ISLAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS. 4. PROTECTION OF RIGHT TO EARN A LIVING

It is narrated in a Hadith that after Faraez (obligatory Ibadaat [prayers]) earning a living through Halal means is the second most important Farz (obligatory Ibadat) for a person.

Every person has to earn a living to survive in this world. That is why the right to earn a living has been deemed as one of the basic human rights in Islam and has been protected as such. Rasool Allah ﷺ has said that no one person can be allowed to shut the doors on earning a living for others using his own wealth.

The primary difference between economic teachings of Islam and Capitalism is that in Islam Freedom of Contract is not absolute, and it has been said that every contract that creates imbalance in society, or harms people economically, is Hara'am (impermissible). Rasool Allah SAW has said, "Let people be as Allah Ta'alah will grant sustenance to some through some others."

There are three kinds of restrictions that have been placed on Freedom of Contract in Islam, but before going into that detail there is one core principle that must be understood. Unlike Capitalism or Communism Islam is not just an economic theory or system. Islam is a whole way of life and a belief system that encompasses every walk of life. In Capitalism there is only one measure of success, and that is money. A person who earns a thousand dollars a month is more successful than one earning a hundred dollars a month, and a person earning hundred thousand dollars a month is way more successful than one earning a thousand dollars a month. But in Islam the true measure of success is how well a person used his wealth to make his Aakhirah (life after death) better. If a person dies in a state that Allah Ta'alah was happy with him, he was successful regardless of how poor he dies. If a person dies in a state that Allah Ta'alah was unhappy with him, he died a failure regardless of how much money there was in his bank account at the time of his death.

On the other hand Islam does not teach abstention from all worldly comforts. It allows people to live in this world, to enjoy its comforts, but also cautions that the worldly comforts should not become the total and exclusive focus of all our efforts and our energies, we must also remember that there is a life after this, and we must keep striving to make that eternal life better. Once we understand this core principle then we can understand better why Islam has placed certain types restrictions on Freedom of Contract.

Islam has placed three types of restrictions on Freedom of Contract.

1. A religious injunction or prohibition.
In Islam if two parties enter into a contract to earn a profit or an income it is generally respected and binding, but there are certain types of contracts which are absolutely forbidden in Islam even if both parties involved are willing to enter into that agreement.

Interest (usury) based transactions are a prime example of these kinds of contracts and there is a warning of a declaration of war from Allah Ta'alah and Rasool Allah SAW for those people who engage in such transactions. There are whole books written on this topic but the core principle is that in interest-based transactions one person's gain is guaranteed, and the other person's gain is uncertain who carries all the risk. In Islam the principle is that the profit or loss both should be shared between both parties.

Gambling is another such transaction that is absolutely forbidden regardless of whether both parties are willing to engage in it. The out come of gambling, in all its various forms, always is that one or a few persons make a lot of money, while a much larger number loses their money. Allah Ta'alah is so kind to His subjects that He has forbidden them to engage in activities where they are likely to incur a loss, even if they wish to do so.

Ihtikar (hoarding) is forbidden in Islam. Rasool Allah SAW has even forbidden middlemen from the cities to buy the produce from farmers and then sell it onwards. Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB said that both of these activities drive prices upwards and make life more difficult for ordinary people, and that is why these have been forbidden.

Iktinaz (being so miserly about spending money that one doesn't even pay Zakat or fulfil financial Faraez like looking after one's family) has also been declared Hara'am in Shariah.

In all the activities mentioned above which have been declared Hara'am by Shariah even if its participants engage willingly in it, there is one common theme that is even though they may bring great financial benefit to one person or a few, but overall they are harmful for the masses, which is against the spirit of Islam.

2. Moral injunctions.
As mentioned above, the true measure of success in Islam is not who earned or saved the most money, but who made Allah Ta'alah most happy. That is why Islam encourages its followers to spend money in a lot of heads which while not obligatory and do not bring much financial benefit, but earn great rewards for the Aakhirah. And mostly it is related to brining relief to and satisfy needs of Allah's creations. For example a businessman estimates that if he installed a new factory he will earn a lot of profit, but if he built low cost housing for people who can't afford their own home otherwise, he may not earn as much but will earn a lot of Thawab because he will be providing relief to Allah's creations. If, in that instance, he then chooses to build low cost housing, even that it was not obligatory for him under Shariah to do so but was a moral imperative, InshaAllah it will earn him great rewards for his Aakhirah.

3. Legal injunctions
Islam has given the right to an Islamic government that at any time if it feels that it needs to make a specific law to change the direction in which the society is going, it can do so, and it is binding on people living under its rule.

Adapted from the talk "Islam and Human Rights" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

ISLAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS: PROTECTION OF PROPERTY 2.1

It would be difficult to come up with matching examples of the extent to which Rasool Allah ﷺ went to protect financial rights of even his enemies. Once Muslims under the leadership of Rasool Allah SAW had attacked Khyber fort and had surrounded it. There was a goat herder there who used to herd other people's goats for some small fee. He had a thought that he had heard a lot about Muhammad, now that he was there he wanted to go and meet him to find out what kind of a man he was. People told him which tent Rasool Allah SAW was in. He asked Rasool Allah SAW what his message was. Rasool Allah SAW told him about Tauheed (that Allah Ta'alah is One and Only, and no one shares His characteristics or powers). He asked what his status would be if he became a Muslim. Rasool Allah SAW said, "You will become our brother, and you will have the same rights as everyone else." To cut a long story short he was so touched that he embraced Islam then and there.

