If two people want to partner in a specific project and one of the partners will work in it for a wage, is it permissible for the wage to be limited, meaning
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The questioner : Okay, another question regarding the case where two people want to partner in a specific project and one of the persons, one of the partners, will work and manage this project for a wage. Is it permissible for the wage to be limited, meaning, for example, a salary?
The Shaykh : They say it is not permissible, and I say it is permissible.
The questioner : It is permissible.
The Shaykh : They say it is not permissible, and I say it is permissible.
The questioner : I mean, it is not necessary that it be only by profit; the other partner's share is not necessarily required to be from profit only.
The Shaykh : Of course, this is your question, in a way of confirmation, because the answer is understood: it is not necessary. But why do they say it is not permissible? Does this stem from the social justice they claim in Islam? You and I are partners in capital in a certain place. You are good at working in this place, and I am not good at working. You are consistent in your work in this place. So, are they equal, for example?
The questioner : Definitely not.
The Shaykh : So why do they say it is not permissible? That is from one side.
From another side, the man who is supposed to do your work, claiming that you are a partner, says it is not permissible for you to be a partner in the capital and the profit, and also to take a wage for your work. This person who wants to take your place in doing the work and taking the wage—do you think he will serve the company better, or the partner himself?
The questioner : I think the partner.
The Shaykh : Yes, so from here you realize the deviation of many people from the correct Islamic jurisprudence. And if you asked them what is the evidence, they say "they said so," and they cannot, and will not be able, to say "Allah said" or "the Messenger of Allah said." And I am also like them; we do not have "Allah said" or "the Messenger of Allah said," but we have general principles.[Al-Baqarah 2:279] A very clear general Islamic principle is that we partnered equally in a certain work, but one of the partners added to the financial partnership a physical partnership. So why is the right of this second aspect diminished and it is said that it is not permissible?
The questioner : Yes, I mean, where is the doubt, my teacher? I do not see any legal doubt in the matter. Why is it not permissible? What is the doubt? There must be a specific side with a doubt.
Another questioner : Some people justify it by saying that this partner may rely on the wage he takes and be content with it, and not exert the appropriate or sufficient effort to make the project successful.
The Shaykh : This is from you.
The questioner : And if his share is in exchange for profit, he will exert his utmost effort until the project makes a profit.
The Shaykh : This is the opposite, as we said earlier, and you answered with the correct answer. How is this?
The questioner : No, no, he understood.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : No, he did not understand your point of view. He means, if the wage of this brother who supervises the work was a fluctuating percentage in this matter, meaning, let us say, a quarter of the profit, then he would exert greater effort to obtain the profit so that his share would be larger than if it were a fixed percentage or a fixed number, like fifty dinars or one hundred dinars. But this has no relation to the Shari'ah; it is a purely rational, taste-based issue, meaning it has no relation to the Shari'ah, forbidden or lawful. That is his opinion, my teacher. If he told you, "a quarter of the product, exert your effort and you have a quarter of the product," meaning the profit after we divide the capital, you have a quarter here, he would exert more effort than if he had, for example, fifty dinars monthly. That is his point of view.
The Shaykh : I understood him.
The questioner : I understand.The Shaykh : How do you see it?
The Shaykh : No, I want to ask here.
The questioner : I understood him, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Bring it so we can see.
The questioner : Because the same speech they mentioned came to me from some discussants in this issue. They say, when he has fifty dinars as a monthly salary, he has the base, which is half the profit, and these are guaranteed. So when he gets more than this guaranteed fifty dinars, he says, "That's it, I get fifty dinars, these are guaranteed, and the profit is guaranteed, so I do not care much about the work."
The Shaykh : Is this statement correct?
The questioner: Yes
The Shaykh : This speech is correct.
The questioner : No, on which side? Half is correct, but this speech means
The Shaykh : What do we want with this speech?
The questioner : It may be correct, not fifty, if his salary is, for example, three hundred dinars.
The Shaykh : My brother, you do not know the nature of man.[An-Nisa 4:128] From one side, and from another side, [Al-'Adiyat 100:8] and his saying (peace be upon him) So you are dealing with the matter in a purely theoretical way, meaning you are turning the nature of humans upside down. I do not deny that there may be a person like this, just as you do not deny that if we brought another person who is given this wage and does not do what he should do, is this possible?
The questioner : This is possible, and that is possible.
