Labour
and economic risk; The dignity of work; You as an agricultural producer; Industrial
production; Trade; Professions
and Skills.
There are three basic ways of earning a
permissible livelihood:
1. profits –
from agriculture, industry, trading and investment;
2. wages – for
work done;
3. rental income – from leasing,
letting or hiring.
These
was
of earning a livelihood all require the interaction and cooperation of human
beings. No individual owns all the things he needs. Each person has some skill,
resources or commodity he can spare while at the same time he needs the skill,
resources or commodities of others. Human beings are therefore naturally
dependent on one another.
It is the concern of
Islam to see that these needs are fulfilled in a way that:
·
ensures work and productive effort on the part of
individuals;
·
there is no injustice or exploitation done to
everyone;
·
society functions in a smooth
manner and that the ‘general good’ and will-being of the society as a whole is
preserve.
Economic activity in
Islam is therefore governed by what is economically, socially and morally good.
Not all profits, wages or rental income are good and meet the above conditions.
People are often smitten by greed and may use fraud, deception and other
vicious methods to increase their wealth. Economic activity that can be shown
to be destructive of man’s innate goodness and to be harmful to individuals and
society has been declared unlawful or haraam. (top)
Gains from economic
activity should be based on two factors: on labour
and economic risk. Income from betting or gambling, for example, is therefore
unlawful because it is not acquired through work or labour.
Such income is called ‘unearned income’. Income from lending money at a
guaranteed rate of interest is unlawful partly because it is not earned through
labour or economic risk. Income from such activities
as usury, gambling, monopolistic trade practices, hoarding and speculation is
therefore regarded as unlawful or haraam. All of
these practices are not based on productive work and can be shown to creat hardship and may even lead to social strain and
upheaval.
What is most severely
condemned in particular is riba
which is interest or usury. This involves lending money on condition that you
get back not only the sum lent but an additional guaranteed sum – without work
on your part and without economic risk. Riba exploits
the need of the borrower and may place him in economic hardship. The lender
becomes like a parasite feeding on the whims or needs of the borrower. Riba lies at the root of much the
economic and political instability in the world. (top)
The dignity of work
Let us look briefly at
some of the ways of earning a livelihood and some of the general principles
which affect economic activity.
In the process of
securing a livelihood and engaging in economic activity, a person may be either
a producer engaged in agriculture or industry; a trader engaged in commerce or
a professional person practicing a particular skill.
You may engage in any
economic activity as long as it does not involve doing, supporting or promoting
anything haraam.
Provided the work you do
does not involve what is haraam, you should not feel
ashamed of doing any work, however menial, and you should not regard any type
of honest and lawful work as contemptible. The work you do does not put you
into a higher or lower social class. If you are a landowner or an agricultural
producer this does not make you better or worse as a person than an
agricultural labourer on your land. If you are a
cleaner in a factory, this does not make you better or worse as a person than
the owner of the factory. There is dignity in work and labour.
In it, there is also Divine blessing and reward as the following account
concerning ‘Ali, the companion of the Prophet and future head of the Muslim
state, clearly shows.
One morning, ‘Ali ibn Abii Taalib
went outside Madinah in search of work so that he
could feed his family. He came upon a lady looking for a labourer
to carry water from a well to a clay pit. He agreed to carry the water for her
in return for some dates. He did so and got about twenty dates. On the way
home, he met the Prophet who asked what he was carrying. Ali said:
It is the dates I earned
for work I did. My hands are blistered from drawing water from the well with a
palm-fibre rope’.
The Prophet rubbed Ali’s
face and his hand and in obvious approval said, ‘God has blessed this hand’.
And he continued ‘O, Ali, give me a date. I will treat myself with it’.
The type of work you do
is dependent on your interests and skills, your resources and the needs of your
community. The work you do may change depending on changing circumstances and
it is advisable to acquire as many skills as possible. (top)
You as an agricultural producer
Agriculture is essential
and should be given priority attention in any community. God, according to the Qur’an, has spread out the earth and made it suitable and
fertile for cultivation. He send the ‘fertilizing winds’ to drive the clouds
and scatter the seeds and He sends down rain to bring forth vegetation of all
kinds. The many verses in which these bounties and favours
of God are mentioned all serve to encourage people not only to thank God but to
engage in agricultural production.
