And if two partners enter into a project, one with capital and the other with labor, and the latter takes a wage in exchange for his labor, is it permissible for him to take the wage if there is no profit?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : It is the same question, just phrased slightly differently. An agreement or partnership was made in a specific project between two people, one of whom is of the type you consider permissible to take a wage.
The Shaykh : In exchange for his effort.
The questioner : Yes, meaning a percentage from the capital or the product. As for the second party, the other partner, it is not in his mind that this percentage, let us say fifteen percent, is from the profit. His goal or intention is that fifteen percent of the total output is his, whether profit is made or not. Here, the project did not make a profit, so the first one came and said, "You have a right to fifteen percent," and the other said, "It is not my right." So how is this matter resolved?
The Shaykh : Okay, now.
The questioner : Of course, fifteen percent is two thousand dinars.
The Shaykh : Wait a moment, suppose a worker does the work of the partner, meaning a third person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He does the work of the partner you mentioned.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The case is different. Did the partnership make a profit or not?
The questioner : No, it did not. This is a wage that was deducted for him, and that is the end of it.
The Shaykh : Okay, and why is this different from the partner who did the same work? Why is there a dispute?
The questioner : It is a dispute of intention only, that I...
The Shaykh : It is not just the intention...
The questioner : Fifteen percent is from the profit, that one says, "I understood it to be from the capital."
The Shaykh : No, brother, when you say it is a dispute of intention, we will also transfer the dispute to the worker, who is a third person. The dispute of intention has an effect such that this worker does not receive his right.
The questioner : No dispute.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because he worked, exerted effort, and took his wage.
The Shaykh : Okay, meaning he took the agreed-upon wage, we must say this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or is it not so?
The questioner : Exactly.
The Shaykh : It seems to me that you are saying...
The questioner : Exactly.
The Shaykh : Exactly. Okay, so if he took the agreed-upon wage, and if the intention of the two partners was not so, meaning it was based on the assumption that the company would make a profit, but was the agreement like that? The answer, according to what you say, is no. The agreement was that you work a certain number of hours each day in this job and take a fixed wage, monthly, daily, or yearly. He performed his work completely, but the company did not make a profit. What does the matter of intention have to do with this, since there was a prior agreement, verbally and perhaps in writing? What was spoken or what was written and the ink dried is never changed by a difference in intention, because...
Another questioner : The matter of intention, Professor, is not taken into account.
The Shaykh : How do we know what is in the intentions?
And so I mention now a hadith of ours that is important in other cases. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1653b You want a thousand dinars from me, and I deny it and tell you, "You have no thousand dinars from me." You want a hundred dinars from me, swear that you have no more than a hundred dinars from me. I swear to you that you have a thousand dinars from me. Swear an oath denying this truth. My intention is to say, "By the Great Allah, you have no more than a hundred dinars from me. By the Great Allah, what did you understand from me? You have nothing from me, but what did I intend?"
The questioner : I intended that it is only a hundred.
The Shaykh : A hundred. But does this intention change your intent, you who are swearing? Absolutely not. If the door were opened, it would ruin dealings between people completely. It is clear.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The oath. Keep this hadith in mind, because first, it is concise, and it gives you jurisprudence in transactions:Sahih Muslim 1653b It is not based on the intention of the one who is asked to swear. It is clear. Say it.
The questioner : One person is swearing an oath to you, that is the oath.
Another questioner : It is clear in this case. As for the case where one says, "These two thousand dinars," and one partner says to the other, "These two thousand dinars are your right," and the other partner says, "No, it is not my right, because my intention was not like that," the first one says, "No, it is your right, because this is your wage." Here the problem is solved. The two thousand dinars are due. He takes them. They want to go against his intention and his conscience.
The Shaykh : Give us an example. You and I are partners in some work.
The questioner : You and I are partners in some work. You are a person who is not fully dedicated.
The Shaykh : What did we agree on? Tell me first of all, what did we agree on?
The questioner : I agreed that, for example, I pay half of the capital or one-third of the capital, and you pay...
The Shaykh : No, no, be clear.
The questioner : We did not speak of a wage, we said a percentage.
