Book of Livelihood and Etiquette — Tuḥfat al-Mulūk

Ruling942

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Seeking livelihood is obligatory like seeking knowledge; and it is of four kinds. Obligatory: earning the least sufficiency for oneself, one's dependants, and discharging one's debt.

Ruling943

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Recommended: earning surplus beyond the least sufficiency, in order to assist therewith a poor person, or join kin therewith; and that is better than supererogatory worship.

From the editors

Footnotes

Because it is a means through which obligatory duties are fulfilled, thus it becomes obligatory. Indeed, the purest food a person consumes is from what they have earned with their own hands, as mentioned in Minḥat al-Sulūk 3:293. ʿĀʾishah narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: “The purest of what you eat is from your own earnings, and your children are from your earnings” Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3:639, authenticated; Sunan Ibn Mājah 2:768; Musnad Aḥmad 2:179, and othersz. Regarding the warning related to debt, Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Indeed, the greatest sin in the sight of Allah that a servant can meet Him with after the major sins He has prohibited is for a man to die while having an unpaid debt, leaving nothing behind to settle it.” Sunan Abū Dāwūd 2:266, Musnad Aḥmad 4:392, considered weak by al-Arnāʾūṭ.

Ruling944

1 note

Permissible: earning surplus beyond that for indulgence and adornment.

From the editors

Footnotes

Because it is a means to fulfil something that is recommended, it takes on the ruling of being recommended (mustaḥabb), as mentioned in Minḥat al-Sulūk 3:294. Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: “The one who strives for the widow and the poor is like the one who fights in the way of Allah , or like the one who fasts during the day and prays at night.” Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5:2047, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2:2286). Salman ibn ʿĀmir reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Charity given to the poor is a single charity, and to a relative it is two: charity and maintaining family ties.” Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3:46, graded ḥasan; al-Mujtabā 5:92; Sunan Ibn Mājah 1:591; Musnad Aḥmad 4:17.

Because the benefit of worship is personal, while the benefit of earning extends to others, as mentioned in Minḥat al-Sulūk 3:264.

Ruling945

Unlawful: earning what is for accumulation and boasting, even though it be from lawful [sources].

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Ruling946

1 note

The best livelihood is jihād, then trade, then agriculture, then craftsmanship.

Ruling947

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Knowledge too is of four kinds: obligatory—and it is learning what one needs to discharge the duties, and know lawful and unlawful in one's own situations.

From the editors

Footnotes

This is because it combines between earning, bringing victory to religion and overcoming the enemies of Allah . See: Majmaʾ al-Anhur. The Messenger (SAW) said, from ibn ʿUmar, “My provisions were placed below the shade of my spear. Allah places humiliation upon all who defy me.” In Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3:1066, Musnad of Imām Aḥmad 2:50, and Sunan Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr 2:143.

This is because the benefit of the merchant occurs continuously and repeatedly at all times, providing for their immediate needs, it is broader in benefit and thus considered superior to agriculture, where the benefit comes only occasionally. As mentioned in Minḥat al-Sulūk 3:296. Abū Saʿīd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “The truthful, trustworthy merchant will be with the prophets, the truthful ones, and the martyrs” (Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3:515, graded ḥasan; Sunan al-Dārimī 2:322; al-Mustadrak 2:7).

Because it is an effort to sustain and maintain respected bodies, as their sustenance comes from food and clothing, which is primarily obtained through agriculture, as it is also one of the means of provision. As mentioned in Minḥat al-Sulūk 3:296. ʿĀʾishah narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Seek provision in the hidden treasures of the earth.” al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 1:274; Musnad Abī Yaʿlā 7:347; Shuʿab al-Īmān 2:87; Musnad al-Shihāb 1:404. In al-Bazzāziyyah, it states: “Farming is considered better than trade according to most of the Mashāyikh because its benefit reaches every living creature, it revives barren land, and it involves greater reliance on Allah (tawakkul) than trade,” as mentioned in al-Hidāyah p. 254. However, in al-Khulāṣah, it is mentioned that the correct view according to the majority of scholars and jurists is that all forms of earning are equally permissible, as noted in Majmaʿ al-Anhur 2:528.