There are many sayings of
the Prophet which commend agricultural production. He said, ‘When a Muslim
plants a tree or cultivates a crop, no bird or human being eats from it without
its being accounted as a (rewardable) charity for
him’.
Stressing the importance
of irrigation and land reclamation for agricultural purposes, he also said,
‘Whoever brings dead land to life, for him is a reward in it, and whatever any
creature seeking food eats of it, shall be considered as charity from him’.
Agriculture is a vital
activity which has benefits in this world and rewards in the Hereafter. People
therefore should not easily abandon agricultural production as something menial
and degrading and flock to towns to join the ranks of the unemployed as he has
happened recently in many countries. Even if you live in towns and built-up
areas you should seek to plant fruit and other trees wherever possible or grow some of your own vegetables and flowers. This will also
help to create a beautiful environment.
In order to achieve the
greatest good for individuals and society, there are some basic regulations
concerning the use of land, irrigation, the crops you are not allowed to plant
and the manner of marketing your product.
The use of land
A person who owns land
should cultivate it himself. If he is unable to do so, he should allow others
to cultivate it and may share equitably in the product. It is not allowed to
rent or lease cultivable land for a fixed sum. The reason for this is that a
crop might tail and the person renting the land would face hardship in paying
the rent. Agricultural land which remains uncultivated may be transferred by
the State to those who are willing and able to cultivate it.
In naturally irrigated
lands, you should not do anything that would injure the interests of other
farmers. In the interests of the common good, you are not allowed to divert
running water passing through your land so as to deny a farmer downstream.
Crops you may not
cultivate
It is haraam
to cultivate a plant, such as hashish, knowing and intending that it will be
used by people in such a way as to bring haraam to
them. Growing tobacco may also be put under this category. Tobacco is used only
for smoking which is harmful to health. To plant grapevines,
intending that the product will be used for wine production, should also be
considered as forbidden. As far as crops of this sort are concerned, it
is not a valid excuse for a Muslim to say that he is growing the crop to sell
it to non-Muslims for a Muslim is not permitted to be a party to promoting what
is haraam.
It is not allowed to deal
in ‘future’ selling of crops. You cannot sell a crop before it is actually
mature. This is to eliminate speculation and also possible injustice should the
crop not materialize. It is not permissible to sell crops before their good
condition is clear. The seller has the duty to inform the buyer of any known
defect in the product he is selling. For example, it is forbidden to cover up
rotten fruit with good and attractive ones to give the impression that all the
fruit is wholesome.
Animal husbandry
This was another
occupation which the Prophet considered very dignified. Although many people do
not look upon animal farmers and shepherds with esteem, the Prophet gave
dignity to this occupation when he said,
‘God did not send a
Prophet without his having tended sheep’
‘You too, O Messenger of
Allah?’ asked his companions.
‘Yes, I tended sheep for
wages for the people of Makkah’.
You should observe all
the Islamic advice and regulations about the proper care and treatment of
animals: to provide for them all that their kind require, not to burden them
beyond what they can bear, not to injure them and if you use them for food, to
slaughter them in the most calm, kind and efficient manner. (top)
Industrial production
While agriculture is
essential and highly encouraged as an occupation, the Prophet saw that it was
undesirable that people should confine their economic efforts solely to agriculture
and pastoral pursuits. He warned that this would expose a community to various
dangers including defeat and disgrace,
‘If you deal in usury,
calling it by other names, and hang onto the tail of cows, being satisfied with
cultivation and ceasing to perform jihad, God will inflict a disgrace upon you
which will not be removed until you return to your religion’.
According to this hadith, Muslims need to develop in addition to agriculture,
the industries, crafts and skills which are needed to build a strong community.
The Qur’an
mentions the opportunities and the needs for various types of industrial
production involving the use of iron, copper and other minerals-resources which
God has placed at the disposal of man.
‘And We provided and
revealed the use of iron in which there is great power and benefits of mankind…’. (57: 25)
It speaks of the value of
shipbuilding and the vast expanses of ocean which can be explored in various
ways for the benefit of mankind.
In engaging in industrial
production and the manufacture of goods, the benefit of mankind and the
environment in general and the needs of the Muslim community in particular must
be given high priority. Whatever is harmful and is intended for a harmful
purpose should no be manufactured or produced.
