Ruling on Combining Employment with Trade
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A person who is an employee is not permitted to engage in trade. He saw an opportunity to use his mother’s name, as she is present, to open a women’s tailoring shop. He has brothers and sisters from this mother. His mother gave him a power of attorney to hire a worker and open the shop, and the profit from the shop will belong to him personally, without his siblings sharing in it. His mother allowed him to do this. What is your opinion on this?
I see that this is a forbidden act; because it involves lying, and it involves deception and trickery toward the state, and it involves consuming wealth unjustly; because it is without right, and it involves favoring one son over the rest.And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Fear Allah and be just among your sons) So my advice to the mother is to withdraw this grant she gave her son, and to seek forgiveness from Allah.
And we say to this employed person: You have the choice. The government has not obligated you to do anything. Either you leave the job and open the shop, or you stay in the job and leave the shop.
Then, what I understood from the question: That this brother will put the shop in his mother’s name and give it to the worker and take the profit from it. If the profit is shared,By saying: you have a third of the profit obtained, or a quarter, or a half, then this is permissible from the Sharia perspective, coming from these materials and machines and from this work. But if the state prohibits this, then it is also not permissible; because we must obey the state in every matter except what contradicts the Sharia, and this does not contradict the Sharia.If she says: Do not grant these people work, but rather keep them with you on a fixed wage. However, some people say: If we put them on a fixed wage, a problem arises, which is the workers’ manipulation such that they do not produce.So we say, to prevent this danger: A percentage is given to the worker of what he produces,It is said: You have the agreed-upon monthly wage, and you have a certain amount for every meter, or for every garment if he is a tailor, or for every unit if he is an electrician. And by this, compliance with the government’s obligation imposed on the importer is achieved, and benefit is achieved without manipulation.
I see that this is a forbidden act; because it involves lying, and it involves deception and trickery toward the state, and it involves consuming wealth unjustly; because it is without right, and it involves favoring one son over the rest.And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Fear Allah and be just among your sons) So my advice to the mother is to withdraw this grant she gave her son, and to seek forgiveness from Allah.
And we say to this employed person: You have the choice. The government has not obligated you to do anything. Either you leave the job and open the shop, or you stay in the job and leave the shop.
Then, what I understood from the question: That this brother will put the shop in his mother’s name and give it to the worker and take the profit from it. If the profit is shared,By saying: you have a third of the profit obtained, or a quarter, or a half, then this is permissible from the Sharia perspective, coming from these materials and machines and from this work. But if the state prohibits this, then it is also not permissible; because we must obey the state in every matter except what contradicts the Sharia, and this does not contradict the Sharia.If she says: Do not grant these people work, but rather keep them with you on a fixed wage. However, some people say: If we put them on a fixed wage, a problem arises, which is the workers’ manipulation such that they do not produce.So we say, to prevent this danger: A percentage is given to the worker of what he produces,It is said: You have the agreed-upon monthly wage, and you have a certain amount for every meter, or for every garment if he is a tailor, or for every unit if he is an electrician. And by this, compliance with the government’s obligation imposed on the importer is achieved, and benefit is achieved without manipulation.