Seeking a livelihood is obligatory, along with the obligation to avoid the forbidden in doing so.

The Shaykh : The point I want to dwell on now is that it is not jihad in the path of Allah for a Muslim to seek a livelihood without adhering to the rulings of his Lord’s Shari'ah in that seeking. That is, he does not ask whether the effort he is making or the work he is doing to obtain his livelihood is permissible by the Shari'ah or forbidden by the Shari'ah. First of all, that person is not a mujahid in the jihad that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) expanded in meaning, making the pursuit of a livelihood part of the path of Allah. The one who pursues a livelihood without asking whether it is haram or halal is not only not a mujahid going out in the path of Allah; rather, he is a sinner against Allah (Mighty and Majestic), not remembering the word of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned earlier: Therefore, every Muslim, when seeking a livelihood, must not seek it except through a means that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made permissible. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified this, and many hadiths came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanding the Muslim to seek his livelihood through lawful means and warning him that his earnings might come from a forbidden path. Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih, from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: إن الله طيب لا يقبل إلا طيباً، وإن الله أمر المؤمنين بما أمر به المرسلين فقال: يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحاً ثم ذكر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم الرجل يطيل السفر، أشعث أغبر، ومأكله حرام، ومشربه حرام، وملبسه حرام، وغذي بالحرام، فأنى يستجاب لذلك Indeed, Allah is Pure and accepts nothing but that which is pure. And Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying: O messengers, eat from the good things and do righteous deeds. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the man who travels a long distance, his hair disheveled and covered in dust, whose food is haram, whose drink is haram, whose clothing is haram, and who is nourished with haram. How then will his supplication be answered? Muslims today make long and extensive supplications, yet they are not answered in that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) grants them victory over their enemy. Why? Because most Muslims today do not seek the halal, and they do not care from what path this earnings comes to them, whether from a lawful path or a forbidden one. This hadith states that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made it part of His Shari'ah that He does not answer the supplication of one who seeks a livelihood through a forbidden path. In fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) threatened him with a very frightening threat when he said (peace and blessings be upon him): I have probably finished this talk, as it has become longer than I intended. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he informed his Ummah that their making lawful the pursuit of a livelihood through forbidden paths will be a cause for the disbelievers to humiliate them and enslave them. This is a matter observed, unfortunately, in many Islamic lands. That is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that among the causes of the enemies’ dominance over the Muslims and their humiliation of them is their preoccupation with this world, which leads them, due to this preoccupation, to seek a livelihood through riba. And among the types of riba is what he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in the first part of this hadith, namely his saying: a type of riba-based transactions .
Returning to the religion has a very, very broad meaning, but with regard to this talk, it is obligatory for every Muslim to return in his seeking of a livelihood to lawful earnings, so that this earnings may be an intercessor for him if he supplicates to his Lord for His answer to his supplication. We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to inspire us to know our religion and to act according to its rulings, including that He grant us success in seeking lawful livelihood and keep us away from the forbidden means that have multiplied in these days. He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.