Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf al-Barbahārī (d. 329 AH / 941 CE) ؒ wrote in Sharḥ as-Sunnah, point 123:
والمكاسب ما بان لك صحته فهو مطلق، إلا ما ظهر فساده، وإن كان فاسدا يأخذ من الفساد ممسكة نفسه، ولا تقول: أترك المكاسب وآخذ ما أعطوني، لم يفعل هذا الصحابة ولا العلماء إلى زماننا هذا، وقال عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه: «كسب فيه بعض الدنية خير من الحاجة إلى الناس».
“The means of earning whose soundness is clear to you are permissible, except those whose corruption is apparent. If they are corrupt, one takes only what preserves one’s life. Do not say: ‘I will abandon earning and take what people give me.’ Neither the Companions nor the scholars did this up to our time. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: ‘Earning that involves some lowliness is better than needing people.’” (Al-Barbahārī, Sharḥ as-Sunnah.)
Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Fawzān explained: The meaning of his statement, “The means of earning whose soundness is clear to you are permissible,” is based on the words of the Prophet Muḥammad :
إن الحلال بين، وإن الحرام بين، وبينهما أمور مشتبهات لا يعلمهن كثير من الناس، فمن اتقى الشبهات فقد استبرأ لدينه وعرضه.
“What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear. Between them are doubtful matters which many people do not know. Whoever avoids doubtful matters safeguards his religion and honour.” (Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, no. 1599; excerpt.)
This ḥadīth establishes that whatever is clearly lawful is permissible, in accordance with the principle that transactions are originally lawful unless their prohibition has been clearly established. Likewise, whatever is unlawful is clearly known.
Allah said:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ
“Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, the flesh of swine and that over which a name other than Allah’s has been invoked.” [Q 5:3] (excerpt)
Likewise, gambling, betting, and intoxicants are prohibited by explicit legislative texts. Similarly, stealing, unlawfully seizing the property of others, and consuming people’s wealth unjustly are clearly forbidden.
As for ambiguous matters whose permissibility or prohibition is unclear due to conflicting evidences, they must be avoided until their ruling becomes clear. This is the principle established by the Prophet . This is the meaning of the author’s statement, “except that which is apparently corrupt.”
Concerning his statement, “If they are corrupt, one takes only what preserves one’s life,” this refers to situations of necessity. If a person fears that he will die unless he eats, then he may take from that which is normally unlawful only what is sufficient to preserve his life, whether it belongs to others, is from unlawfully acquired wealth, or even from carrion.
Allah said:
إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
“He has forbidden you only carrion, blood, the flesh of swine and that over which a name other than Allah’s has been invoked. But whoever is compelled by necessity, neither desiring it nor exceeding the limits, incurs no sin. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” [Q 2:173]
Thus, one may take an adequate amount from what is unlawful in order to preserve life, and then abstain from the remainder.
Allah also said:
وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُم مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلَّا مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ
“He has explained to you in detail what He has forbidden you, except that to which you are compelled by necessity.” [Q 6:119] (excerpt)
Therefore, in cases of necessity, prohibition is lifted within defined limits.
Concerning his statement, “Do not say: ‘I will abandon earning and take what people give me,’” some people claim, “I put my trust in Allah and will devote myself to worship or seeking knowledge, and the people will provide for me.”
This is not permissible. Rather, it is obligatory upon a person to seek provision for himself, his wife, his children, and the members of his household. Seeking lawful provision is itself an act of worship. One must not sit idle and depend upon the charity of people. Instead, one must strive to earn sustenance.
Allah said:
وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ
“Take provision, for the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O people of understanding.” [Q 2:197] (excerpt)
Concerning his statement, “Neither the Companions nor the scholars did this up to our time,” this practice of sitting idle and relying upon people was unknown among the Companions. They were the most God-fearing and foremost in worshipping Allah , yet they were people of labour and trade.
Among them were farmers and merchants. From them were Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (d. 13 AH / 634 CE), az-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (d. 36 AH / 656 CE), ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (d. 32 AH / 652 CE), and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (d. 35 AH / 656 CE), . They were wealthy Companions, and among the best of the Companions.
They spent their wealth in the path of Allah and supported the Muslim armies. They did not abandon earning provision.
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq engaged in trade and supported the Messenger of Allah from the time Allah sent him in Makkah. He assisted him in his well-known affairs, fed the needy, purchased persecuted slaves and freed them, such as Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ and others. He did not abandon lawful earning and say, “I will sit and worship Allah, for I am among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah .”
Concerning al-Barbahārī’s statement, “ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: ‘An earning in which some part of it is lowly is better than being in need of the people,’” this means that taking a humble occupation, such as cupping or manual labour, and earning from it is better than humiliating oneself by asking people.
Thus, earning lawful provision, even through modest work, preserves dignity, independence, and obedience to Allah, and is superior to dependence upon others.
References
The Qurʾān, 2:173; 2:197 (excerpt); 5:3 (excerpt); 6:119 (excerpt).
Al-Barbahārī, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf, Sharḥ as-Sunnah, point 123.
Al-Fawzān, Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān ibn ʿAbd Allah, Itḥāf al-Qārī bi-t-Taʿlīqāt ʿalā Sharḥ as-Sunnah li-l-Imām al-Barbahārī, vol. 2, official electronic text, (Riyadh: ar-Rushd) vol. 1 pp.119-123
Ibn Abī ad-Dunyā, Abū Bakr ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad, Iṣlāḥ al-Māl, no. 321, cited by al-Fawzān for the report from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
Muslim, Abū al-Ḥusayn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 261 AH / 875 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 1599. The official commentary also cites al-Bukhārī, no. 58
