An employee (or appointee) who carries out his official responsibility with seriousness and sincerity will be rewarded for it in the world and the hereafter. When an employee carries out his official duties in expectation of Allah’s rewards, he absolves himself and deserves his remuneration in this world and he will earn reward in the Home of the Hereafter. There are various evidences from the shariah pointing to the fact remuneration and rewards are confirmed on whatever work anyone does in expectation of reward and pleasure of Allah. Allah says: "There is no good in most of their secret talks save (in) him who orders Sadaqah (charity in Allah's Cause) or Maruf (Islamic Monotheism and all the good and righteous deeds which Allah has ordained) or conciliation between mankind and he who does this seeking the good Pleasure of Allah. We shall give him a great reward" (Q4[an-Nisaa]:114)
AI-Imam Bukhari and Muslim related on the authority of Abu Masud that Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "When a man spends on his family seeking reward for it. It will count for him as charity." He also said to Sad bn Abi Waqqas (RA): "You will not spend anything (on your family) seeking the pleasure of Allah thereby except that you will be rewarded for it even a morsel that you put in the mouth of your wife." (Bukhari)
All of these texts points to the fact that whenever the Muslim fulfills his obligation to the slaves of Allah, he absolves himself and that his remuneration becomes due as well as his reward. He must utilise office hours for official responsibilities, It behooves every employee and worker to utilize office hours for official duties. He must not engage in other activities. He must not use the office hours for personal benefits or other benefits having no connection with the official duties.
This is because office hours do not belong to the employee and worker rather he is meant to discharge the responsibilities for which he is being paid. Shaykh al-Muammar bn Ali AI-Baghdadi (d. 507 AH) said while admonishing state workers: "... Just as a man hopes to receive his remuneration in full and just as he detests to be cheated in the least in his payment so also should he not cheat in the least in the hours he spends on his official duties without spending any part of it on other than what is beneficial to the official duties. Allah has castigated those who cheat in their measure and weight, those who take their own rights in full but cheat concerning the rights of others. Allah says: "Woe to AI-Mutaffifin [those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights of others, Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demand full measure, And when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Think they not that they will be resurrected for reckoning, On a Great Day, The Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Al amin (mankind, jinns and all that exists?" (Q83[al-Mutafflffeen]: 1-6)
Position must be filled based on trust and competence. The foundation for choosing employees and workers should be competence and trustworthiness because it is with his competence that he will discharge the duties demanded of him and it is with trustworthiness that he will discharge them in the proper manner. His trustworthiness will make him place things in their proper places and his competence will ensure that he carry out his obligations. Allah informed us about one of the two daughters of the man of Midian who said to her father when Musa watered their flock for them: "O my father! Hire him! Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy." (Q28[Qasas]:26). Allah also says concerning al-Ifreet from the jinn who was the first to show his preparedness to carry out Prophet Sulaiman's wish: "I will bring it to you before you rise from your place (council).And verily, I am indeed strong, and trustworthy for such work." (Q27[Naml]:39)
This means that he combined his competence and ability to bring it with his trustworthiness in safeguarding its content. Allah also informs us that Prophet Yusuf (alayhi salaam) said to the king: "Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge." (Q12[Yusuf]:55) The opposite of competence and trustworthiness are incompetence and betrayal of trust and they are the basic reasons to disqualify a person from appointment and employment for a job. When Umar bn al-Khattab appointed Sad bn Abi Waqqas (RA) as the governor of Kufah, some foolish people criticized his appointee and detracted from his competence, Umar saw the need to remove him to prevent crisis that might impel some of them to transgress against Sad.
However, during his last illness, Umar appointed a six-man committee from among the Companions of the Prophet to choose the leader after him. One of them was Sad bn Abi Waqqas! In the fear that some might assume that he removed Sad from authority due to some unfitness, he dispelled this assumption thus: "lf authority devolves on Sad, then let it be so, otherwise, let whoever is appointed find support in him for I removed him neither due to incompetence or betrayal of trusts on his part." (Bukhari) It is recorded in Saheeh Muslim that Abu Dhar (RA) asked the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam):"Messenger of Allah, will you not appoint me to a public office?" He stroked my shoulder with his hand and said: "Abu Dharr, you are weak and authority is a trust and on the Day of Judgment it is a cause of humiliation and repentance except for one who fulfils its obligations and (properly) discharges the duties attendant thereon." In yet another narration, Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to him: "Abu Dharr, I find that you are weak and I like for you what I like for myself. Do not rule over (even) two persons and do not manage the property of an orphan."(Muslim)
Leaders and Senior officers are models When leaders and senior officers discharge their obligations well and completely, they will be emulated by their subordinates. Thus, every head of an office shall answer the query concerning himself and his subordinates. Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:"Everyone of you is a guardian and everyone of you is responsible (for his wards). A ruler is a-guardian and is responsible (for his subjects); a man is a guardian of his family and responsible (for them); a wife is a guardian of her husband’s house and she is respons!ble (for it), a slave is a guardian of his masters property and is responsible (for that). Beware! All of you are guardians and are responsible (for your wards)."(Bukhari)
Thus, when leaders and senior officers are concerned with discharging their responsibilities as required at all times, they would become a good model for those below him. Employees should do to others what he likes to be done to him This is a profound admonition in Islam. It is for this reason that Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Religion is sincere advice" The people said: "To whom O Messenger of Allah?"He said: "To Allah, His Book, His Messenger and the leaders of-the Muslims and their general populace. "(Muslim) Just as an employee wishes that he be dealt with in a nice manner whenever he has a need of others, similarly, he ought to deal with others in the best manner. Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Whoever loves to be turned away from the Fire and admitted into Paradise, let him meet his death while he is believing in Allah and the Day of Resurrection and let him do to people what he likes to be done to him." (Muslim) In yet another hadeeth, Allah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "None of you will truly believe until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." (Bukhari)
