The Nature and Moral Judgment about Spuing

The nature and moral judgment about spying is one of the important issues to all people especially those whose jobs are related to spying, for example the police,security forces, detectives, journalists, reporters, etc. "spying" means investigation and inquiry into the covert priveate affairs of the others. Therefore, it is wrong to apply the word spying to those cases which have overt or social and collective nature. There are three kinds of spying, each of which has separate and distinct judgment: 1. spying on personal affairs; 2. spying on social affairs; and 3. spying on the enemy. According to the Quranic verse which reads " Do not to spy" and in the view of reason and traditions, spying on private personal affairs is impermissible. According to some traditions and veiw of reason, spying on social affairs which had better be termed "investigation" and "supervision" is permissible and sometimes obligatory. Information about social conditions, people's needs and demands and establishing social justice, which are the ruler's most important duties and their materialization which is to a large extent contingent upon choosing committed, pious, and expert governmental officials and personnels, all demand investigation and inquiry into the performance of social organizations. In the view of reason and Islamic law, spying on the enemies of government and gathering information about them is permissible.