Undoubtedly, any kind of work for the government of Taghut[1] is considered inclining toward oppressors and cooperating in sin and transgression, which is forbidden; as Allah has said: ﴿وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ﴾[2]; “And do not cooperate in sin and transgression,” and He has said: ﴿وَلَا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءَ ثُمَّ لَا تُنْصَرُونَ﴾[3]; “And do not incline toward the oppressors, lest the fire seize you; and you have no guardian but Allah, then you will not be helped.” Similarly, there are widely transmitted narrations prohibiting this practice. One example is the authentic report of Hadid or Hariz from Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq , in which it has been stated: «مَنْ خَضَعَ لِصَاحِبِ سُلْطَانٍ وَلِمَنْ يُخَالِفُهُ عَلَى دِينِهِ طَلَبًا لِمَا فِي يَدَيْهِ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ، أَخْمَلَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَمَقَّتَهُ، وَوَكَلَهُ إِلَيْهِ، فَإِنْ هُوَ غَلَبَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُ، فَصَارَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ نَزَعَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ اسْمُهُ الْبَرَكَةَ مِنْهُ، وَلَمْ يَأْجُرْهُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ يُنْفِقُهُ فِي حَجٍّ، وَلَا عِتْقٍ، وَلَا بِرٍّ»[4]; “Whoever enters the service of a ruler, and of someone who opposes him regarding his religion, in order to benefit from the worldly possessions under their control, Allah will humiliate him, take him as His enemy, and leave him to them. So if he obtains anything from their worldly possessions and receives anything from them, Allah will remove blessings from it and will not reward him for any deed—such as Hajj, freeing a slave, or giving charity—that he performs with it.” Another one is the authentic report of Abu Basir, in which it has been stated: «سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَنْ أَعْمَالِهِمْ، فَقَالَ لِي: يَا أَبَا مُحَمَّدٍ، لَا، وَلَا مَدَّةَ قَلَمٍ، إِنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ لَا يُصِيبُ مِنْ دُنْيَاهُمْ شَيْئًا إِلَّا أَصَابُوا مِنْ دِينِهِ مِثْلَهُ»[5]; “I asked Abu Ja‘far (al-Baqir) about working for rulers. So he said: ‘O Aba Muhammad! No—even dipping a pen in the inkwell. None of you will gain anything from their worldly possessions except that they gain something similar from his religion.’” Another one is a narration from ibn Abi Ya‘fur, in which it has been stated: «كُنْتُ عِنْدَ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ إِذْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا، فَقَالَ لَهُ: أَصْلَحَكَ اللَّهُ، إِنَّهُ رُبَّمَا أَصَابَ الرَّجُلَ مِنَّا الضَّيْقُ، أَوِ الشِّدَّةُ، فَيُدْعَى إِلَى الْبِنَاءِ يَبْنِيهِ، أَوِ النَّهَرِ يَكْرِيهِ، أَوِ الْمُسَنَّاةِ يُصْلِحُهَا، فَمَا تَقُولُ فِي ذَلِكَ؟ فَقَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: مَا أُحِبُّ أَنِّي عَقَدْتُ لَهُمْ عُقْدَةً، أَوْ وَكَيْتُ لَهُمْ وِكَاءً، وَإِنَّ لِي مَا بَيْنَ لَابَتَيْهَا، لَا وَلَا مَدَّةً بِقَلَمٍ، إِنَّ أَعْوَانَ الظَّلَمَةِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِي سُرَادِقٍ مِنْ نَارٍ، حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ بَيْنَ الْعِبَادِ»[6]; “I was with Abu Abdullah (Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq) when a man from our companions came to him and said: ‘May I be sacrificed for you, sometimes one of us faces difficulty and hardship. Then they call him to a building to construct it, or to a canal to dig it, or to a dam to repair it. What do you say about this?’ So Abu Abdullah said: ‘I do not like to tie a knot or fasten a rope for them, even if the whole world were given to me in return—not even dipping a pen in the inkwell. Indeed, those who help the oppressors will be in pavilions of fire on the Day of Judgement, until Allah judges among the servants.’” Another one is the narration of Sakuni from Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq , from his forefathers, from the Messenger of Allah , in which it has been stated: «إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ نَادَى مُنَادٍ: أَيْنَ أَعْوَانُ الظَّلَمَةِ، وَمَنْ لَاقَ لَهُمْ دَوَاةً، أَوْ رَبَطَ كِيسًا، أَوْ مَدَّ لَهُمْ مَدَّةَ قَلَمٍ، فَاحْشُرُوهُمْ مَعَهُمْ»[7]; “When the Day of Judgment arrives, a caller calls out: ‘Where are the allies of the oppressors and those who put an ink pad in the inkwell, or tied a pouch, or placed a pen in the inkwell for them? Gather them with those [oppressors].’” From this, it is understood that any kind of military or governmental work under the government of Taghut is a grave sin, and the income earned from it is considered forbidden.

