Lawful earning in Islam.

Wealth is one of the countless blessings of the Creator on a Muslim. It stays a blessing, something useful
to enjoy in this life, as long as it is used within the bounds set by Allah and to benefit others, including
the family.
“Wealth and children are the attractions of this worldly life...” (Quran 18:46) At the same time, wealth
can be a test to see who is grateful and who gets preoccupied with the blessing itself and forgets the
Giver. In short, Allah grants prosperity to whoever He wishes as a test. “Be aware that your possessions
and your children are only a test, and that there is a tremendous reward with Allah.” (Quran 8:28) Just
like during a test in school we are fully cautious of how we perform, similarly when we take a job, do
business, or earn our livelihood in any other way, we must ensure that we are doing so within the
boundaries set by Allah. We should avoid sources of income that are forbidden in Islam.

Reasons Why We Should Pay Attention to Our Source of Income:

1. By seeking halal income we follow the footsteps of Allah’s prophets. Allah says in the Quran, oeO
Messengers, eat good things and do good deeds. I am well aware of what you do.” (Quran 23:51) Eating
‘good things’ means to eat halal. Furthermore, Prophet Muhammad said, “Allah the Almighty is Pure
and accepts only that which is pure. And indeed Allah has commanded the believers to do that which
He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said: ‘O Messengers! Eat good things, and
perform righteous deeds’. (Quran 23:51) And the Almighty has said: ‘O you who believe! Eat of the
good things that We have provided you’. (Quran 2:172)”

2. Eating halal food from halal income takes one to Paradise. Prophet Muhammad said, “Whoever eats
the good and pure and acts in accordance with the Sunnah, and the people are safe from his harm, he
will enter Paradise.”

3. A person won’t move from his place until he answers Allah where he earned his income from.
Prophet Muhammad said, “The feet of the son of Adam shall not move on the Day of Judgment until
he is asked about five things: about his life and what he did with it, about his youth and how he led it,
about his wealth and how he earned it and where he spent it, and what he did with what he knew.”

4. The prayers of a person who eats, drinks, and wears clothes from halal income are Lawful Earning are
answered. A hadith mentions, “Then he (May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon him)
mentioned [the case] of a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty, and who spreads
out his hands to the sky saying ‘O Lord! O Lord!’ while his food is haram (unlawful), his drink is haram,
his clothing is haram, and he has been nourished with haram, so how can [his supplication] be
answered?!”

5. The Prophet prophesied that a lax attitude towards one’s income is a sign of end times. He said,
‘There will come a time when a man will not care where his wealth comes from, whether (the source is)
halal or haram.’

6. Halal income is blessed by Allah. The concept of blessing is called ‘Baraka’ in Islam. ‘Baraka’ is Allah’s
favor upon the person in a way that you cannot lay a finger on. Everything in which an increase can be
seen without notice is blessed; it has ‘Baraka’ in it. Halal income can be blessed in a way that your
expenses might be reduced. If your income was not halal, you might have unforeseen expenses. You
may get more money from haram sources, but might spend more on those unforeseen expenses.

Sources of Lawful earning:

 AGRICULTURE:
It is clear from the Islamic teaching that agriculture is an important sector that shall not
be neglected. Indeed, there are many verses from the al-Qur’an–n as well as the
traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (s..a.w.) Which emphasizes the importance of
agriculture. Islam views agriculture sector as an obligation of the society Muslim society
and nation must ensure that there are people from its community who embark into the
agriculture sector in order to ascertain ample food supply for the Muslim society at
large.