After converting to Islam he said, "Now I am ready to obey whatever orders you give me." The first order Rasool Allah gave him was not to pray Namaz (Salah), it was not to fast, or to pay Zakat. The first order Rasool Allah SAW gave him after converting to Islam was, "The goats you were herding belong to their rightful owners and you brought them here after doing a contract with their owners. They have ben entrusted (Amanat) to you. Now go and return the goats to their owners, and then come back and ask me what to do next." He asked in surprise, "O Rasool Allah SAW. These goats belong to your sworn enemies, who would make every effort to kill you. You want me to return these goats to them?" Rasool Allah SAW said, "If we had earned these goats as part of spoils pf war that would have been a different matter. But you have brought these goats here after making a promise to their owners. You are obligated under that promise to return them to their owners. So go and return it to them." The goat herder returned the goats to their owners, joined the Jihad and achieved martyrdom. Thus Rasool Allah showed by example that if one has entered into a contract even with an enemy, then that contract must be honoured.

Adapted from the talk "Islam and Human Rights" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM: 2 PROTECTION OF PROPERTY

لا تاکلو اموالکم بینکم بالباطل

DO NOT CONSUME EACH OTHER'S WEALTH UNJUSTLY

Protection of property is the second basic human right in Islam. As had been mentioned in a previous post there are three degrees of virtuous acts by doing which one earns Thawab (eternal rewards). Faraez and Wajibat (obligatory acts under Shariah), Sunnah (practices of Rasool Allah ﷺ) and Mustahib (acts which earn Thawab when performed, but there is no sin if one doesn't commit them). The financial Faraez and Wajibat include acts like paying Zakat, spending money on Hajj (the annual pilgrimage to Makkah) and Qurbani (slaughtering an animal in the name of Allah), and fulfilling the financial needs of one's family. For some of these Faraez and Wajibat even the government has the right to enforce. And if there is a person who the person who is not carrying out these Faraez or Wajibat listens to, then he would be well within his rights to try to persuade him to carry these out. However, except for these financial Faraez and Wajibat it is not permissible in Shariah to force anyone to spend his money on any Nafil (non-obligatory deeds) Sadaqah or Khairat (charity). If someone forces anyone else to do so, not only they will not get any Thawab, in fact they will end incurring the sin of taking someone else's money with undue pressure or influence. 

In Shariah a term "Teeb-Khatir" (literally meaning happiness of the heart) has been used. It means someone giving their money voluntarily without any undue influence or pressure to someone else. The rule in Shariah is that it is Hara'am to take someone's money without him giving it away happily. In pre-partition India after the death of their fathers sons divided all his inheritance among themselves making their sisters forego their share. Hazrat Thanvi RA used to say that sisters relinquishing their inheritance rights would be valid only if they received their share of inheritance, used it for 1-2 years, and then gifted it happily to their brothers. That would be true Teeb-e-Khatir.

to be continued...

Adapted from the talk "islam and Human Rights" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.

WEIGHING LESS AND MEASURING SHORT

Translation of Surah Hud:85-86

"And O my people, perfect the measure and the balance with justice and do not make the people short of their things, and do not go about the earth spreading disorder. Whatever is left (with you) by Allah is better for you, if you are believers."

Whenever the Quran talks about historical events where whole communities were destroyed it always says that it was due to their Kufr (non-believing) and Shirk (believing that someone else shared Allah's greatness and powers), and doesn't mention specific practices and behaviours, with two exceptions. Hazrat Shuaib's (AS) people were one of those two communities, about whom the Quran specifically mentions that they were punished, in addition to their Kufr and Shirk, because of their practice of weighing less and measuring short when selling something.

Hazrat Imam Malik RA has quoted Hazrat Farooq e Azam RAA as saying that this verse applies not just to actually weighing and measuring things when selling something. This verse applies to all those situations when someone does not fulfilled another person's rights due towards him. For example, if an employee in an office does not discharge his duties properly, or an employee or a labourer works for less than the contracted hours for which they are being paid, then they are also 'weighing less and measuring short'.

Adapted from Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi RA

THE THREE SIGNS OF A MUNAFIQ (DUPLICITOUS PERSON)

THE PREVIOUS CAUTION ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES.

Rasool Allah SAW said that there are three signs of a Munafiq (duplicitous person); when he speaks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when someone entrusts him with something valuable (Imanat) he breaches that trust. In another narration of this Hadith there is a further addition that even if that person prays Salah (Namaz) and fasts in Ramadan and claims that he is a Muslim, he still doesn't deserve to be called a Muslim because he has let go of the basic tenets of Islam.

It is difficult to understand why people have come to believe that Islam comprises of just Namaz (Salah) and Roza (fasting). If someone starts praying Namaz and start fasting they start believing that we have become perfect Muslims and now Islam doesn't require them to do anything further. So after praying when they go to the real world they have no hesitation in lying, defrauding and stealing to make money, and there is not even a consideration whether the money they are earning is Hara'am (forbidden) or Halal ( permissible). No one can trust what they say. If they are entrusted with something valuable they breach that trust. They do not keep their promises. So this concept that Islam comprises of only Namaz and Roza is a very wrong and in fact dangerous concept.  Rasool Allah SAW has said that a person who engages in such behaviours doesn't deserve to be called a Muslim even if he prays Namaz and fasts. Even though formally he may not be labelled a Kafir (non-believer), because it is a very grave matter to label someone a non-believer, but all the behaviours he is displaying, are not the behaviours of a Muslim.

Adapted from the talk "The different forms of lying", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Hazrat once said, "It is a sign of the level of moral decay of a society if a patient can't trust whether the advice his doctor is giving him is in the patient's best interest, or the doctor's best interest."

Hazrat once said that if a person takes an interest-based loan from a a bank and then conducts a Halal business with it, then even though he would be incurring the sin of paying interest, his income would be halal and it would be permissible to eat at his home. However, if a person loans money to others and charges interest on it, and majority of his income comes from that source, then his income is Hara'am and one should avoid eating at such a person's home.