Question: I once received a job offer and was told to get paid via a crypto wallet and then transfer the amount earned back to my own bank account. Is this allowed?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى اله و اصحابه اجمعين
Answer: For the validity of Ijarah (leasing/employment contract) in Islamic regulations, certain conditions must be fulfilled: the work for which a person is hired must be clearly known, and the wage must also be clearly specified.
In the case under discussion, since the compensation (wage) is in cryptocurrency, and cryptocurrency is not considered Māl Mutaqawwam (legally recognized valuable property) in Islamic regulations, because it has no tangible external existence and has not yet been granted the status of legal currency, therefore it is not permissible in Islamic regulations to enter into an Ijarah contract in which the wage is paid into a crypto wallet.
While defining Māl (property), Allāmah Ibn ‘Ābidīn al-Shāmī states:
“الْمَالُ: مَا يَمِيلُ إلَيْهِ الطَّبْعُ وَيُمْكِنُ ادِّخَارُهُ لِوَقْتِ الْحَاجَةِ.”
“Property (Māl) is that toward which human nature inclines and which can be stored for the time of need.”
(رد المحتار (فتاویٰ شامی)، كتاب البيوع، ج: 7، ص: 10)
According to contemporary scholars, cryptocurrency does not fully meet this definition of Māl, as it has no tangible external existence and does not possess recognized legal status. Therefore, working for wages paid in cryptocurrency is not permissible in Islamic regulations.
Answered by the Hafiz-e-Millat team
Verified by Maulana Nazim Qadri
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