Allama Shibli Nomani writes in his book Al-Farooq (1898) that “During the time of Hazrat Umar, although the cost of living was very low and money held high value, salaries were generally set higher, in accordance with rank. The governors’ salaries were up to five thousand, and whatever was received from the distribution of spoils of war was in addition to that. For instance, the salary of Amir Muawiyah was one thousand dinars per month, that is, five thousand rupees.” (p. 264)
He further writes that: During his caliphate, Caliph Umar generously increased the salaries of the officials of the state, according to the standards of that time. The purpose of this increase in salary was to keep the officials steadfast in honesty and righteousness.” (Al-Istiʿab, Ibn Abd al-Barr, 264, 108–110)
This was an example from the era of Islam’s ascendancy. The condition of most Muslim institutions during the period of decline is such that, consciously or unconsciously, institutions, schools, movements, missions, mosques, academies, and spiritual centers—almost everywhere—their sincere workers are kept in a state of perpetual poverty through sacred deceptions like “country and nation,” “religion and faith,” and the “divine mission.” So that such individuals may never stand on their own feet, nor have the opportunity to do anything for themselves or their children, nor retain enough time and energy for many of them to achieve an independent and dignified life.
The condition of most of such institutions is that, in practice, they fall prey to that gravest criminal evil, insensitivity, and dishonesty which the Qur’an (83) refers to as تطفیف tatfeef—that is, to take in full when receiving from others and to give less when giving to them. For example, taking more of their time and giving them less compensation, or increasing working hours but not compensating for the additional work, and so on.
This criminal apathy and practice of tatfeef (cheating in measures) manifest in various forms. For instance, making extensive use of the time and energy of workers without offering them honest compensation, instead invoking fictional references such as religion, piety, and a divine mission to exhort labor from them. However, when the time comes to offer something to the same worker, self-fashioned policies and religious or legal principles are cited to justify denying even the slightest concession, generosity, or basic human decency—forcing the worker into the confines of a rigid and selective application of such policies.
For example, if an employee’s working hours in an institution are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and they are repeatedly held back beyond this time in the name of discipline, principles, religion, and the divine mission without any compensation, yet if the same person arrives late the next day due to this very reason, not only is a deduction made from their wages in the name of rules, but they also face severe disciplinary action and warnings through tactics involving religion and the divine mission. Such an approach is strongly opposed to reason and nature, religion and humanity, as well as modern professionalism. Institutions and individuals who operate in this manner can never succeed.
A devout Muslim with a missionary mindset was engaged in a conversation on this matter, and he said: “This is absolutely not the case. The institution built a hut for this poor man, arranged his treatment during an accident, so how can employing him further without additional compensation be considered forced labor?”
Is a person’s need merely limited to being given a temporary and inadequate shelter, or being provided treatment only in times of illness or accident? In relation to a poor and needy individual, is it the entirety of a wealthy and influential person’s human and moral duty to stop at this point, and that beyond this we have no other obligation?
Moreover, being a religious and affluent person, it was at least our faith-based and moral duty that such ethical conduct should have been carried out solely for the pleasure of Allah; only then would it be considered a valid religious deed. Otherwise, any such act would amount merely to a kind of “trade” that will never prove profitable (Surah Baqarah, 16). A sincere and acceptable religious act is that which is performed solely with the intention of reward in the Hereafter and the pleasure of Allah, not with the aim of exploiting someone or turning him into a purchased slave.
In such a situation, a person may, due to his own piety, serve you; however, to behave with him under a cunning scheme so that in the future, due to this moral pressure, he is continually exploited, can never be considered a religious or humane act. Moreover, through such cunning and deception, no personal or collective good can ever truly emerge.
In the same way, in a city of Uttar Pradesh, India, a well-to-do religious man stated that due to a fatal illness, he is currently receiving an injection worth fifty thousand rupees every month. However, a poor worker who remains with him day and night continues to be homeless. If, for the sake of Allah, he had arranged for that man’s accommodation, surely he would have received special help from Allah and would not have been subjected to this deadly trial.
In a similar manner, a well-off religious man from Karnataka, India arranged the marriage of both his daughter and son at the same time, so that he could be relieved from the burden of their weddings. However, during this period, one of his poor workers needed some money for medical treatment. A small amount was given to him as a loan, on the condition that it would be deducted gradually from his already meager monthly salary. Had this amount been given as charity, surely he would have received special help from Allah, and he would not have faced the trial wherein his entire wedding plan was completely disrupted at the last moment. As a result, he was left in deep mental anguish.