The Shaykh : Be clear now. Fifty-fifty. You pay half and I pay half. We agreed on this.
The questioner : No, even if you pay two-thirds and I pay one-third.
The Shaykh : I do not care, brother. Is it not permissible for a second partnership to be fifty-fifty?
The questioner : It is permissible, yes.
The Shaykh: Okay
The questioner : But I might, in exchange for my direct involvement in the work, ask for, for example...
The Shaykh : Excuse me, now we need the first step. May Allah guide you and me. We agreed, you and I, on some work. We feed this work, this project, fifty-fifty. You with a hundred thousand and I with a hundred thousand. You with a thousand and I with a thousand. It does not matter, fifty-fifty. This is the first agreement. Article number two: We agreed that you, for example, are an engineer and can do in this project what I cannot. We agreed.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, this is number two. Number three: We agreed that you take a fixed wage in exchange for your engineering, your work, and your expertise, or not?
The questioner : A specific percentage.
The Shaykh : A specific percentage. We agreed.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay. This specific percentage is from what?
The questioner : From the profit.
The Shaykh : We agreed that if we do not make a profit, we do not take anything?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Yes. So what did we agree on? See how it is.
The questioner : We said it follows the intention of the partners.
The Shaykh : There is no intention, brother. Intention is known only by the Knower of the Unseen. We need to see what we agreed on. You went back to intention and brought me the hadith.
The questioner : My intention is to take fifteen percent of the project's profit.
The Shaykh : Brother, do not repeat it. May Allah bless you. What is your intention? I do not know what your intention is. You know what is in my intention.
The questioner : I declare what is in my intention.
The Shaykh : When do you declare it?
The questioner : After the end of the project.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. Why did you not declare it at the very beginning of the project, when we set the agreements, Article 1, 2, 3? Why did you not put in a clause that if the project loses or does not make a profit, at least you, Mr. Engineer, have nothing? Why did you not put this in?
The questioner : This was not put in, but this was understood implicitly.
The Shaykh : Understood between the two?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh: Yes
The questioner : Each person according to his understanding.
The Shaykh : "Go back to your place," meaning if such a dispute occurs.
The questioner : Now the profit has come out, and there are two thousand dinars.
Another questioner : There is no profit. My partner says, "These fifteen percent are yours. My intention is that these are yours, whether the project made a profit or not. I say in my intention that I take them if the project makes a profit." He says, "Absolutely not. You want to take the two thousand dinars."
The Shaykh : Yes, more of his good.
The questioner : I am telling him, why...
The Shaykh : Do you not want them, brother? Give them to your neighbor.
The questioner : Yes, the best fatwa that came out tonight.
The Shaykh : And the audience laughed.
Another questioner : So I understand that it is permissible for me to take them, or not to take them?
The Shaykh : It is permissible, brother. Now, if this is on me, but this is of course a hypothetical example. He told you, "Take the thousand dinars."
The questioner : It is not possible, Professor. It is clear.
The Shaykh : What do you mean? If he told you, "Take the thousand dinars," do you ask if it is permissible or not?
The questioner : No, this is a gift, sir. It is different.
The Shaykh : Yes, I am telling you, if it is a bribe, do not take it from him.
The questioner : No, it is a gift. In this case, the answer has been given to you.The Shaykh : And it is finished. It is permissible to take this money from this partner, and may Allah reward him with good. The matter is finished, regardless of your intention.
Al-Halabi : He saysThe Shaykh : It is necessary when he mentions you in the council, we two who are in it, he calls you...The Shaykh : Ali, so that...
The questioner : To distinguish you from the students of knowledge.
The Shaykh : And the audience laughed.
The Shaykh : Good.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Hey, do you have anything else, you?
The first one: No, I am not tired, by Allah, Professor, but...
The Shaykh : Tell me every night after 'Isha'.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, Professor.
The Shaykh : How
The questioner : After 'Isha', there is no time.
The Shaykh : How is there no time?
The questioner : He might be busy.
Another questioner : You have to be patient.
The Shaykh : Why would he be busy? Just one question. Answer me. May Allah guide you. It is as if you have not lived with Al-Albani for years. Tell me.
The questioner : There are four.