Allah has criticized those who do to others what he himself dislikes to be done to him in His statement:"Woe to AI-Mutafflfin [those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights of others,Those who, when they have to"Woe to AI-Mutaffifin [those who give less in measure and weight ... "receive by measure from men, demand full measure, And when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due." (Q83[al-Mutaffiffeen]: 1-4) Allah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Verily Allah, the Glorious and Majestic, has forbidden for you: disobedience to mothers.burying alive daughters withholding the right of others in spite of having the power to return that to them and demanding that (which is not ones legitimate right). And He disapproved three things for you: irrelevant talk persistent questioning and wasting of wealth." (Muslim)
An employee should abstain from corruption, accepting bribes or gifts in the course of his official duties It is obligatory on all employees to be modest, strong willed and distant from consuming the wealth of others wrongfully through bribes offered to him in form of gifts. If he takes the wealth of people without due right, then he has taken it wrongfully. Consuming the wealth of others wrongfully is one of the reasons why duaa is not accepted. Allahs Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Allah is pure and He does not accept anything but that which is pure. Allah has commanded the believers with what He has commanded the Messengers saying:"0 (you) Messengers! Eat of the Taiyibat and do righteous deeds. Verily! I am Well-Acquainted with what you do." He also says:"0 you who believe (in the Oneness of Allah "Islamic Monotheism")! Eat of the lawful things that we have provided you with, and be grateful to Allah, if it is indeed He Whom you worship." (Bukhari)
One of the clearest warning against eating wealth wrongfully is what is related by Bukhari that Allah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "The first part of man to become rotten is his stomach. Whoever is able to ensure that he eats nothing but what is pure. then let him do so." He also said: "A time will come upon the people when a man will not care about the source of his wealth -whether it is from halal or haram." Allah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) warned employees severely against using their positions to embezzle money. He (the Prophet) once employed Ibn Al-Utbiyya to collect Zakat from Bani Sulaim, and when he returned (with the money) to Allahs Messenger, the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) called him to account, and he said, "This (amount) is for you, and this was given to me as a present." Allah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "Why dont you stay at your father’s house or your mother’s house to see whether you will be given gifts or not, if you are telling the truth?" Then Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) stood up and addressed the people, and after glorifying and praising Allah, he said: Amma Badu (then after) I employ some men from among you for some job which Allah has placed in my charge, and then one of you comes to me and says, This (amount) is for you and this is a gift given to me. Why doesn’t he stay at the house of his father or the house of his mother and see whether he will be given gifts or not if he was telling the truth. By Allah, none of you takes anything of it (i.e., Zakat) for himself (Hisham added: unlawfully) but he will meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection carrying it on his neck! I do not want to see any of you carrying a grunting camel or a mooing cow or a bleating sheep on meeting Allah." Then the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) raised both his hands till I saw the whiteness of his armpits, and said, "(No doubt)! Haven’t I conveyed Allah’s Message!" (Bukhari)
Al-Ghulul In a related hadeeth, Abu Hurairah (RA) related: "The Prophet got up amongst us and mentioned AI Ghulul, emphasized its magnitude and declared that it was a great sin saying, "Don’t commit Ghulul for I should not like to see anyone amongst you on the Day of Ressurection, carrying over his neck a sheep that will be bleating, or carrying over his neck a horse that will be neighing. Such a man will be saying: O Allah’s Messenger! Intercede with Allah for me, and I will reply, I can’t help you, for I have conveyed Allah’s Message to you Nor should I like to see a man carrying over his neck, a camel that will be grunting.
Such a man will say, 0 Allah’s Messenger! Intercede with Allah for me, and I will say, I can’t help you for I have conveyed Allah’s Message to you, or one carrying over his neck gold and silver and saying, O Allah's Messenger! Intercede with Allah for me, and I will say, I can’t help you for I have conveyed Allah’s Message to you, or one carrying clothes that will be fluttering, and the man will say, 0 Allah’s Messenger! Intercede with Allah for me. And I will say, can’t help you, for I have conveyed Allah’s Message to you." (Bukhari)
Allah's Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) also said: "Gift to the worker is Ghulul (misappropriation)." (Ahmad) He also said: "Whoso from you is appointed by us to a position of authority and he conceals from us a needle or something smaller than that, it would be misappropriation (of public funds) and will (have to) produce it on the Day of Judgment." Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Whoever we appointed to a position among you and we give him his remuneration, whatever he takes after that is misappropriation." (Abu Dawud) Musa bn Uqbah said: "When Iyyad bn Ghanam assumed authority, a group of people from his relatives came seeking connection of ties.
He met them, gave them glad tidings, hosted and honoured them. After the relatives stayed for a few days, they sought his audience and they informed him of the difficult situations which they went through during their journey in the quest for his kinship ties ...He gave each one them five dinar and there were five of them, but they rejected it. They were angry and they abused him. Then he said to them: "O my cousins, by Allah, I do not detest your relationship with me, nor do I deny your rights over me, but, by Allah, I did not obtain what I have given to you except from the sale of my slave and the sale of some of my indispensable personal effects, so please excuse me." They said: "By Allah, we shall not excuse you for you are the governor of half of the entire territory of Great Syria and you have given each one of us what is insufficient to take him back to his family." He said: "Are you commanding me to steal from the wealth of Allah?! By Allah, that my flesh be cut with iron saw is more beloved to me than to misappropriate even a small amount of money from the public funds." (Sifat as-Safswah)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited