By: Dr. Yusuf Al Qardawi

Prohibited Kinds of Trade
Islam does not prohibit any trade except those which involve injustice, cheating, making exorbitant profits, or the promotion of something which is haram.

It is haram to do business in alcoholic beverages, intoxicants, drugs, swine, idols, statues, or anything of this sort whose consumption and use Islam has prohibited. Any earnings from such business are sinful earnings, and the Fire is likely to be the abode for the flesh which has been nourished on such earnings. Honesty and trustworthiness in such businesses will not be counted as meritorious’ for Islam came to fight and destroy such practices.

However, there is no objection to trading in gold and silk because they are permitted to women, except if something is made of these materials exclusively for the use of men.

Even if the trading is in entirely halal things, a merchant must still adhere to many moral considerations so that he may not join the ranks of the wicked, for “Indeed, the wicked will be in hell.” (82:14). One day when the Prophet (peace be on him) was going to the mosque, he saw some people engaged in selling. “O merchants,” he called out to them. When they turned their faces toward him, some of them craning their necks to listen to what he had to say, he said, Merchants will be raised up on the Day of Resurrection as wicked people, with the exception of those who fear Allah, do righteous deeds, and are truthful. (Reported by al-Tirmidhi Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, and al-Hakim.)

Waithelah ibn al-Asqa’ said, “We were business people. The Prophet (peace be on him) frequently came to us, and he would say, “Merchants, beware of lying.” (Reported by al-Tabarani)

Thus, he warned them against lying about their merchandise, since this is the weakness of merchants. Lying leads to wrongdoing, and that in turn leads to the Fire. The Prophet (peace be on him) warned in general against swearing and, in particular, against swearing to a lie, saying, On the Day of Ressurection Allah will not look at three (kinds of) persons nor purify them. One of them is the person who swears (to the truth) while lying about his merchandise. (Reported by Muslim and others.)

Abu Sa’id narrated, “An Arab with a sheep passed by me and I said, ‘Will you sell it for three dirhams?’ He replied, ‘No, by Allah!’ but then he sold it to me. I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him), who remarked, He sold his Hereafter for this world. (Reported by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih.)

The merchant should beware of cheating, for the cheater is outside the community of Islam; he should beware of tampering with the scales when weighing; beware of hoarding lest he forfeit the protection of Allah and His Messenger (peace be on him); and beware of dealing in usury or interest (riba), for Allah has prohibited it, and the Prophet (peace be on him) has said, “A dirham of riba which a person consumes knowingly is worse than committing zina thirty-six times.” (Reported by Ahmad on the authority of sound transmitters.) We will elaborate on all these matters when we come to the topic “Human Affairs.”

Salaried Employment
The Muslim is free to seek employment in the service of the government, an organization, or an individual as long as he is able to do his work satisfactorily and carry out his duties. However, he is not permitted to seek a job for which he is unfit, especially if the job carries judicial or executive authority. Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (peace be on him) as saying, Woe to the rulers, the leaders, and the trustees! On the Day of Resurrection some people will wish that they could be suspended between heaven and earth rather than having had the burden of their responsibilities. (Reported by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and by al-Hakim who authenticated its transmitters.)

Abu Dharr narrated, “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah! Will you not appoint me?’ The Prophet (peace be on him) patted me on the shoulder and then said, Abu Dharr, you are a weak person, and this is a trust; and on the Day of Resurrection it will be a cause of regret and shame except for the one who qualifies for it and fulfills his I responsibilities.” (Reported by Muslim.) The Prophet (peace be on him) said, There are three classes of judges, one of whom will be in the Garden and the other two in the Fire. The one who will be in the Garden is a man who knew the truth and judged accordingly. The one who knew the truth but misjudged and the one who judged for the people in ignorance will be in the fire. (Reported by Abu Daoud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah.)

It is better for the Muslim not to aspire to a high position, even though he may be suited for it, and to seek for something else; for whoever considers the position as a means of fording it over others is a slave of that position, and whoever turns his face towards worldly glories will not receive guidance from heaven. Narrated ‘Abdur Rahman ibn Samrah, “The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) told me, Abdur Rahman, do not ask for governorship, for if you are appointed to it without asking, you will be helped, while if you are appointed to it at your request, you alone will be held responsible. (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Anas narrated that the Prophet (peace be on him) said, He who seeks the office of a judge, collecting recommendations, is left to himself, but for him who is compelled to accept it, Allah sends an angel to guide him. (Reported by Abu Daoud and al-Tirmidhi.)

If, however, a person knows that there is no one else qualified to do a particular job except himself, and that if he does not come forward to take it, public interests will be damaged, he should come forward. The Qur’an tells us the story of the prophet Joseph in which Joseph tells the ruler, Set me over the storehouses of the land; I am surely a knowledgeable custodian. (12:55)

These are the Islamic guidelines in relation to seeking positions in government and the like.

Prohibited Types of Employment
What we have said above concerning the permissibility of working as an employee of a government, organization, or individual, excludes those jobs which are injurious to the cause of Islam or which harm Muslims. Accordingly, it is not permissible for a Muslim to be an officer or soldier in an army which is fighting against Muslims, nor to work in a corporation or factory which manufactures armaments to be used against Muslims, nor in an organization which is hostile to Islam and fights its adherents.

Similarly, any service rendered in support of injustice or in promoting what is haram is itself haram. For example, it is prohibited to the Muslim to be an employee in an organization which deals in interest, in a bar or liquor shop, nightclub, dance hall, and the like.

It is not a valid excuse to say that one is neither using what is haram nor directly involved with it. As we have stated previously, it is a basic principle of Islam that whatever aids and assists the haram is itself haram. For this reason, the Prophet (peace be on him cursed the person who writes the document of interest and the person who witnesses it, as well as the person who consumes it. Similarly cursed is the person who brings the wine, the one who serves it, as well as the one who drinks it.

Again, under the compulsion of unavoidable necessity, the Muslim may seek temporary employment in such activities to the extent of what is required, but he should in the meantime be searching for other gainful employments until Allah opens a way for him, for indeed Allah does open the door for those who sincerely seek to avoid what is haram.

The Muslim is always to be on guard against temptation which may lead him towards doubtful activities, thereby weakening his faith and compromising his religion, no matter how large a profit or gain may be involved. The Prophet (peace be on him said), “Leave alone what puts you in doubt and turn toward what does not put you in doubt.” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nisai, al- Hakim, and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih.)

He also said, “A person does not reach the rank of the God-fearing (muttaqeen) until he abandons what is harmless out of fear that it may be harmful.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi.)

A General Rule in Earning a Living
The general rule in regard to earning a living is that Islam does not permit its followers to earn money in any way they like, rather it differentiates between lawful and unlawful methods based on the criterion of the overall well-being of the society. One may formulate as a general rule that any transaction in which one person’s gain results in another’s loss is unlawful, while any transaction which is fair and beneficial to all the parties concerned and which is transacted by mutual consent is lawful. O you who believe, do not consume your property among yourselves wrongfully, but let there be trade by mutual consent, and do not kill yourselves; indeed, Allah is ever merciful to you. And whoever does so in enmity and injustice, we shall cast him into the Fire; and that is easy for Allah. (4:29-30)

This verse lays down two conditions for a transaction: first, that the transaction should be with the mutual consent of the two parties; second, that the benefit to one party should not be a loss to the other. In explaining the meaning of “Do not kill yourselves,” scholars give two interpretations, both of which are generally applicable here. The first is, “Do not kill each other,” and the second is, “do not kill yourselves by your own hands.” In either case, a person who makes someone else suffer for his own benefit is, in effect, shedding his blood and opening the door for others to do the same to him, thus leading to his own eventual ruin. Theft, bribery, gambling, cheating, fraud, misrepresentation, and interest, although some of these may be carried out by mutual consent, do not satisfy the second condition implied in the saying of AlTa’ala, “And do not kill yourselves.”