Earnings from Unlawful Professions and Products

Earning through unlawful means has been declared haram in the Quran and Hadith. Allah Almighty says: “O believers! Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, but only through lawful business based on mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves. Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you.”

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “A man undertakes a long journey with dishevelled hair and a dust-covered body. He raises his hands towards the sky and says, ‘O Lord!’ But what he eats is haram, what he drinks is haram, what he wears is haram and he has been nourished by haram. How then can his supplication be accepted?”

Sa’d (RA) said, “O Messenger of Allah, pray to Allah that my supplications may be accepted.” The Prophet (PBUH) replied, “O Sa’d, keep your earnings halal and your supplications will be accepted. If a person consumes even one morsel of haram food, his supplications will not be accepted for 40 days.”

It is said that if a person buys clothing for 10 dirhams and one dirham of the amount was earned unlawfully, his prayer will not be accepted as long as he wears that clothing.

Imam Ibn al-Ward said that even being a fighter or guard in the field of jihad would not benefit a person if he did not consider whether his food was halal or haram.

It is worth mentioning that Abu Bakr (RA) had a slave who sought his freedom by agreeing to pay a fixed amount as ransom. Abu Bakr (RA) accepted the arrangement. The slave brought part of the ransom every day, and Abu Bakr (RA) would ask how he had earned it. He accepted it only when the answer was satisfactory.

One night, the slave brought him some food. Abu Bakr (RA) was fasting that day and forgot to ask about its source before eating a morsel. He later asked how the food had been obtained.

The slave said he had practised fortune-telling during the period of Jahiliyyah and earned money by deceiving people. The food had been bought with that money.

Abu Bakr (RA) immediately tried to vomit the food. When he was told that he needed to drink water, he did so repeatedly until he expelled what he had eaten. He said, “Even if I had to die to remove it, I would have done so. I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: ‘The Fire of Hell is more deserving of a body nourished by haram food.’”

Interest

One of the common means of unlawful earnings is dealing in interest, which has become deeply embedded in the modern economic system.

Interest is one of the oldest and most complex issues in economics. Laws concerning interest existed in ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece and India. It was also discussed in the Vedas, Torah and Gospel. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as Hindu and Jewish reformers, condemned interest-based transactions.

In Islam, interest, or riba, is strictly prohibited. It is regarded as a means of economic exploitation and injustice. It can create inequality in the distribution of wealth and divisions in society.

The Arabic term for interest is “riba”, which can mean increase, growth or abundance.

During the period of Jahiliyyah, some disbelievers, Jews and polytheists considered interest a form of business. However, the Holy Quran clearly distinguishes between trade and interest.

The Quran prohibits interest in seven verses and warns of severe consequences for those involved in it. Allah says: “Those who consume interest will stand on the Day of Judgment like those driven to madness by Satan’s touch. That is because they say, ‘Trade is like interest,’ while Allah has permitted trade and forbidden interest.”

The prohibition of interest is established through seven Quranic verses, more than 40 Hadiths and scholarly consensus.

Embezzlement and Bribery

Embezzling wealth and giving or accepting bribes are prohibited in Islam. Allah says: “Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, nor use it to bribe authorities so that you may knowingly consume a portion of others’ wealth unlawfully.”

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Allah has cursed both the one who gives a bribe and the one who accepts it.”

He also said that if a person intercedes on behalf of someone and subsequently receives a gift from that person for whom he interceded, accepting the gift amounts to a serious form of consuming interest.

Ibn Mas’ud (RA) said that accepting a gift after fulfilling another person’s need would be haram.

If a salaried employee accepts payment from someone for performing a duty that falls within his official responsibilities, it is considered bribery, regardless of whether it is called a gift, present or gratuity. However, payment for work outside his official duties and working hours is not considered bribery.

Gambling

Islam has declared gambling an unlawful means of earning. Allah says: “O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols and divining arrows are filth from the work of Satan. So avoid them so that you may be successful.”

All forms of gambling are prohibited, whether played with cards, dice, tokens or other means. It involves taking people’s wealth through unlawful means.

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “If anyone says to another, ‘Come, let us gamble,’ he should give charity.”

Extortion

Earning money through extortion is also a form of oppression and is strictly prohibited in Islamic law.

The Quran says: “The blame is only against those who oppress people and transgress throughout the land without right. For them is a painful punishment.”

Those who forcibly collect money are oppressors. The money they collect does not belong to them, nor is it lawful to spend it as they wish. They take away people’s hard-earned wealth and will have to compensate those they wronged on the Day of Judgment with their good deeds. If their good deeds are exhausted, the sins of those they oppressed will be placed upon them.

The Prophet (PBUH) said that the truly bankrupt person is one who comes on the Day of Judgment with prayers, fasting, Hajj and zakat, but has also insulted, assaulted or deprived others of their wealth. His good deeds will then be given to those he wronged. When his good deeds run out, their sins will be placed upon him and he will be thrown into Hell.

The Prophet (PBUH) also said: “The one who unlawfully collects money will not enter Paradise.”

Robbery

Robbery is a serious crime and is more severe than theft. Islam has prescribed worldly punishment for this offence in addition to punishment in the Hereafter.

Islam provides comprehensive guidance on acquiring, spending and using wealth. Wealth earned through halal means is lawful, while wealth acquired through injustice and oppression is forbidden.

Those who take up arms and attack unarmed people on roads, in homes, on rivers or in deserts and openly seize their wealth are described as robbers, plunderers or muharibun.

The Quran prescribes punishment for those who seize wealth through robbery, spread terror and cause loss of life and honour.

Allah says: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and spread corruption in the land is execution, crucifixion, cutting off their hands and feet on opposite sides, or exile from the land. This is their disgrace in this world, and they will suffer a great punishment in the Hereafter.”

Giving Short Weight

Earning through short weights and measures has been declared haram in Islam, with severe punishment for those who engage in it.

Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Woe to those who give less than due. Those who, when they take a measure from people, take in full, but when they give by measure or weight, give less. Do they not think that they will be resurrected for a tremendous Day, the Day when all people will stand before the Lord of the worlds?”

The Quran further says that the record of the wicked is in Sijjin and warns of the suffering awaiting those who deny the Day of Judgment.

(To be continued)

The writer is from Pathan Para (Khan Bari), Kadamtali, Sylhet.