Comment by phonon | Hacker News Reader

Comment by phonon | Hacker News Reader

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> When a non-compete agreement is signed, it must be honored.

Not correct; it's considered against public policy in California.

https://www.employmentrightscalifornia.com/can-my-california...

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي نَافِعٌ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏.‏ وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَبَّاحٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ زَكَرِيَّاءَ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ السَّمْعُ وَالطَّاعَةُ حَقٌّ، مَا لَمْ يُؤْمَرْ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ، فَإِذَا أُمِرَ بِمَعْصِيَةٍ فَلاَ سَمْعَ وَلاَ طَاعَةَ ‏"‏‏.‏

Could you explain the text at the bottom? Translation of the above text?

Seems like it is a Hadith saying that you should obey the law, unless obedience would betray a higher law. In this case, you should follow your contract unless it is voided by state law.

I'm actually not sure this applies here because California state law just says non-compete agreements are void, it doesn't say that you should compete. In other words, you could obey the not-legally-binding lesser law here (the contract) and you wouldn't be disobeying the higher law.

http://qaalarasulallah.com/hadithView.php?ID=2840

Sure. This is a "hadeeth". Muslims consider the Quran and Hadeeth (aka "Sunnah") as revelation from God. The hadeeth translation is here: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2955

This means that if a ruler commands you to kill someone or drink alcohol, you should not obey. But otherwise, you must obey. This hadeeth is used frequently by governments (via clergy proxies) to (rightfully) inform the public it is a religious duty to obey. The intent of this obedience is to prevents disharmony/chaos.

Okay, that's a good find about California law. But there are exceptions and loop-holes. They probably would not apply here.

JazakAllah Khair for the hadeeth. There's another hadeeth: "The Muslims are bound by their conditions". So, what takes precedence: an agreement between two people, or the law of the land? That's a good question, actually!

The law of the land takes precedence. Contracts can be signed in a situation where there is a power imbalance and courts will often nullify or modify those agreements, despite them being made between two consenting parties.

There are all kinds of limitations on agreements between two people precisely because the playing field is often very uneven. For example, you can't sell yourself into slavery these days.

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