The Shaykh : Where is he, may Allah have mercy on him?
The questioner : ... meaning, other than the questions we discuss.
Another questioner : Tonight?
Another questioner : No, not tonight, during the day. Meaning, not questions, Professor, not religious questions.
The Shaykh : Even if they were. Do you not guarantee my presence to answer the phone?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In exchange for his effort.
The questioner : Yes, meaning a percentage from the capital or the product. As for the second party, the other partner, it is not in his mind that this percentage, let us say fifteen percent, is from the profit. His goal or intention is that fifteen percent of the total output is his, whether profit is made or not. Here, the project did not make a profit, so the first one came and said, "You have a right to fifteen percent," and the other said, "It is not my right." So how is this matter resolved?
The Shaykh : Okay, now.
The questioner : Of course, fifteen percent is two thousand dinars.
The Shaykh : Wait a moment, suppose a worker does the work of the partner, meaning a third person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He does the work of the partner you mentioned.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The case is different. Did the partnership make a profit or not?
The questioner : No, it did not. This is a wage that was deducted for him, and that is the end of it.
The Shaykh : Okay, and why is this different from the partner who did the same work? Why is there a dispute?
The questioner : It is a dispute of intention only, that I...
The Shaykh : It is not just the intention...
The questioner : Fifteen percent is from the profit, that one says, "I understood it to be from the capital."
The Shaykh : No, brother, when you say it is a dispute of intention, we will also transfer the dispute to the worker, who is a third person. The dispute of intention has an effect such that this worker does not receive his right.
The questioner : No dispute.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because he worked, exerted effort, and took his wage.
The Shaykh : Okay, meaning he took the agreed-upon wage, we must say this.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or is it not so?
The questioner : Exactly.
The Shaykh : It seems to me that you are saying...
The questioner : Exactly.
The Shaykh : Exactly. Okay, so if he took the agreed-upon wage, and if the intention of the two partners was not so, meaning it was based on the assumption that the company would make a profit, but was the agreement like that? The answer, according to what you say, is no. The agreement was that you work a certain number of hours each day in this job and take a fixed wage, monthly, daily, or yearly. He performed his work completely, but the company did not make a profit. What does the matter of intention have to do with this, since there was a prior agreement, verbally and perhaps in writing? What was spoken or what was written and the ink dried is never changed by a difference in intention, because...
Another questioner : The matter of intention, Professor, is not taken into account.
The Shaykh : How do we know what is in the intentions?
And so I mention now a hadith of ours that is important in other cases. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
An oath is to be interpreted according to the intention of the one who takes it
اليمين على نية المستحلفThe questioner : I intended that it is only a hundred.
The Shaykh : A hundred. But does this intention change your intent, you who are swearing? Absolutely not. If the door were opened, it would ruin dealings between people completely. It is clear.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The oath. Keep this hadith in mind, because first, it is concise, and it gives you jurisprudence in transactions:
An oath is to be interpreted according to the intention of the one who takes it
اليمين على نية المستحلِفThe questioner : One person is swearing an oath to you, that is the oath.
Another questioner : It is clear in this case. As for the case where one says, "These two thousand dinars," and one partner says to the other, "These two thousand dinars are your right," and the other partner says, "No, it is not my right, because my intention was not like that," the first one says, "No, it is your right, because this is your wage." Here the problem is solved. The two thousand dinars are due. He takes them. They want to go against his intention and his conscience.
The Shaykh : Give us an example. You and I are partners in some work.
The questioner : You and I are partners in some work. You are a person who is not fully dedicated.
The Shaykh : What did we agree on? Tell me first of all, what did we agree on?
The questioner : I agreed that, for example, I pay half of the capital or one-third of the capital, and you pay...
The Shaykh : No, no, be clear.
The questioner : We did not speak of a wage, we said a percentage.
The Shaykh : Be clear now. Fifty-fifty. You pay half and I pay half. We agreed on this.
The questioner : No, even if you pay two-thirds and I pay one-third.
The Shaykh : I do not care, brother. Is it not permissible for a second partnership to be fifty-fifty?
The questioner : It is permissible, yes.
The Shaykh: Okay
The questioner : But I might, in exchange for my direct involvement in the work, ask for, for example...
