Ruling on working under man-made laws
22-12-2016 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalaamu alaikum. I wanted to know if it is haram to work in a government where one is required to review, exercise, and process applications or cases according to man-made laws (Immigration Law, Transportation Law, or Health Law). I am interested in working as a Citizenship & Immigration processing agent, where they identify cases of potential violations using immigration law. • Reviews, processes, assesses applications to determine risk and if clients meet requirements and eligibility as per the law. • Exercises authority and discretion when making decisions under regulations, policies and procedures.
I am also interested in working as a General Clerk, in which case I would have to take care of administrative works, record management, schedule citizenship tests, and oversee citizenship ceremonies. I know that it is haram to promulgate man-made laws that are contrary to the Sharia laws. I wanted to verify this before applying. Thank you.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is no religious impediment for the Muslim to work under man-made laws if his work is confined to the fields that do not involve violations of the Sharia, such as working under the administrative and regulatory laws - in matters that were left untackled by the Sharia - otherwise, it is impermissible to do such work.
The well-versed scholar Al-Ameen Ash-Shinqeeti 
wrote:
“Know that a distinction must be made between: the man-made system whose application entails disbelief in the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the system whose application does not entail disbelief in Him.
To clarify, a system is of two kinds: administrative and legal. The administrative kind is meant to organize and perfect matters in a way that does not violate the Sharia. There is no religious impediment to applying this kind of man-made system, and none of the Companions objected to it, nor did those who followed them. In fact, ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, introduced many administrative and regulatory systems that did not exist in the lifetime of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. For example, he introduced Deewaan Al-Jund (Military Board) to record the names of all the soldiers in the Muslim armies for administrative purposes in order to know who was absent and who was present and the like, although the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not implement this and did not know that Ka‘b ibn Maalik did not participate in the Battle of Tabook except after he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had arrived in Tabook. Such administrative systems that are implemented as an improvement that does not violate Sharia is of no harm, like organizing personnel affairs and works of management in a way that does not violate the Sharia. This kind of man-made systems is harmless and does not transgress the rules of the Sharia while, at the same time, it serves public interests.
As for the man-made systems that oppose the Sharia of the Creator of the heavens and earth, implementing them is disbelief in the Creator of the heavens and earth. An example of this kind is the claim that it is unjust for the female to inherit less than the male and that they must be treated equally in regard to inheritance shares.” [Briefly excerpted from Adhwaa' Al-Bayaan]
Allah knows best.