Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
You may work in the prison system in the UK or Western or North American countries. By doing so, you are not contradicting the laws of Allah. You are not making laws, nor are you accountable for the abuse of rules over which you have no control. However, if you have doubts about your income being tainted with haram, you should purify it through regular charities and Istighfar
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Working in prisons in non-Muslim countries
You may work in the prison system in the UK or Western or North American countries. By doing so, you are not contradicting the laws of Allah. You are not making laws, nor are you accountable for the abuse of rules over which you have no control.
Prophet Yusuf (one of the great prophets of Allah, peace be upon him) worked for the Egyptian king; their laws were not based on the revealed laws. Yet, he served as a minister of Finance with wide powers.
Interpretation of al-Ma’idah 49
As for the verse you are referring to, as Imam Abu Ja`far al-Tabari, the doyen of the Tafsir, said:
“It speaks about the disbelievers of the People of the Book who did not want to judge by the laws of Torah in regards to a major issue that was contentious among them. The two Jewish tribes, Banu Qurayzah and Banu al-Nadir fought among themselves. They had arrived at an unjust settlement among themselves: if the noblest of the two tribes were to murder a member of the lower tribe, the former would pay fifty Wasq of wheat towards blood money. (A Wasq is a measurement equivalent to 130.32kg.).
Ironically, however, if the lower of the two were to kill a member of the noblest, they had to pay a hundred Wasq! Therefore, it was unjust and violated the divine laws.
When the Prophet arrived in Madinah, there was no fear of the strong oppressing the weak. Then it happened that when a member of the so-called lowest tribe killed a member of the so-called noblest one, they demanded a hundred Wasq. However, the former refused to pay. They questioned the unjust settlement of the past. They asked how can this be fair when the issue concerns the two tribes who belong to the same religion and country. In the past, we had been coerced to accept such an unfair deal, but we cannot continue to do so now as we do not fear you! Finally, they decided to refer the matter to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The verse you referred above was revealed in this context; it expressly attacks the oppressive rule of the stronger exploiting the weak.
Therefore, we should not take the verse out of the context to apply it to the situation you are referring to. It has nothing to do with an unfair and unjust rule mentioned above.
Instead, your situation is similar to the work of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him).
Is there a prison system in Islam?
As for the remark that there is no justification for instituting a prison system in Islam, it is also incorrect. Prison as a concept existed before Islam in Arabia and elsewhere; it continued after Islam, although it has evolved like any other institution according to time and place.
As you know, Prophet Yusuf preferred to go to jail instead of being subjected to the temptations of the women who were unjustly accusing him.
Detaining prisoners or keeping criminals in isolation was a practice that existed during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), although he did not have a separate house or quarters to hold them. The Prophet took prisoners of war and kept them wherever it was convenient to keep them. Later, he also housed some prisoners inside the mosque as was the case with Thumamah ibn Athal.
Imam Al-Bukhari used the above Prophetic precedent to object to those who opposed keeping prisoners in the holy mosques. By doing so he wanted to educate us that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has already a set a precedent for detaining criminals or traitors in the mosque or anywhere else.
The pious caliphs followed the Prophetic precedent, and gradually they developed it into a separate institution; so, all three caliphs, including Umar, Uthman, and Ali, kept criminals in isolation in different quarters
It is reported that the Caliph Umar purchased a house from Safwan in Makkah specifically to use it as a prison. Likewise, Uthman, Ali, and Mu`awiyah all continued holding people in prisons in specific quarters or houses.
Today the prison as an institution has been greatly developed. It is true it is often abused, yet no one can deny the fact that it has also incorporated valuable concepts of rehabilitation, reeducation, and therapy to reform and change the criminals into good citizens. Therefore, no one who is conversant with the Sharia and its higher objectives and purposes can find anything objectionable with such noble ideals.
Our scholars have said that the Shariah is flexible enough to cater to the changing circumstances as long as such laws do not contradict the established principles.
In conclusion, you need not worry about the work you are doing. However, if you have doubts about your income being tainted with haram, you should purify it through regular charities and Istighfar (asking forgiveness of Allah).
Almighty Allah knows best.
Source: Askthescholar.com