interest bearings transactions in anyway. (1)

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Zakir Husain

Student DarulIftaa

Michigan, U.S.A

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

(Fath al-Bari (Ibn Hajr), Vol.4, Pg.394 , Qadeemi)(Contemporary Fatawa (Mufti Taqi Usmani), Pg.160, Idara-e-Islamiyat)

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

هذا إنما يقع على من واطأ صاحب الربا عليه فأما من كتبه أو شهد القصة ليشهد بها [1]

على ما هي عليه ليعمل فيها بالحق فهذا جميل القصد لا يدخل في الوعيد المذكور وإنما

يدخل فيه من أعان صاحب الربا بكتابته وشهادته

Answered by
Zakir Husain
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
View original Compare with other Darul Iftas
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, please ask a Mufti. Report an issue

For corrections or mistakes, please email us at fatawasa786@gmail.com.

Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/31786
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-31786

People also ask

Can a Muslim work as an accountant or auditor?

“1. The client has hired your services as an accountant to calculate the income tax due on his earnings and to submit returns on his behalf. There is no harm in offering such a service to the public in lieu of a fee since…”

Ibn Masood · 58 fatawa from 5 Darul Iftas on this

What the Darul Iftas say

Related fatawa