Similarly, there is an incident involving a well-established religious institution, where three thousand rupees were unjustly withheld from a widowed woman working there. Subsequently, in a legal proceeding, the institution had to spend thirty lakhs of rupees. Small yet sincere acts of charity protect a person from great trials, but unfortunately, by ignoring them, a person willingly plunges himself into devastating calamities.
Numerous incidents of this kind are commonly found among us. For example, there is the case of a wealthy and religiously motivated, missionary-minded individual who arranged for the construction of a room to provide shelter for a poor woman. Then, without any payment, he continued to take domestic work from that poor woman. Perhaps this was because he considered that he had fulfilled his duty, and now only remained the task of claiming his right from a poor person.
The true nature of such events is known only to Allah, the Lord of all worlds. However, in this world, by the decree of Allah Himself, an eternal law of ‘recompense of actions’ is in effect, and no person can remain safe from its reach. Every individual, whether of low or high status, must exercise extreme caution in this matter. This recompense of actions is the very thing that has been expressed in simple terms as follows — whatever you sow, so shall you reap.
A Persian poet, expressing this reality, has said:
ازمکافات عمل غافل مشو
گندم از گندم بروید، جوزجو!
Do not remain heedless of the recompense of actions.
Wheat grows from wheat, barley from barley!
This very reality has been expressed by an Urdu poet in the following words:
ازل سے ہے مکافات عمل کا سلسلہ قائم
رُلایا جس نے اوروں کو، کبھی وه خود بھی روئے گا!
Since eternity, the system of recompense for actions has been established.
The one who made others weep shall one day weep himself as well!
These types of incidents are personally known to the author. All of these are cases of retribution for one’s own actions. How strange are those people who, despite being well-off, behave in such a superficial manner. Such people can never be deserving of God’s mercies. These merciless individuals and institutions, despite all their grand claims and attractive programs, will always remain deprived of true blessings.
The mourning over the pain of the community, sacred religious rituals and the abundance of activities, ongoing online and offline engagements, gatherings and lectures, the frenzy of seminars, the clamor of congregations, the growing popularity of social media and the large sums of money obtained through it, missionary and religious projects, the noise of speeches, the enchantment of writings, offices filled with books, the stockpiles of religious journals and publications, and the never-ending flood of literature — none of these will ever save them from the grip of God.
This is precisely the extremely grave situation that was indicated in a saying of the Prophet: “… وإن صام وصلی وزعم
أَن َّھ مسلم” (Sahih Ibn Hibban, No. 257), meaning that without fulfilling the true requirements of faith and moral conduct, a person will neither be considered a true believer and Muslim in the sight of God merely on the basis of their outward religious rituals and personal claims and assertions, nor can such dualistic activities and lifeless deeds be deemed as genuine religious acts that would render them deserving of God’s pleasure, mercy, and support.
In the aforementioned saying of the Messenger (PBUH), the words ‘Sawm’ (fasting) and ‘Salah’ (prayer) are symbolic, representing purely religious rituals such as fasting and prayer, and actions and activities carried out in the name of religion. If these ‘acts’ are devoid of the true spirit of faith and lack the requirements of morality, then the popularity of these activities can never turn them into the desired religious actions upon which divine pleasure, reward, and help have been promised.
On the contrary, if these ‘acts’ are performed with the true spirit of faith and moral requirements, then this is the very ‘charity’ — “الصدقۃ تطفیٔ غضب الرب” (Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 664) — that protects a person from the wrath of God. And this is that strongly emphasized religious act which safeguards a person from a bad end: “علیکم باصطناع
المعروف، فإنہ یمنع مصارع السوء” (Sahih al-Jami’, Hadith No. 4052).
From the above examples, one can understand what is meant by a deteriorated mind and how it has become an obstacle to our individual and collective well-being.
The experiences of afflictions and trials occur so that a person, instead of compulsively lamenting over them, may reflect upon them and, by adopting the way of repentance and turning back to God, engage in self-examination and accountability of his life (Al-An’am 6:42-44; At-Tawbah 9:126). But alas, man revives all the traditions of heedlessness and aversion, and passes by these signs of admonition from God with closed eyes, without taking any lesson from them to bring change to the course of his life. Is there anyone who will reflect? Is there anyone who will take heed? “إن في ذلک لذکری لمن کان لہ قلب أو ألقى السمع وھو شھید”.( “Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens attentively while present [in mind].”) [Qurʾan, 50:37]