Workers who work in physically exhausting jobs
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 4316 )
Q: We praise Allah the Exalted and send prayers and peace upon His noble Prophet, and we ask Him, Glorious is His Majesty, to honor Islam and the Muslims and to protect the religion from the enemies of Allah. As you know, the Islamic Center is a front for Islam and Muslims in this country, and we have received from one of the institutes
affiliated with the University of Twente in West Germany (the Institute for Occupational Medicine and Social Medicine) a letter containing some jurisprudential inquiries regarding the month of Ramadan and fasting in it. Feeling the importance of this matter and its sensitivity, we preferred to consult you and ask your opinion, desiring to reach the greatest degree of correctness with the success of Allah the Sublime. The questions we received are as follows: What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding workers who work in physically exhausting jobs , especially in the summer months? I give as an example those who work in front of metal smelting furnaces in the summer. What is the ruling of the law regarding fasting in the northern regions of the earth where the sun does not set except for a very short time, perhaps not exceeding minutes, or where the sun does not set at all in the Scandinavian countries? We wish to draw your attention to the fact that the authorities here may exploit this matter to issue laws to be applied to foreign workers in Germany , of whom the number of Muslims is more than a million and a half at the lowest estimates. We fear that answering these questions without taking this matter into account may lead to fitnah (trial) for the Muslims residing in this country, most of whom are ignorant of the legal rulings of their religion.
A: It is known from the religion of Islam by necessity that fasting the month of Ramadan is obligatory upon every accountable person and is a pillar of Islam, so upon
every accountable person is to strive to fast it to fulfill what Allah has obligated upon him, hoping for His reward and fearing His punishment, without forgetting his share of this world, and without preferring his worldly life over his hereafter. If the performance of the worship that Allah has obligated upon him conflicts with his work for his worldly life, he must coordinate between them so that he can perform both. In the example mentioned in the question, he makes the night his time for his worldly work. If that is not feasible, he takes a leave from his work for the month of Ramadan, even without salary. If that is not feasible, he looks for another job that allows him to combine the performance of both obligations, so that his worldly side does not affect his hereafter. Work is abundant, and the ways of earning money are not limited to such types of heavy labor, and a Muslim will not fail to find a permissible means of earning that allows him to perform what Allah has obligated upon him of worship, by the permission of Allah.[At-Talaq 65:2-3] And if, hypothetically, he does not find a job other than what is mentioned, which involves hardship, and he fears that unjust laws will take him and impose upon him what prevents him from establishing the rituals of his religion or some of its obligations, let him flee with his religion from that land to
a land where it is easy for him to perform the obligations of his religion and his worldly life, and where he can cooperate with the Muslims in righteousness and piety, for the earth of Allah is vast. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:100] the verse. And He said: [Az-Zumar 39:10] If none of all that is feasible for him and he is compelled to do the heavy work mentioned in the question, he fasts until he feels the beginnings of hardship, then he takes of food and drink what prevents him from falling into hardship, then he abstains, and he must make up the fasts on days when fasting is easy for him. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q: We praise Allah the Exalted and send prayers and peace upon His noble Prophet, and we ask Him, Glorious is His Majesty, to honor Islam and the Muslims and to protect the religion from the enemies of Allah. As you know, the Islamic Center is a front for Islam and Muslims in this country, and we have received from one of the institutes
affiliated with the University of Twente in West Germany (the Institute for Occupational Medicine and Social Medicine) a letter containing some jurisprudential inquiries regarding the month of Ramadan and fasting in it. Feeling the importance of this matter and its sensitivity, we preferred to consult you and ask your opinion, desiring to reach the greatest degree of correctness with the success of Allah the Sublime. The questions we received are as follows: What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding workers who work in physically exhausting jobs , especially in the summer months? I give as an example those who work in front of metal smelting furnaces in the summer. What is the ruling of the law regarding fasting in the northern regions of the earth where the sun does not set except for a very short time, perhaps not exceeding minutes, or where the sun does not set at all in the Scandinavian countries? We wish to draw your attention to the fact that the authorities here may exploit this matter to issue laws to be applied to foreign workers in Germany , of whom the number of Muslims is more than a million and a half at the lowest estimates. We fear that answering these questions without taking this matter into account may lead to fitnah (trial) for the Muslims residing in this country, most of whom are ignorant of the legal rulings of their religion.
A: It is known from the religion of Islam by necessity that fasting the month of Ramadan is obligatory upon every accountable person and is a pillar of Islam, so upon
every accountable person is to strive to fast it to fulfill what Allah has obligated upon him, hoping for His reward and fearing His punishment, without forgetting his share of this world, and without preferring his worldly life over his hereafter. If the performance of the worship that Allah has obligated upon him conflicts with his work for his worldly life, he must coordinate between them so that he can perform both. In the example mentioned in the question, he makes the night his time for his worldly work. If that is not feasible, he takes a leave from his work for the month of Ramadan, even without salary. If that is not feasible, he looks for another job that allows him to combine the performance of both obligations, so that his worldly side does not affect his hereafter. Work is abundant, and the ways of earning money are not limited to such types of heavy labor, and a Muslim will not fail to find a permissible means of earning that allows him to perform what Allah has obligated upon him of worship, by the permission of Allah.
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.
وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجًا (2) وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًاa land where it is easy for him to perform the obligations of his religion and his worldly life, and where he can cooperate with the Muslims in righteousness and piety, for the earth of Allah is vast. Allah the Exalted said:
And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many [alternative] locations and abundance
وَمَنْ يُهَاجِرْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يَجِدْ فِي الأَرْضِ مُرَاغَمًا كَثِيرًا وَسَعَةًSay, "O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord. For those who do good in this world is good, and the earth of Allah is spacious. Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account."
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ وَأَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةٌ إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.