Yes, military or governmental work under the government of Taghut is permissible only for three types of people:

1. One who is forced to do so, such that if he refuses, he may lose his life—considering that Allah has said: ﴿إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ﴾[8]; “Except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith.” Similarly, it has been stated in the narration of Hasan ibn Husain al-Anbari from Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida : «كَتَبْتُ إِلَيْهِ أَرْبَعَ عَشْرَةَ سَنَةً أَسْتَأْذِنُهُ فِي عَمَلِ السُّلْطَانِ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ فِي آخِرِ كِتَابٍ كَتَبْتُهُ إِلَيْهِ أَذْكُرُ أَنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَى خَيْطِ عُنُقِي، وَأَنَّ السُّلْطَانَ يَقُولُ لِي: إِنَّكَ رَافِضِيٌّ، وَلَسْنَا نَشُكُّ فِي أَنَّكَ تَرَكْتَ الْعَمَلَ لِلسُّلْطَانِ لِلرَّفْضِ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَيَّ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: قَدْ فَهِمْتُ كِتَابَكَ، وَمَا ذَكَرْتَ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ، فَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ إِذَا وُلِّيتَ عَمِلْتَ فِي عَمَلِكَ بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ثُمَّ تُصَيِّرُ أَعْوَانَكَ وَكُتَّابَكَ أَهْلَ مِلَّتِكَ، فَإِذَا صَارَ إِلَيْكَ شَيْءٌ وَاسَيْتَ بِهِ فُقَرَاءَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَتَّى تَكُونَ وَاحِدًا مِنْهُمْ، كَانَ ذَا بِذَا، وَإِلَّا فَلَا»[9]; “I wrote to him for fourteen years, asking for permission to work in the government. Finally, in my last letter, I wrote to him that I feared for the vein in my neck; for the ruler says to me, ‘You are a rafidi, and we have no doubt that you have abandoned working for the ruler only because of rafd.’ So Ali ibn Musa al-Rida wrote back to me: ‘I have understood your letter and the fear you have for your life. In this case, if you know that whenever you hold a position, you will carry out everything the Messenger of Allah commanded, and you will have your colleagues and scribes accept your belief, and whenever you obtain wealth you will help the needy believers until you become one of them—then this will make up for it. Otherwise, no.’”

2. One who is compelled out of necessity, such that he has no other way to meet the essential needs of life—considering that Allah has said: ﴿فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ﴾[10]; “Then whoever is compelled, without being negligent or exceeding the limit, there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” Similarly, it has been stated in the narration of Ammar al-Sabati from Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq : «سُئِلَ عَنْ أَعْمَالِ السُّلْطَانِ يَخْرُجُ فِيهِ الرَّجُلُ، قَالَ: لَا، إِلَّا أَنْ لَا يَقْدِرَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ يَأْكُلُ وَلَا يَشْرَبُ وَلَا يَقْدِرَ عَلَى حِيلَةٍ، فَإِنْ فَعَلَ فَصَارَ فِي يَدِهِ شَيْءٌ فَلْيَبْعَثْ بِخُمْسِهِ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ»[11]; “He was asked about government work that a person performs, and he replied: ‘No—except if he cannot find anything to eat or drink and has no other means. In that case, if he performs the work and receives money, he should send the Khums of it to the Ahl al-Bayt.’”

3. One who, under the cover of government work, acts for the benefit of Allah’s caliph on the Earth and uses its available resources to secretly support the people of truth—considering that Allah has said: ﴿مَا عَلَى الْمُحْسِنِينَ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ ۚ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ﴾[12]; “There is no way (to blame) against those who do good, and Allah is the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” Similarly, it has been stated in the narration of Ali ibn Yaqtin from Imam Musa ibn Ja’far : «إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَعَ السُّلْطَانِ أَوْلِيَاءَ، يَدْفَعُ بِهِمْ عَنْ أَوْلِيَائِهِ»[13]; “Indeed, for Allah—Blessed and Exalted—there are friends within the government through whom He supports His friends.”