The Ideal Muslim Worker

All praises are due to Allah, The Creator and Lord of all that exists. He created us and taught us what we knew not.

Verily, Allah has blessed us with numerous favours which cannot be counted by us. One of such favours is giving us the talents, knowledge and strength to seek His Bounties through working, trading, farming, etc.

The primary objective of this study is to help in checking and possibly eradicate some common misconceptions and/or mistakes in our work places (especially with regards the Government/ office work) in light of the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah [Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W)]. It is also meant to encourage the Muslim workers to be good ambassadors of Islam by showing examples of the perfect gentlemen Islam teaches us to be. 

Allah says: “And if anyone of the Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the Word of Allah (the Qur’an), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not.” Ch9 V6

A worker is truly blessed to have a means of living, if we look closely especially in the developing countries, we see millions of people battling with unemployment and poverty but then man can be very ungrateful to His Creator. While trying to earn a living which can serve as a means of earning Allah’s Mercy, some make it otherwise. There are some common mistakes in our work places nowadays which are either as a result of ignorance in the teachings of Islam or as a result of following our heart’s desires. Our Governments or employers try to bring laws to check some of these mistakes, but we fail to realize Islam has already dealt with such issues a long time ago. If we abide by the teachings of our religion, we will save our employers a great deal of trouble. Why don’t we strive to find out the Laws ordained by our Creator?

People always yearn for change but we forget that change begins with the individuals. If we change ourselves at our individual levels Allah has promised us change:

“….Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as long as they do not change their state (of goodness) themselves (by committing sins and being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah).” Ch13 V11

It is unfortunate how some people capitalize on the behaviour of some workers and condemn the job itself. This is as a result of the behaviour of some bad eggs in the work places. These critics fail to note that the actions of these workers are not only unislamic but also defy the constitution of the Country and the ethics of the professions. Some of these behaviours are known to be wrong by almost all workers while some are not very clear hence some workers indulge in such acts out of ignorance. Examples of these behaviours/ acts are bribery and corruption, injustice, etc. 

Today, we live in a society with so many problems and hardships and our actions are the cause of most of our problems. Allah says:

“Evil (sins and disobedience to Allah) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds) that He (Allah) may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allah, and begging His pardon).” Ch30 V41

I therefore pray to Allah (S.W.T) to forgive our shortcomings, increase our knowledge and make our efforts fruitful.

Amin