The ruling on the profit of an institution owner from cleaning workers paid lower wages
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
It is now time for the questions. Perhaps we will present those relevant to the topic. We ask permission of some of the brothers to present this question first. One of the brothers says: I am the owner of an institution that employs cleaning workers for several government facilities at a salary of approximately six hundred or seven hundred riyals. Since I take on many contracts with a higher profit, is this lawful or forbidden? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good. My heart tells me, is it forbidden? And why do these workers receive a simple wage while the profit is large? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Welcome, welcome.
The questioner:
The owner of an institution says: I employ cleaning workers for several government facilities at a salary estimated at six hundred and seven hundred riyals. Since I take on large contracts with a higher profit, is this lawful or forbidden? My heart tells me, is it forbidden? And why do these workers receive a simple wage, while I benefit from a large profit? This is my view.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions. When a person commits to certain things, takes charge of them, and strives to fulfill what is required of them, this has its status and value. Then he employs others to relieve him of the burden and to fulfill the need he committed to. If he commits to this facility, for example, from this department or this institution, to protect it or to oversee such and such matters for a known monthly wage, and then he seeks someone to perform this work himself, giving him less than what he was given, there is no harm. Because he is committed to this matter, is responsible for it, and has relieved himself of it. So he works hard for them and seeks these workers who perform this necessary task for less than that, so that he may benefit in return for his commitment, his effort, and his other works he does to fulfill the task he committed to. Like contractors: the contractor who takes a large contract to renovate this house or this mosque for one million, two million, less or more, then hires workers, bringing in workers, this one for so much and that one for so much, hoping to benefit ten thousand or twenty thousand or the like because of his undertaking of it. So he takes in return for this effort, this commitment, and this great responsibility, what remains and what is left over from the value of this contract after the workers' wages and the necessities he buys and other things. Yes.
The questioner:
I mean, he thinks he is perhaps slightly oppressing the workers.
The Shaykh:
No, no, no.
The questioner:
You give up some of your profit.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with it.
Another questioner:
Even if he gave them less than their rights.
The Shaykh:
He did not oppress them. If he hired them, he did not oppress them. He hired them with their consent, also.
It is now time for the questions. Perhaps we will present those relevant to the topic. We ask permission of some of the brothers to present this question first. One of the brothers says: I am the owner of an institution that employs cleaning workers for several government facilities at a salary of approximately six hundred or seven hundred riyals. Since I take on many contracts with a higher profit, is this lawful or forbidden? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good. My heart tells me, is it forbidden? And why do these workers receive a simple wage while the profit is large? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Welcome, welcome.
The questioner:
The owner of an institution says: I employ cleaning workers for several government facilities at a salary estimated at six hundred and seven hundred riyals. Since I take on large contracts with a higher profit, is this lawful or forbidden? My heart tells me, is it forbidden? And why do these workers receive a simple wage, while I benefit from a large profit? This is my view.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our master Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions. When a person commits to certain things, takes charge of them, and strives to fulfill what is required of them, this has its status and value. Then he employs others to relieve him of the burden and to fulfill the need he committed to. If he commits to this facility, for example, from this department or this institution, to protect it or to oversee such and such matters for a known monthly wage, and then he seeks someone to perform this work himself, giving him less than what he was given, there is no harm. Because he is committed to this matter, is responsible for it, and has relieved himself of it. So he works hard for them and seeks these workers who perform this necessary task for less than that, so that he may benefit in return for his commitment, his effort, and his other works he does to fulfill the task he committed to. Like contractors: the contractor who takes a large contract to renovate this house or this mosque for one million, two million, less or more, then hires workers, bringing in workers, this one for so much and that one for so much, hoping to benefit ten thousand or twenty thousand or the like because of his undertaking of it. So he takes in return for this effort, this commitment, and this great responsibility, what remains and what is left over from the value of this contract after the workers' wages and the necessities he buys and other things. Yes.
The questioner:
I mean, he thinks he is perhaps slightly oppressing the workers.
The Shaykh:
No, no, no.
The questioner:
You give up some of your profit.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with it.
Another questioner:
Even if he gave them less than their rights.
The Shaykh:
He did not oppress them. If he hired them, he did not oppress them. He hired them with their consent, also.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 49 — archive.org (7:00)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.