Does Islam talk about labour rights and if so then in what manner and to what extent? Read this on till the end to learn more about workers’ and labour rights in Islam?
Labour Rights in Islam
Islam established an excellent jurisprudence on labour rights long before it entered into the consciousness of civilized nations in early modern times.
Islamic teachings place a strong emphasis on the fair treatment of workers and the protection of their rights.
Some key principles in Islam regarding labor rights include:
- Fair wages: Employers are required to pay workers a fair and just wage, which is defined as being sufficient to meet their basic needs and those of their families.
- Safe working conditions: Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy working environment for their employees.
- Right to rest: Workers have the right to rest, including time off for prayer, and should not be required to work excessively long hours.
- No exploitation: Exploitation of workers is prohibited, including the withholding of wages, excessive fines, and unjust dismissals.
- Protection of workers’ rights: Islam promotes the protection of workers’ rights through laws and regulations, as well as through moral and ethical obligations.
Prophet Muhammad’s Personal Experiences
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was well aware of the predicament, immense sufferings, hunger, humiliation, and unfair treatment meted out to workers, slaves, and labourers in the time and society he lived.
As an orphan coming from a working-class, the Prophet PBUH himself had seen and experienced all that a worker goes through including hunger and sorts of deprivations.
In childhood, he grazed sheep and in adulthood, he did manual labour along with many of his companions.
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah did not send any prophet but shepherded sheep.” His companions asked him, “Did you do the same?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, “Yes, I used to shepherd the sheep of the people of Mecca for some Qirats.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2262
Anas ibn Malik says: “Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) was brought some dried dates, and I saw him eat while he was hunched over from hunger.” Ash-Shama’il Al-Muhammadiyah 141
It was narrated that ʼUmar said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ feeling the pain of hunger and not being able to find enough to fill his stomach of inferior quality dates. Musnad Ahmad 159
Further, he proudly praised the meal earned by manual labor and hard work as the best meal as can be observed from the Hadith below.
Narrated Al-Miqdam: The Prophet said, “Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one’s own hands. The Prophet of Allah, David used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor.” Sahih Bukhari Volume 3, Book 34, Number 286
All this in addition to divine injunctions in the Holy Quran made him greatly empathetic towards workers’ rights.
Relationship between Employer and Employee in Islam
An analysis of Prophetic traditions shows explicit injunctions against the exploitation of labourers and slaves. Instead of the usual master-servant relationship in a contract of labour, Islam puts the mandate of brotherhood.
One who hires a worker or slave is required to feed him of what he eats, and give him dresses of what he wears, and should not ask him to do a thing beyond his capacity. And if at all he asks him to do a hard task, he should help him therein.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Your employees are your brothers upon whom Allah has given you authority, so if a Muslim has another person under his control, he should feed them with the like of what one eats and clothe them with the like of what one wears and you should not overburden them with what they cannot bear and if you do so, help them in their jobs.” (Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 76)
Further, Islam encourages the employer to also assist the worker in his work and not overburden him-
Abu Huraira RA said, ‘Help the worker in his work. The one who works for Allah will not be disappointed,” i.e. the servant. Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 191
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr was heard to say to a nephew of his who had left al-Waht, “Are your workers at work?” “I don’t know,” he replied. He said, “If you were clever, you would work as your workers work.” Then he turned towards us and said, “When a man works with his workers in his house (and Abu ‘Asim once said, ‘in his property’), he is one of the workers of Allah Almighty.” Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 448
Narrated Abu Dhar: I asked the Prophet, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause.” I then asked, “What is the best kind of manumission (of slaves)?” He replied, “The manumission of the most expensive slave and the most beloved by his master.” I said, “If I cannot afford to do that?” He said, “Help the weak or do good for a person who cannot work for himself.” I said, “If I cannot do that?” He said, “Refrain from harming others for this will be regarded as a charitable deed for your own good.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2518
How to Treat Servants?
