Syed Ahmer

 ALLAH TA’ALA HAS MORE POWER OVER US   It is narrated in a Hadith that once the Holy Prophet  ﷺ   passed Hazrat Abu Masud on his way. He was being angry with his slave and telling him off. It looked as if he was close to hitting him. Upon seeing this the Holy Prophet  ﷺ said;   “Allah Ta’ala has more power over you than you have over this slave.”   What he meant was that if you treat him unduly harshly or if you hit him, Allah Ta’ala will take his revenge from you.

  -         “it must be a transaction of trade which requires exchange of properties. Therefore, the transactions of gambling, speculation and usury or the transactions of sale where the commodity does not exist are forbidden and are not valid in Shari'ah, because these transactions cannot be termed as trade, even though they are effected in the name of trade.” (Ma’ariful Quran)    The above statement means that in Shariah, for trade to be valid, some tangible/physical commodity or property must change hands, for example, we pay a certain amount of money and get a car or a specified piece of land in return. That is why gambling and interest (Riba, usury) are Haraam (unlawful) because in both of thse no tangible asset changes hands. In the former, we buy a ‘chance’ to earn more money, in the latter money is being used to buy money and time, not a physical commodity. More detail of this will follow later.

 The  words  “do not eat up each other's property by false means unless it be a trade with your mutual consent”   in verse 4:29 lay down  certain  conditions for the validity of a transaction through which the property of another person may lawfully be acquired.  - The word “ batil ” in the verse which is translated as “false means” , in the view of the majority of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) covers all other forms of taking and consuming other people’s wealth and property which are clearly impermissible and forbidden by Shariah such as theft, robbery, usurpation, breach of trust, bribery, interest, gambling, etc

 YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE YOUR BROTHERS   In a Hadith the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  said;   “Your employees are your brothers. Allah Ta’ala has made them your subordinates. Give them to eat the same food that you eat yourselves, and give them to wear what you wear yourselves.”   These are the teachings of the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  about how to treat one’s subordinates. Some people start treating their employees and domestic servants like modern day slaves. It is  Haraam  under Shariah to treat them in an insulting and humiliating manner. The Holy Prophet  ﷺ  has said that they are your brothers, treat them like your brothers.

  Islam has placed so much emphasis on earning a Halal income that the Holy Prophet  ﷺ  has said;   “There are many people who debase themselves in front of Allah, in that their hair are scattered, they beg and cry while praying, ‘O Allah! Please grant me this or that.’ They pray very meekly but their food is Haraam (unlawful), what they drink is Haraam, what they are wearing is Haraam, and their whole body has been raised on Haraam income. How can such a person’s prayer be accepted?”

 YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEE HAVE AN EQUAL STATUS   Suppose you go shopping and pay the shopkeeper for the items you have bought. You give him money, he gives you the items you have bought. Does it mean that because of this exchange of money and goods you have become superior to the shopkeeper and he has become inferior to you? No! Rather, you are equal parties in this transaction. In exactly the same way, you and your employee or servant are equal to each other in status, in that you are giving him money and he is providing you with some agreed upon services. Therefore, thinking that you are superior to him somehow, and looking down upon him, is absolutely forbidden under Shariah. 

  When I presented about   Ma’amlat   (financial transactions) in the workshop for social workers one of the participants gave this feedback, “I never knew that the term Halal applied to income as well. I always thought it applied only to meat.” For that reason, it is important to explain the terms   Halal   and   Haraam   a bit more.  In Shariah terminology, the term   Halal  means permissible or legal. In contrast,   Haraam   means impermissible or unlawful. Shariah has very clear rules about acquiring any wealth, property or asset. Any income or asset obtained following those rules is   Halal , any income or wealth obtained in contravention of those rules is   Haraam . Furthermore, a   Haraam   source of income turns   Halal   items bought with it into   Haraam   too. For example, if a person buys   Halal   meat using   Haraam   income, for that person eating that m...