Rights and obligations of employer and employee

13-9-2009 | IslamWeb

Question:

MA A SSLAMAH!
WHAT IS THE VIEW OF ISLAM TOWARDS THE INTERESTS OF THE LABORS?? WHETHER AN EMPLOYER WANT TO PROVIDE GOOD LIVING CONDITIONS TO A LABOR? CAN YOU AGREE WITH THE VERY POOR & PITY LIVING CONDITIONS OF LABORS IN UAE AND OTHER SO CALLED MUSLIM COUNTRIES ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELD OF CONSTRUCTION, THE MOST IN THE VIEW OF ISLAM?? THE MOST CRUEL HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS ARE GOING ON IN THE MIDDLE EAST WHICH ARE SAYING MUSLIM COUNTRIES. CAN YOU AGREE WITH HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS ? AS A ISLAMIC ACTIVISTS WHAT CAN YOU DO AGAINST THIS VIOLSATIONS IN THE WAY OF ISLAM?.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

 

The employer-employee relationship is considered a hiring relationship, and we have some Sharee‘ah texts that clarify the principles and regulations of this relationship as stated by the Islamic jurists in their books.

It is the right of the employee to have his wages specified in advance by the employer and to get it completely and on time. Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whoever employs someone to work for him, he must specify for him his wage in advance.” [Musannaf ‘Abdur-Razzaaq]

Similar Hadeeths were also narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, Abu Sa‘eed and ‘Uthmaan .

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Allaah Said, ‘I will be the opponent of three on the Day of Judgment: one who makes a covenant in My Name and then breaks it; one who sells a free man as a slave and devours his price and one who hires a workman and having taken full work from him, does not pay him his wages.'”

On the Day of Judgment, Allaah The Exalted will be the opponent of those types of people. Hence, the employers who hire workers then delay their wages for a month or two or three must fear Allaah.

‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Pay the laborer his wages before his sweat dries.”

Moreover, the employer has no right to force the worker to do more work or work longer than the time they agreed on, provided that the worker has the ability to do what they agreed on.

On the other hand, the worker must satisfy the conditions between him and the employer in what is not prohibited under Sharee‘ah. Allaah The Almighty Said (what means): {O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts.}[Quran 5:1]

The worker must also perform the work that is assigned to him perfectly. Al-Bayhaqi and Abu Ya‘la narrated on the authority of ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Verily, Allaah loves that when anyone of you does something he does it perfectly.”

Finally, let us conclude by mentioning the great rule that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stated in a Hadeeth:  “There should be neither harm nor reciprocal harm.” [Ahmad]

Hence, there should be no harm against the employer or the employee.

Allaah Knows best.