As an organized religion, Islam goes into great details in the subject of agriculture,
Which plays a very significant role in the daily life of a Muslim. The Islamic teaching
puts a high value on efforts to consolidate the agricultural industry.
Al-Qur‘an, as a main source of Islamic jurisprudence, emphasizes on the importance of
water in agriculture.
Allah (s.w.t.) says to the effect:
“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as
one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every
living thing. Will they not then believe?”
Surah al-‘Anbiya
It can be inferred from this verse that Allah (s.w.t.) brings to life plants and animals
to this world from water, which has been sent down from the sky. As such, Allah
(s.w.t.) has provided a continuous water supply for all his creations. Rain that has
Been sent down by Allah (s.w.t.) from the sky to bring life and to fertilize plants on
The earth will finally bring a lot of benefits to mankind, be it in the form of fruits for
Eating or leaves and trunks of trees for healthy and medical purposes.

 TRADE:
There are certain rules in Islam to perform Trade, lawfully.

1. MAKE PROFIT THE SECONDARY AIM

The first goal of a Muslim business should not be cashing in on a Muslim market. It
should be pleasing Allah and establishing Halal as a way of life.
Seeking profit is not a bad aim, but it should be secondary.
By making Allah the goal, and implementing Islamic rules of honesty, truthfulness, and
good behavior with customers, Insha Allah, any Muslim business is bound to boom.
2. BE TRUTHFUL AND HONEST
The Prophet has said the the honest and truthful businessman will be in Jannah amongst
the Prophets the Truthful and the martyrs. Honesty and truthfulness are essential in this
business. And when it comes to Muslim businesses, it means building a relationship of
trust with customers, which cannot be done with lies and deceit.
3. BE OPEN TO SCRUTINY AND CRITICISM
While this may be a bitter pill to swallow, being ready to have your product or business
scrutinized for cleanliness or the “Halalness” of products indicates a willingness to work
with the consumer. This serves to build trust.
For those business people who may feel hesitant or downright angry with a Muslim
consumer for even asking about the acceptability of a given product in their store,
remember that this is the right of the consumer.
Remember, ultimately, we are all responsible to Allah. If a business is cheating Muslims,
Allah will eventually expose those involved.
As well, a Halal business is not just one person’s profit-making machine. It is also an
institution of the Muslim community. Therefore, it must be ensured that it meets not
just state and federal standards, but most importantly, the Quran and Sunnah’s
standards.
4.BE CLEAN!
This is especially important for Halal grocery stores where the presence of animal blood
is expected. Not being careful of this means not only lost customers, but also possible
sicknesses from the germs in the blood.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Cleanliness invites towards faith
(Iman) and faith leads its possessor to paradise.” (Tabarani)
This cleanliness, by the way, does not just apply to those areas of a store a customer will
see. It includes equipment and storage areas as well.
5. AIM FOR A HIGHER GOAL
Don’t just aim for one successful Halal grocery shop in your chosen neighborhood. Think
big. Improve the inventory of your store, the types of items in it, and strive to find ways
to improve service and profit margins.
As well, look into the possibility of pooling resources within the Muslim community or
with other shareholders to expand the business. Doing this will also reduce overhead
costs and in the long run, the price of products for your consumers.

6. WORK WITH OTHERS IN YOUR MARKET

Yes. This can be very difficult. Finger pointing, accusations and nasty rivalry often
characterize Muslim businesses aiming to market the same products. But this is not the
way a Muslim economy should work.
Brotherhood in the Ummah cannot be forgotten. Consider forming an association of
Muslim meat retailers or distributors that can sit down together share experience, and
 learn to cooperate. This cooperation could, in the long run, benefit the Muslim
consumer, and in turn the Muslim businesses themselves.
One example of where cooperation can take place in the Halal meat industry is by
having all grocers or butchers slaughtering the animals in one place, Instead of doing it
the way it’s been done since the beginning: every individual or couple of retailers
slaughtering their own animals.
By slaughtering in one place, costs are reduced, and in turn, the Muslim consumer pays
less for the same product.

