In order to gain information regarding the rulings on employment, reading the booklet ‘50 Madani Pearls of Earning Halal Sustenance’ of Shaykh-e-Tareeqat, Ameer-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat, ‘Allamah Maulana Abu Bilal Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qaadiri Razavi Ziya’ee دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـه will be extremely beneficial. This booklet can also be read, downloaded and printed out from Dawat-e-Islami’s website www.dawateislami.net.

We get another Madani pearl that working to earn a livelihood is the way of the blessed Ambiya عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام. Therefore, one shall not consider it to be inferior at all. Earning Halal sustenance for yourself and your household to support them with good intentions is an act of worship. Various blessed Ambiya عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام and Awliya رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ تَـعَالٰی used to earn their livelihood.

It is narrated that Sayyiduna Aadam عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام was the first one to weave cloth and then engaged in agriculture. (Tafseer Na’eemi, part 1, Al-Baqarah, Taht-al-Ayah: 36, vol. 1, pp. 260) Sayyiduna Idrees عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام used to sew clothes. (Al-Hiss ‘alat Tijarah was-Sana’ah,   pp. 113) Similarly, another Nabi Sayyiduna Dawood عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام used to graze goats before becoming a king. After becoming a king, he عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام would make armours and sell them. (Tafseer Khaazin, Saba, Taht-al-Ayah: 10, vol. 3, pp. 517) Similarly, the famous companion of the Holy Rasool صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, Sayyiduna Salman Farsi رَضِىَ اللهُ تَعَالٰی عَـنْهُ, would prefer to earn his livelihood himself. (Hilya-tul-Awliya, vol. 1, pp. 258)

Likewise, the famous Muhaddis, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah Bin Mubarak رَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْه, used to trade in textile. (Tareekh Baghdad, vol. 6, pp. 234)

We came to know that striving to work for Halal sustenance is the way of the righteous people of Allah Almighty. Alas! The passion of considering earning of halal sustenance to be an act of worship is diminishing away in our society nowadays and the concept of earning money is rapidly picking up regardless of the fact whether it is Halal or Haraam. This is the reason that whether a trader nowadays owns a shop or just a stall, he is seen to have been fallen prey to the greed of only earning more and more money. That’s why the ill traits like lying, breaching promises, making a deal over deal, hoarding goods,