Whatever is harmful to
the beliefs, good morals and manners of a society should also not be produced.
The acquiring and even more strongly the making of statues and similar articles
are strongly prohibited. While the manufacture of armaments for the defense of
Muslim communities and the repelling of injustice is encouraged, it is possible
to regard the production of weapons which cause indiscriminate slaughter of
entire populations as unlawful in Islam. This is because their use inevitably
involves the killing of innocent non-combatants including children and the ages
which is forbidden in Islam. We may therefore consider the manufacture of
nuclear weapons as unlawful.
However, Muslims face a
major dilemma here in that others have stock-piled
such weapons and may be lunatic enough to use them. To deter such people some
Muslim scholars have argued that Muslims need to take the responsibility of
producing nuclear weapons or continue to face the prospect of being dominated
by hostile and evil forces. Those who argue for the need to maintain a nuclear
deterrent and contribute to a continual nuclear build-up are marching down
dangerous and slippery roads. They may find themselves no only working to
eliminate hostile and evil forces but contributing to their own suicide and the
destruction of mankind and the world.
Such activity as the
manufacture of books and magazines and the production of films which corrupt
morals in the society is also to be considered unlawful. (top)
The Qur’an
and the Hadith of the Prophet, peace of him, urge
Muslims to engage in trade and commerce, and to undertake journeys for what the
Qur’an refers ti as ‘seeking
the bounty od God’. Those who travel for the purpose
of trade are mentioned in the Qur’an side by side
with those who fight in His cause, ‘Others travel through the land, seeking the
bounty God, and still others fight in the cause of God…’ (73: 20)
All trade in Islam is
allowed unless it involves injustice, cheating, making exorbitant profits, or
the promotion of something which is haraam. It is haraam to do business in alcoholic drinks, intoxicants,
harmful drugs, swine, idols, statues, or anything whose consumption and the use
of Islam has prohibited. Selling or trading in such items implies promoting
them among people and thus encouraging them to do what is haraam.
The Prophet, peace be on him, has said, ‘When God prohibits a thing, He
prohibits (giving and receiving) the price as well’.
In many supermarkets and
newsagents nowadays, people may sell among other things such items as pork or
pork products, tobacco or pornographic magazines which are clearly prohibited
in Islam or which are harmful for the health and morals of individuals and
society. Any earnings from the sale of such goods are sinful earnings. Honesty
and trustworthiness in such business are not counted as virtues. (top)
Professions and Skills
It is obvious that any
healthy community or society needs a variety of professions to meet its needs.
Professions relating to man’s basic needs – food, clothing, shelter, health
care, education, defense – are given priority. Bakers, weavers, builders, doctors, nurses,
teachers are the sort of professionals and skilled persons any society must
have.
If there is a critical
shortage of any essential skill or profession, a sensible society will take
measures to fill the vacuum. In many new Muslim communities in the west for
example, there is no shortage of food, clothing or health care. But there is a
critical shortage of absence of trained teachers. Muslims should therefore be encouraged
to go into the teaching profession. The training and educating of his
companions and the selection and deployment of some of them as teachers was one
of the primary tasks of the Prophet. In fact he said of himself, ‘I was sent as
a teacher’.
In some communities,
certain professions and skills predominate over others and there is more
prestige attached to them. Medicine, law and civil service jobs often fall in
this category. This imbalance is naturally not healthy for any society.
There are of course certain
profession which are prohibited in Islam. Any
profession that involves a display of the ‘awrah of
an individual or any sexually exciting or erotic activity is condemned by Islam
because of its harmful effects on morals and society. Erotic dancing,
suggestive or obscene songs and provocative dramas come under this category.
Writing, producing or acting in an erotic drama, will be regarded as harmful to
the honor and good morals of society and are not allowed. Mush of the
entertainment industry, much of what passes for art and even the way in which
certain types of sports (boxing and gymnastics for example) are conducted may
be regarded as sinful. If you are inclined to seek a livelihood in
entertainment or art, you should make sure that it does not involve any
activity or behavior that is repugnant to the standards of morality and decency
which Islam naturally insists upon.
Professions involving the
use or propagation of harmful knowledge are not allowed. Under this category
will come astrology and the occult arts. (top)