On the issue of treatment to be meted out to workers and servants, the Holy Islam provides the following-
He sets forth for you an example taken from your own lives. Do you make your servants full partners with an equal share in the wealth We have bestowed upon you? Do you fear them as you fear each other? In this way, We explain the signs to people who use their reason. And still, those who are unjust follow their own desires without having any knowledge. Then who can guide those whom God has let go astray? There shall be none to help them. Holy Quran 30:28-29
Narrated Ma’rur: I saw Abu Dhar wearing a Burd (garment) and his slave too was wearing a Burd, so I said (to Abu Dhar), “If you take this (Burda of your slave) and wear it (along with yours), you will have a nice suit (costume) and you may give him another garment.” Abu Dhar said, “There was a quarrel between me and another man whose mother was a non-Arab and I called her bad names. The man mentioned (complained about) me to the Prophet. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Did you abuse so-and-so?” I said, “Yes,” He said, “Did you call his mother bad names?” I said, “Yes”. He said, “You still have the traits of (the Pre-Islamic period of) ignorance.” I said. “(Do I still have ignorance) even now in my old age?” He said, “Yes, they (slaves or servants) are your brothers, and Allah has put them under your command. So the one under whose hand Allah has put his brother, should feed him of what he eats, and give him dresses of what he wears, and should not ask him to do a thing beyond his capacity. And if at all he asks him to do a hard task, he should help him therein.” Sahih al-Bukhari 6050
It is interesting to note that there are starking similarities between Islam and Buddhism on this aspect. Given below is an accept from Sutta Pitaka and contains the advice given by the Buddha to a wealthy householder name Sigala.
“In five ways should a master look after his servant and employees – by assigning them work according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them in sickness, by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave times.”
“In five ways should the clansmen look after the needs of Samanas (those who have renounced the world) and Brahmanas: by affection in act, speech and mind, by keeping open house to them and supplying their worldly needs.”
There are similar instructions to Sigala about how to behave with his parents teachers and wife.
Eating with Servants
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Someone who eats with his servant, rides a donkey in the markets, and ties up his sheep and milks it is not proud.” Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 550
Importance of Timely Payment of Wages
Furthermore, Islam provides for fair treatment to workers and timely payment of their wages. In this regard, readers may appreciate the following Hadiths-
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Give the worker his wages before his sweat dries.” Sunan Ibn Majah 2443
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah said, ‘I will be an opponent to three types of people on the Day of Resurrection: One who makes a covenant in My Name, but proves treacherous; One who sells a free person and eats his price; and One who employs a laborer and takes full work from him but does not pay him for his labour.’ Sahih al-Bukhari 2270
Narrated Anas: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to get cupped and would never withhold the wages of any person. Sahih al-Bukhari 2280
It was narrated from Hammad -Ibn Abi Sulaiman- that he was asked about a man who hired a worker in return for food and he said: “No, not until he tells him (what his wages will be).” Sunan an-Nasa’i 3859
Narrated Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (RA): The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever hires a worker should pay him his wages in full.” [Reported by ‘Abdur-Razzaq, and it has Inqita’ (a break) in its chain of narrators. al-Baihaqi reported it Mawsul (unbroken chain) through the narration of Abu Hanifah]. Bulugh al-Maram Book 7, Hadith 166
Al-Miqdam b. Ma’dikarib reported God’s Messenger as saying, “No one has ever eaten better food than what he eats as a result of the labour of his hands. God’s prophet David used to eat from what he had worked for with his hands.” Mishkat al-Masabih 2759
Abu Huraira said that when the Prophet stated that his people would be granted forgiveness on the last night in Ramadan and was asked whether it was Lailat al-qadr, he replied, “No, but a workman is paid his full wages only when he has finished his work.” Mishkat al-Masabih 1968
Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet (ﷺ) sent for a slave who had the profession of cupping, and he cupped him. The Prophet (ﷺ) ordered that he be paid one or two Sas or one or two Mudds of foodstuff, and appealed to his masters to reduce his taxes. Sahih al-Bukhari 2281
Narrated Abu Masud Al-Ansari: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) regarded illegal the price of a dog, the earnings of a prostitute, and the charges taken by a soothsayer. Sahih al-Bukhari 2282
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited the earnings of slave girls (through prostitution). Sahih al-Bukhari 2283
Ibn Abbas said, “The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the meeting of caravans (on the way) and ordained that no townsman is permitted to sell things on behalf of a bedouin.” I asked IbnAbbas, “What is the meaning of his saying, ‘No townsman is permitted to sell things on behalf of a bedouin.’ ” He replied, “He should not work as a broker for him.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2274
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “My heirs will not inherit a Dinar or a Dirham (i.e. money), for whatever I leave (excluding the adequate support of my wives and the wages of my employees) is given in charity.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2776
There are some Daif hadiths as well in support of labour rights in Islam.
- Sunan an-Nasa’i 3857 It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed said: “When you hire a worker, tell him what his wages will be.”
- Sunan an-Nasa’i 3858 It was narrated from Al-Hasan that he disliked hiring a man without telling him what his wages would be.
- Sunan Ibn Majah 2168 It was narrated that Abu Umamah said: “The Messenger of Allah, forbade selling or buying singing girls, and their wages, and consuming their price.”