The Shaykh : So why do you assume these possibilities and ignore the nature of man, which is that if it is said to this partner, "You work and you have a wage for your work," the answer, as I said earlier, is that he will strive to feed the project with the greatest possible effort, because he will get additional profit on top of the profit that accrues to each of the partners.
The Shaykh : They say it is not permissible, and I say it is permissible.
The questioner : It is permissible.
The Shaykh : They say it is not permissible, and I say it is permissible.
The questioner : I mean, it is not necessary that it be only by profit; the other partner's share is not necessarily required to be from profit only.
The Shaykh : Of course, this is your question, in a way of confirmation, because the answer is understood: it is not necessary. But why do they say it is not permissible? Does this stem from the social justice they claim in Islam? You and I are partners in capital in a certain place. You are good at working in this place, and I am not good at working. You are consistent in your work in this place. So, are they equal, for example?
The questioner : Definitely not.
The Shaykh : So why do they say it is not permissible? That is from one side.
From another side, the man who is supposed to do your work, claiming that you are a partner, says it is not permissible for you to be a partner in the capital and the profit, and also to take a wage for your work. This person who wants to take your place in doing the work and taking the wage—do you think he will serve the company better, or the partner himself?
The questioner : I think the partner.
The Shaykh : Yes, so from here you realize the deviation of many people from the correct Islamic jurisprudence. And if you asked them what is the evidence, they say "they said so," and they cannot, and will not be able, to say "Allah said" or "the Messenger of Allah said." And I am also like them; we do not have "Allah said" or "the Messenger of Allah said," but we have general principles.
you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.
لا تظلمون ولا تظلمونThe questioner : Yes, I mean, where is the doubt, my teacher? I do not see any legal doubt in the matter. Why is it not permissible? What is the doubt? There must be a specific side with a doubt.
Another questioner : Some people justify it by saying that this partner may rely on the wage he takes and be content with it, and not exert the appropriate or sufficient effort to make the project successful.
The Shaykh : This is from you.
The questioner : And if his share is in exchange for profit, he will exert his utmost effort until the project makes a profit.
The Shaykh : This is the opposite, as we said earlier, and you answered with the correct answer. How is this?
The questioner : No, no, he understood.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : No, he did not understand your point of view. He means, if the wage of this brother who supervises the work was a fluctuating percentage in this matter, meaning, let us say, a quarter of the profit, then he would exert greater effort to obtain the profit so that his share would be larger than if it were a fixed percentage or a fixed number, like fifty dinars or one hundred dinars. But this has no relation to the Shari'ah; it is a purely rational, taste-based issue, meaning it has no relation to the Shari'ah, forbidden or lawful. That is his opinion, my teacher. If he told you, "a quarter of the product, exert your effort and you have a quarter of the product," meaning the profit after we divide the capital, you have a quarter here, he would exert more effort than if he had, for example, fifty dinars monthly. That is his point of view.
The Shaykh : I understood him.
The questioner : I understand.The Shaykh : How do you see it?
The Shaykh : No, I want to ask here.
The questioner : I understood him, my Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Bring it so we can see.
The questioner : Because the same speech they mentioned came to me from some discussants in this issue. They say, when he has fifty dinars as a monthly salary, he has the base, which is half the profit, and these are guaranteed. So when he gets more than this guaranteed fifty dinars, he says, "That's it, I get fifty dinars, these are guaranteed, and the profit is guaranteed, so I do not care much about the work."
The Shaykh : Is this statement correct?
The questioner: Yes
The Shaykh : This speech is correct.
The questioner : No, on which side? Half is correct, but this speech means
The Shaykh : What do we want with this speech?
The questioner : It may be correct, not fifty, if his salary is, for example, three hundred dinars.
The Shaykh : My brother, you do not know the nature of man.
And present in [human] souls is stinginess
وأحضرت الأنفس الشحAnd indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.
وإنه لحب الخير لشديدIf the son of Adam had a valley of gold, he would seek a second one, and if he had two valleys of gold, he would seek a third, and nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam except dust, and Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents
لو كان لابن آدم وادن من ذهب لابتغى إليهما ثانيا ولو كان له واديان من ذهب لابتغى إليهما ثالثا ولا يملأ جوف ابن آدم إلا التراب ويتوب الله على من تابThe questioner : This is possible, and that is possible.
The Shaykh : So why do you assume these possibilities and ignore the nature of man, which is that if it is said to this partner, "You work and you have a wage for your work," the answer, as I said earlier, is that he will strive to feed the project with the greatest possible effort, because he will get additional profit on top of the profit that accrues to each of the partners.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.