Permissible and Impermissible Ways of Earning in Islam PDF

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Permissible and Impermissible Ways of Earning in Islam The purpose of human beings in this world is to pursue activities which please Allah and are in accordance with Islam, because this life is extremely smaller than the afterlife and we ought to prepare for the latter one. But, in order to make our “wordly” life better, we are supposed to engage in economic activities to increase and stabilize our position financially and to maintain and enhance our standard of living. To many people out there, earning money could be an outcome of delivering some value. When we do something, that is value for someone, and hence in exchange of delivering that value we get paid. Later, when we realize that our value is making people’s life better, that is when we get motivated to do even more. In Islam, Allah guides every Muslim explicitly to earn money in a permissible (Halal) way and refrain from the impermissible (Haram) ways of earning money.

Permissible ways of Earning 1. Know your moral boundaries: The person needs to know his moral boundaries before stepping in some business or trade. Moral boundaries mean the activities that are morally right or wrong in the context of his society/tribe/community.

2. Tip the scale: Don’t shortchange people, if your customer is buying something that can be weighed then a bit more than what that customer is buying. If someone is buying 1 kilo of a commodity, then give them a bit over 1 kilo so that you know you haven’t shortchanged them. If it’s a service you’re offering, then walk an extra mile so people know that you are trustworthy individual who won’t stab them in the back and shortchange them.

3. Don’t exploit: When doing business, Allah guide Muslims to engage in honest earning and not exploit other human being’s resources and needs. By exploiting, we only increase greed and immorality in the world, in doing so, we ensure that the underprivileged remain dependent on those who are privileged.

4. Don’t overpromise: Prophet Muhammad PBUH says: “Never make an oath that you can’t live up to”. In doing business, never make a promise of doing something just to seal the deal and if you have made a promise then make sure that you deliver it.

5. Be Truthful: Prophet Muhammad PBUH says “Never hide the defect of something you are going to sell”. It is of utmost importance to reveal the defect whilst selling some commodity, don’t try and get an extra few rupees simply because you succeeded in deceiving someone. The same way, it is also advised to not exaggerate the praise of a commodity that you’re selling and increase the expectations of the customer. That way when they realize that the product or service is not what they expected it to be after the praise, they will feel deceived.

Impermissible ways of earnings 1. Riba (Usury): Riba associates to the exploitative interest made in business. As Muslims, we have to refrain from the income sources where we don’t exert our efforts and earn money effortlessly. The interest here is gained from the repayment on a loan or the simultaneous exchange of unequal products/services.

2. Bribery: Bribe is given to the government representatives for a particular gain which couldn’t have been gained without bribery. Bribery is prohibited in Islam because it eats the rights from the people who are entitled to something. For example, if there is a recruitment process in a company and a candidate is selected on merit but an influential person walks in company to get his relative on the job, he may bribe the committee to appoint his relative at the new job. This will eat up the right of that candidate who was going to be selected on merit.

3. Profiteering and Defrauding:

There are two greatest sins while selling a product: selling the commodity at a higher price just because demand is high and supply is low, and selling short measures to customers. In simple words, it is called exploiting customer’s need for personal gains which is clearly prohibited in Islam.

4. Drug dealing and trade of alcoholic drinks: Islam explicitly says that pursuing activities that hurt yourself and others around you are Haram. In this way, producing, distributing or even using drugs, alcohols and related products is prohibited in Islam. In simple words, if something is in contradiction with Shariah, it is automatically forbidden.

5. Indecency: “Indeed, those who like that immorality should be spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do not know.” Quran [24:19]. Therefore, Income earned from sources which spread immorality or indecency is prohibited in Islam too.

Conclusion: In conclusion, Islam advise everyone to earn an honest living which involves catering to the public needs with 100% effort. A job or source of income is Halal and permissible, if it requires effort, doesn’t include deception, doesn’t hurt others in a community, is morally accepted and follows in the footsteps of Shariah. However, a job or source of income is Haram if it involves earning without losing (Which is also called speculation in the world of stock exchange), a job which could hurt others, which doesn’t require effort, which exploits other people’s resources and needs and so on. Impermissible ways of earning bring along many affects like, it is written in Quran That whoever pursues Haram income, their Halal income will be reduced and they will be deprived of Allah’s blessings (Barakah), their prayers will not be answered, they will become cruel and hard-hearted. In addition to that, Haram consumption will have negative effects on their offspring and descendants....