7. DO NOT SELL THE HARAM

While there are more “Muslim” businesses sprouting up, not everything they sell is
Islamic.
It is not difficult to find Muslim owned businesses selling pork, alcohol, pornographic
magazines, and renting these kinds of movies on the one hand, while selling Halal meat
on the other.
Of a less offensive nature, perhaps, are those businesses which sell Halal products but
rent or sell cultural (especially Indo-Pakistani) movies. While these movies may seem
harmless in comparison to those of the pornographic variety, what must be
remembered is that when Muslim parents and elders indulge in watching such cultural
films, their children can very easily find an excuse to watch their own “cultural” films
This requires efforts on the part of Muslim business owners to wipe out the Haram and
ensure the Halal in their businesses.

 TEACHING:

A teacher is one of the most influential people in our societies. Regardless of whether the teacher is
Muslim or non-Muslim, a teacher has great importance in modern society today and has had it since the
old times. One of the key elements that help in the building of a child’s characters, manners and overall
personalities are his or her teachers. This is why it is highly important for a teacher to be true to his or
her words and exhibit positive and strong moral values and habits so that their students can learn good
from them. In short a teacher is a person who can either mould or at least turn a child towards the right
path to success through his or her own character and skills or he can provide nothing beneficial to a
child’s life.

In modern times it is evident to see that children tend to spend more time with their teachers than they
do with their parents due to their schedules, which when all things considered is not a very good thing
because a child should be given maximum attention and time by his or her parents, but regardless this
goes on to show how important the role of a teacher is in modern society. With all of the above taken
into account it is easy to understand that the role an Islamic teacher has to provide in a society is of
crucial importance. A person who is tasked with teaching the Quran to others especially children is the
best among the Muslims as the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has said, but there is also great
responsibility on his or her shoulders for these scholars and teachers are responsible for preparing the
next generation of the Muslims

 LABOUR WORK:
The dignity and honor of labor workers hold great importance in Islam. LABOUR is an important
factor of production and plays a vital role in economic development of all the countries of the
world including our country. It is considered as an active element of production, because the
major portion of her national income is derived from labour, the importance of labour cannot
be ever emphasised.

Dr S M Akhtar, a well-known economist of our country states that without labour it would be
simply impossible for us to have numerous dishes at our dinning table or to have various kinds
of clothes to wear or to be able to reside in beautiful houses. Abraham Lincoln, in his message
to the Congress on December, 1861 said “Labour is prior and independent of capital.

Capital is only the fruit of labour and would never have existed if labour had not first existed.
Labour is superior to capital and deserves much higher consideration.” There are two classes in
the world (i) Haves (capitalists, landlords, etc) (ii) Have-nots (labourers, workers, peasants, etc).

There is no religion or ideology except Islam, which guarantees the rights of the workers and
peasants ie the poorest and oppressed classes of the world. Islam not only guarantees the
rights of labour but also of the capitalist class. Islam respects all kinds of work for ensuring
one’s livelihood so long as there is no injustice involved. The economic aspect of life envisaged
by Islam is based upon sound foundations and divine instructions. Earning one’s living through
decent labour is not only a duty but a great virtue as well.

The Holy Qur’an provides guidance for all human beings and is a complete code of life. There
are clear instructions for the capitalists as well as labours regarding possession of wealth. There
are two basic principles laid down in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith for the master as well as the
servant. The master shall pay fully for the services rendered and the servant shall work
faithfully and honestly. Islam gives directions about the attitude of the employers for equal
treatment with servants and subordinates.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: “Your brothers are your servants whom ALLAH has made your
subordinate, he should give them to eat for what he himself eats and wear for what he himself
wears and do not put on them burden of any labor which may exhaust them. And if you have to
put such burden on yourself (in these works). Hazrat Abu Hurairah (RA) reported that the Holy
Prophet (PBUH) said “ALLAH says there are three persons whose adversary in dispute shall be
on the day of resurrection, a person who makes a promise in My name then acts unfaithfully
and a person who devours prices and the person who employees a servant and uses fully the
labour from him and then does not pay the remuneration.”