Manumission of Slaves in Islam
Since slavery is a kind of begar where the master does not pay his slave any remuneration for his services, Islam frowned upon the institution of slavery and stressed the manumission of slaves.
Holy Quran on Freeing Slaves
Surah Al-Balad (Chapter 90), Verses 12-13: “And what can make you know what is breaking through the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave.
Virtue does not consist in whether you face towards the East or the West; virtue means believing in God, the Last Day, the angels, the Book and the prophets; the virtuous are those who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to their relatives and to orphans and the very poor, and to travelers and those who ask [for charity], and to set slaves free, and who attend to their prayers and pay the alms, and who keep their pledges when they make them, and show patience in hardship and adversity, and in times of distress. Such are the true believers, and such are the God-fearing. Al-Quran 2:177
And Allah has favoured some of you over others in provision. But those who have been much favoured would not share their wealth with those ˹bondspeople˺ in their possession, making them their equals. Do they then deny Allah’s favours? Holy Quran 16:71
Zakat expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect zakah and for bringing hearts together for Islam and for freeing captives or slaves and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the stranded traveler- an obligation imposed by Allah. And he is All-Knowing and All-Wise.” Holy Quran 9:60
What will explain to you what the ascent is? It is the freeing of a slave or the feeding in times of famine of an orphaned relative or some needy person in distress, and to be one of those who believe and urge one another to steadfastness and compassion. Those who do so are the people of the right hand, and [as for] those who are bent on denying the truth of Our revelations, they are the people of the left hand, and the Fire will close in on them. Al-Quran 90:12-20
Hadiths on Freeing Slaves
Narrated Abu Dhar: I asked the Prophet, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause.” I then asked, “What is the best kind of manumission (of slaves)?” He replied, “The manumission of the most expensive slave and the most beloved by his master.” I said, “If I cannot afford to do that?” He said, “Help the weak or do good for a person who cannot work for himself.” I said, “If I cannot do that?” He said, “Refrain from harming others for this will be regarded as a charitable deed for your own good.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2518
Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari: The Prophet said, “Give food to the hungry, pay a visit to the sick and release (set free) the one in captivity (by paying his ransom).” Sahih al-Bukhari Vol 7, Book 65, Number 286
Narrated Ibn Umar: Umar bin Khattab got some land in Khaibar and he went to the Prophet (ﷺ) to consult him about it saying, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) I got some land in Khaibar better than which I have never had, what do you suggest that I do with it?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “If you like you can give the land as endowment and give its fruits in charity.” So `Umar gave it in charity as an endowment on the condition that would not be sold nor given to anybody as a present and not to be inherited, but its yield would be given in charity to the poor people, to the Kith and kin, for freeing slaves, for Allah’s Cause, to the travelers and guests; and that there would be no harm if the guardian of the endowment ate from it according to his need with good intention, and fed others without storing it for the future.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2737
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Whoever manumits his share of a jointly possessed slave, it is imperative for him to get that slave manumitted completely by paying the remaining price, and if he does not have sufficient money to manumit him, then the price of the slave should be estimated justly, and he is to be allowed to work and earn the amount that will manumit him (without overburdening him)” Sahih al-Bukhari 2492
Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah: Umar used to say, “Abu Bakr is our chief, and he manumitted our chief,” meaning Bilal. Sahih al-Bukhari 3754
It was narrated that Abu Musa said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever manumits his female slave, then marries her, he will have two rewards.'” Sunan an-Nasa’i 3345
Narrated Abu Musa: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “He who has a slave-girl and educates and treats her nicely and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward.” Sahih al-Bukhari 2544
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “If somebody manumits a Muslim slave, Allah will save from the Fire every part of his body for freeing the corresponding parts of the slave’s body, even his private parts will be saved from the Fire) because of freeing the slave’s private parts.” Sahih al-Bukhari 6715
Narrated Hakim bin Hizam: I said to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), “Before embracing Islam I used to do good deeds like giving in charity, slave-manumitting, and the keeping of good relations with Kith and kin. Shall I be rewarded for those deeds?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, “You became Muslim with all those good deeds (Without losing their reward).” Sahih al-Bukhari 1436
It was narrated from Sa’d bin ‘Ubadah that he came to the Prophet and said: “My mother has died and she had a vow to fulfill. Will it suffice if I free a slave on her behalf?” He said: “Free a slave on behalf of your mother.” Sunan an-Nasa’i 3656
Overall, Islam places a strong emphasis on treating workers fairly, and encourages employers to be just and equitable in their dealings with employees.
Read more| Labour Law Notes
