Is there any harm if a teacher of Arabic or Islamic education applies for a position higher than the one he currently holds?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : If a teacher, for example, a teacher of Islamic education or a teacher of Arabic, applies for a position higher than the one he currently holds on the grounds that he has broader and more extensive knowledge than those who hold that position, is there any harm in that?
The Shaykh : Here is one of the pitfalls I referred to earlier. First, it is not permissible in the Shari'ah for a Muslim to seek employment, so how much more so if he seeks a position higher than the one he is in?
The questioner : Is it a religious authority he is seeking?
The Shaykh : Or what else?
The questioner : A governorship?
The Shaykh : Any position in the state is an authority, meaning...
The questioner : In a loose sense.
The Shaykh : Please wait a moment, it is no problem, please wait a moment. I think you have strayed from the path you started walking on in your first remarks.
The questioner : We have finished with the beginning. Now we have moved on to another question, which we have defined in the profession of teaching.
The Shaykh : It is so; but I am reminding you that here you must hold onto that path—(laughs)The Shaykh : (may Allah have mercy on him)—if we imagine that the Islamic state has been established, and perhaps that will be soon, as you said earlier in your speech, why am I saying we should return to the first path? Does the state not need every position, whether it is a purely religious position, teaching the Qur'an, teaching the hadith, fiqh, all the Islamic sciences? Likewise, does the state not need the other sciences?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Physics, chemistry, and so on, correct?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So, if the state wants people to learn or to be employed in one of these positions related to worldly sciences, do you agree with me or not?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. In that case, is it permissible for a Muslim to say and offer himself to the state, and to say, by his actions or by his words, "I am at your service, I am at your service"? Or to say, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said:[Yusuf 12:55]? Is it permissible for a Muslim to seek this position after we have defined it? Or does the matter return to the Muslim ruler and the Shura Council, which is under his authority, and it is not permissible for him to undertake any action without consulting them? Is that not so?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, a Muslim should not seek employment in the first place, and even less so should he seek promotion. Rather, he should work with sincerity in his job, and then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who inspires those who supervise him and those who are aware of his work and his sincerity in it to promote him and to benefit the ummah with his knowledge in a position or job higher than his previous one. In summary, we must first distinguish between religious knowledge and worldly knowledge. Religious knowledge must be sought for the sake of Allah, and its teaching must also be for the sake of Allah. For worldly knowledge, it is not required that the motive for seeking it be the reward from Allah; I say it is not required, but if he intends the reward for it; secondly and finally, it is not permissible for any Muslim to seek employment in any position, whether it is a purely religious position or a purely worldly position; because the state is connected to all these positions. From this, we understand that the subject of the elections that took place recently here, with the advertisements and nominations and so on, all of this is not Islamic, especially when some of them exaggerated and wrote, "Support me and I will support you." Did you read this?
The Shaykh : Here is one of the pitfalls I referred to earlier. First, it is not permissible in the Shari'ah for a Muslim to seek employment, so how much more so if he seeks a position higher than the one he is in?
The questioner : Is it a religious authority he is seeking?
The Shaykh : Or what else?
The questioner : A governorship?
The Shaykh : Any position in the state is an authority, meaning...
The questioner : In a loose sense.
The Shaykh : Please wait a moment, it is no problem, please wait a moment. I think you have strayed from the path you started walking on in your first remarks.
The questioner : We have finished with the beginning. Now we have moved on to another question, which we have defined in the profession of teaching.
The Shaykh : It is so; but I am reminding you that here you must hold onto that path—(laughs)The Shaykh : (may Allah have mercy on him)—if we imagine that the Islamic state has been established, and perhaps that will be soon, as you said earlier in your speech, why am I saying we should return to the first path? Does the state not need every position, whether it is a purely religious position, teaching the Qur'an, teaching the hadith, fiqh, all the Islamic sciences? Likewise, does the state not need the other sciences?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Physics, chemistry, and so on, correct?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So, if the state wants people to learn or to be employed in one of these positions related to worldly sciences, do you agree with me or not?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. In that case, is it permissible for a Muslim to say and offer himself to the state, and to say, by his actions or by his words, "I am at your service, I am at your service"? Or to say, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said:
Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I will be a knowing guardian."
اجعلني على خزائن الأرض إني حفيظ عليمThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Therefore, a Muslim should not seek employment in the first place, and even less so should he seek promotion. Rather, he should work with sincerity in his job, and then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who inspires those who supervise him and those who are aware of his work and his sincerity in it to promote him and to benefit the ummah with his knowledge in a position or job higher than his previous one. In summary, we must first distinguish between religious knowledge and worldly knowledge. Religious knowledge must be sought for the sake of Allah, and its teaching must also be for the sake of Allah. For worldly knowledge, it is not required that the motive for seeking it be the reward from Allah; I say it is not required, but if he intends the reward for it; secondly and finally, it is not permissible for any Muslim to seek employment in any position, whether it is a purely religious position or a purely worldly position; because the state is connected to all these positions. From this, we understand that the subject of the elections that took place recently here, with the advertisements and nominations and so on, all of this is not Islamic, especially when some of them exaggerated and wrote, "Support me and I will support you." Did you read this?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.