What is the ruling on working in stock exchanges in the department of computer systems development?

The ruling on working in the computer systems development department of a stock exchange is a subsidiary of the ruling on the stock exchange's operations themselves. Global stock exchanges have positive aspects, such as facilitating the meeting of buyers and sellers, concluding spot and forward contracts, easing financing for major projects, and determining price equilibrium.

However, they also have harmful negative aspects, including: 1. Most forward contracts are not genuine buying and selling due to the lack of the physical possession (qabd) stipulated by Islamic law. 2. The seller often sells what he does not own. 3. The buyer often sells what he purchased before taking possession of it, and the same item is repeatedly sold before possession is taken. 4. The spread of monopolies. 5. The danger of the stock exchange as a means of influencing markets, where prices are affected by fabricated matters rather than genuine supply and demand.

Accordingly, if these prohibitions can be avoided, there is no Islamic legal objection to working in the computer systems development department. However, if they cannot be avoided, then the overall operations of the stock exchange must be considered: If permissible transactions are predominant, then working is permissible, although it is more pious to avoid it. However, if these systems lead to transactions that violate Islamic law, and these are the predominant operations of the stock exchange, then working there is not permissible, as it falls under the category of cooperating in sin and aggression, even if there are a few permissible transactions.