The Shaykh : Excuse me, now we need the first step. May Allah guide you and me. We agreed, you and I, on some work. We feed this work, this project, fifty-fifty. You with a hundred thousand and I with a hundred thousand. You with a thousand and I with a thousand. It does not matter, fifty-fifty. This is the first agreement. Article number two: We agreed that you, for example, are an engineer and can do in this project what I cannot. We agreed.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay, this is number two. Number three: We agreed that you take a fixed wage in exchange for your engineering, your work, and your expertise, or not?
The questioner : A specific percentage.
The Shaykh : A specific percentage. We agreed.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay. This specific percentage is from what?
The questioner : From the profit.
The Shaykh : We agreed that if we do not make a profit, we do not take anything?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Yes. So what did we agree on? See how it is.
The questioner : We said it follows the intention of the partners.
The Shaykh : There is no intention, brother. Intention is known only by the Knower of the Unseen. We need to see what we agreed on. You went back to intention and brought me the hadith.
The questioner : My intention is to take fifteen percent of the project's profit.
The Shaykh : Brother, do not repeat it. May Allah bless you. What is your intention? I do not know what your intention is. You know what is in my intention.
The questioner : I declare what is in my intention.
The Shaykh : When do you declare it?
The questioner : After the end of the project.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. Why did you not declare it at the very beginning of the project, when we set the agreements, Article 1, 2, 3? Why did you not put in a clause that if the project loses or does not make a profit, at least you, Mr. Engineer, have nothing? Why did you not put this in?
The questioner : This was not put in, but this was understood implicitly.
The Shaykh : Understood between the two?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh: Yes
The questioner : Each person according to his understanding.
The Shaykh : "Go back to your place," meaning if such a dispute occurs.
The questioner : Now the profit has come out, and there are two thousand dinars.
Another questioner : There is no profit. My partner says, "These fifteen percent are yours. My intention is that these are yours, whether the project made a profit or not. I say in my intention that I take them if the project makes a profit." He says, "Absolutely not. You want to take the two thousand dinars."
The Shaykh : Yes, more of his good.
The questioner : I am telling him, why...
The Shaykh : Do you not want them, brother? Give them to your neighbor.
The questioner : Yes, the best fatwa that came out tonight.
The Shaykh : And the audience laughed.
Another questioner : So I understand that it is permissible for me to take them, or not to take them?
The Shaykh : It is permissible, brother. Now, if this is on me, but this is of course a hypothetical example. He told you, "Take the thousand dinars."
The questioner : It is not possible, Professor. It is clear.
The Shaykh : What do you mean? If he told you, "Take the thousand dinars," do you ask if it is permissible or not?
The questioner : No, this is a gift, sir. It is different.
The Shaykh : Yes, I am telling you, if it is a bribe, do not take it from him.
The questioner : No, it is a gift. In this case, the answer has been given to you.The Shaykh : And it is finished. It is permissible to take this money from this partner, and may Allah reward him with good. The matter is finished, regardless of your intention.
Al-Halabi : He saysThe Shaykh : It is necessary when he mentions you in the council, we two who are in it, he calls you...The Shaykh : Ali, so that...
The questioner : To distinguish you from the students of knowledge.
The Shaykh : And the audience laughed.
The Shaykh : Good.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Hey, do you have anything else, you?
The first one: No, I am not tired, by Allah, Professor, but...
The Shaykh : Tell me every night after 'Isha'.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, Professor.
The Shaykh : How
The questioner : After 'Isha', there is no time.
The Shaykh : How is there no time?
The questioner : He might be busy.
Another questioner : You have to be patient.
The Shaykh : Why would he be busy? Just one question. Answer me. May Allah guide you. It is as if you have not lived with Al-Albani for years. Tell me.
The questioner : There are four.
The Shaykh : Where is he, may Allah have mercy on him?
The questioner : ... meaning, other than the questions we discuss.
Another questioner : Tonight?
Another questioner : No, not tonight, during the day. Meaning, not questions, Professor, not religious questions.
The Shaykh : Even if they were. Do you not guarantee my presence to answer the phone?
The questioner : Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.