Question on confidentiality and possible breach of agreement

Question

A person works for a company and through it on a consulting project with a Third Party company (TP). He signs an agreement with the TP to not reveal any confidential information to anyone outside of TP on penalty of loss of job or more. But he mistakenly deliberately reveals the number of employees of the TP and also their contacts and all to his own employer upon their request. After some time the employer goes bankrupt and this person becomes a direct employee of former TP. How to repent if telling this to former TP, now employer, endangers his job and possibly gets him into trouble for penalties? Is current earning haraam at former TP, direct employer? Is there a way to make up without telling?

Mufti Ebrahim Desai · Accepted Answer

We do not understand the details of your question from, 'after some time . till the end'

Our response is to the first part of the question. Any confidential information is Amaanat (trust). The person with the secret information is duty bound to preserve that trust. It is Haraam for him to divulge such secrets without a valid reason in Shari'ah, for example, oppression, etc. A breach of trust is Khiyaanat (embezzlement). Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has regarded embezzlement as a sign of Nifaaq (hypocrisy) which is a major sin.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.

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