Explanation of the hadith of Rafi'ah ibn Rafi' that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: "Which earnings are the purest?" He said: "A man's work with his own hands, and every sale that is approved."

The Shaykh : He said: From Rafi'ah ibn Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him): It was narrated by al-Bazzar, and al-Hakim graded it as authentic.
"Was asked" By whom? It does not matter who the questioner was, whether a man or a woman, but the questioner was a Companion. It has passed us by that there is no doubt that part of the perfection of knowledge is knowing the ambiguous points, but it is not among the necessities of knowledge, since the intended point is the event, case, or incident that occurred so that we may know the ruling.
And his saying: , earnings: what a person acquires and profits from, whether through trade, lease, partnership, or otherwise; it is comprehensive. A person may earn through sale, lease, partnership, or by acquiring permissible things such as hunting, gathering grass, and the like. Is that clear?
So which is the purest? He said: , this is the purest of earnings. Why? Because a man's work with his hands is generally free from doubt, since he acquired it with his own hands, such as gathering grass. A person goes out to the wilderness and gathers grass, bringing back the grass. He goes out to the wilderness and gathers firewood, bringing back the firewood. He goes out to the wilderness and digs for fughar; fughar means he brings back fughar, which is truffles. And he goes out to the sea and catches fish. We do not know, should we say fish or whales? So he caught fish.
Is this his work with his hands or not? This is the best of what there is, because it is work that contains no doubt whatsoever; he took it from what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) brought forth.
Now, do crafts fall under this? Do crafts fall under it? Yes, we may say that crafts fall under it, even if there is some hesitation in one's mind about their inclusion in the hadith, because crafts, like buying and selling, may involve deception, forgetfulness, or error, so their inclusion would then contain some element of doubt. But it is possible to include them by way of analogy, on the condition that this craftsman is sincere in his craft to the utmost. Otherwise, how many there are who craft, and then their craft is among the worst of crafts, and deception enters into it more than what enters into buying and selling.
Yes, a group of people built a wall for a person, and they said: Who will go to the owner of the wall to collect the wage? So some of them said to others: Who will hold the wall so it does not fall until we take the wage? Yes, is the wall now good in its construction or not? It is not good, meaning he says: just hold it, they take the wage and leave.
In any case: crafts, in reality, may fall under the hadith, and may not.
Now, do plowing and farming fall under the hadith? Is it a man's work with his hands? Yes, because generally the farmer works for himself, just as he chooses good firewood to sell for more. This is the farmer working the land, planting good crops, and watering them, so it is his work with his hands. For this reason, the jurists, or some of them, said: farming is the best of earnings. In farming, there is also another benefit: do the creatures of Allah benefit from this crop or not? Insects benefit, ants, gnats, dogs, birds, everything that can benefit from this crop benefits from it, so there is also a benefit in it.
Now, the second: He said: What is the approved sale? The approved sale was clarified by the Sunnah in the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): , so the approved sale is what is based on truthfulness and disclosure: truthfulness in the description, and disclosure of the defect. For example, he does not say to you: this is good, when it is bad, yes, and the item is not defective and then he conceals it, but he discloses . This is the approved sale, based on truthfulness and disclosure; this is the approved sale.
We add a third thing: and it conforms to the Shari'ah. If it contradicts the Shari'ah, then even if it is based on truthfulness and disclosure, it is not approved. If he sells to a person something whose sale is forbidden, and he is truthful in its description and its defect, we do not say this is an approved sale.
So what conforms to the Shari'ah and includes truthfulness and disclosure is the approved sale.
The opposite of that is what contradicts the Shari'ah, such as the sale of forbidden things like entertainment venues and the like, or what is based on lying, such as saying this merchandise is the best of what there is, when it is the worst of what there is, yes, or on concealing a defect, such that it is defective and he hides its defect; this is not an approved sale.
The first was called approved because it includes righteousness, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) loves righteousness. In fact, He said: .