Ruling948

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Recommended: learning surplus beyond what one needs in order to teach it to whoever needs it; and that is better than supererogatory worship.

From the editors

Footnotes

Allah the Exalted said: {Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees} [Al-Mujādilah: 11].Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “The best charity is that a Muslim person learns knowledge and then teaches it to his Muslim brother.” (Sunan Ibn Mājah 1:89). In Fayḍ al-Qadīr 2:37, al-Mundhirī said: “Its chain of narration is good if al-Ḥasan’s hearing from him is confirmed.”

al-Ḥaṣkafī said in al-Durr al-Mukhtār 1:26-27: “Studying the books of our companions without direct instruction—that is, without teachers—is better than standing in prayer at night. Learning jurisprudence (fiqh) is better than learning the rest of the Qur’an”, “because memorising the Qur’an is a communal obligation (farḍ kifāyah), while learning the necessary jurisprudence is an individual obligation (farḍ ʿayn).” That is, what a Muslim needs regarding the rulings of purification, prayer, fasting, and other acts of worship, in addition to the rulings needed in transactions and daily life, which one must learn.In al-Tātārkhāniyyah: “Allah has not been worshiped with anything better than understanding in religion (fiqh fī al-dīn), and one jurist (faqīh) is more formidable against Satan than a thousand worshipers (ʿābid). Everything has a foundation, and the foundation of this religion is jurisprudence,” as mentioned in al-Khādimī’s commentary on al-Durar 1:4.

Ruling949

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Permissible: learning surplus beyond that for adornment and completeness.

From the editors

Footnotes

Imām al-Zarnūjī said in Taʿlīm al-Mutaʿallim, “Know that it is not obligatory upon every Muslim to seek all types of knowledge. Rather, it is obligatory for him to seek knowledge of his current state (ʿilm al-ḥāl), meaning that he seeks knowledge about what pertains to him in his circumstances, whatever they may be. Therefore, it is obligatory upon him to learn what he must know of the rulings of purification (aḥkām al-ṭahārah) and prayer (al-ṣalāh) that apply to him. He must learn enough to perform his obligations properly, because whatever is a means to fulfilling a compulsory act (farḍ) becomes compulsory, and whatever is a means to fulfilling an obligatory act (wājib) becomes obligatory. Similarly, he must learn the rulings of fasting and zakāh if he possesses wealth, and Ḥajj if it becomes obligatory upon him. Likewise, the rulings of trade if he engages in commerce. It is also obligatory upon him to learn about the states of the heart, such as reliance on Allah (tawakkul), repentance (inābah), fear (khashyah), and contentment (riḍā), for these are relevant in all circumstances.

Ruling950

1 note

Unlawful: learning in order to show off thereby among scholars, and dispute thereby with fools.

From the editors

Footnotes

Allah the Exalted said: {Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees} [Al-Mujādilah: 11].Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “The best charity is that a Muslim person learns knowledge and then teaches it to his Muslim brother.” (Sunan Ibn Mājah 1:89). In Fayḍ al-Qadīr 2:37, al-Mundhirī said: “Its chain of narration is good if al-Ḥasan’s hearing from him is confirmed.”

al-Ḥaṣkafī said in al-Durr al-Mukhtār 1:26-27: “Studying the books of our companions without direct instruction—that is, without teachers—is better than standing in prayer at night. Learning jurisprudence (fiqh) is better than learning the rest of the Qur’an”, “because memorising the Qur’an is a communal obligation (farḍ kifāyah), while learning the necessary jurisprudence is an individual obligation (farḍ ʿayn).” That is, what a Muslim needs regarding the rulings of purification, prayer, fasting, and other acts of worship, in addition to the rulings needed in transactions and daily life, which one must learn.In al-Tātārkhāniyyah: “Allah has not been worshiped with anything better than understanding in religion (fiqh fī al-dīn), and one jurist (faqīh) is more formidable against Satan than a thousand worshipers (ʿābid). Everything has a foundation, and the foundation of this religion is jurisprudence,” as mentioned in al-Khādimī’s commentary on al-Durar 1:4.

Ruling951

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The scholar must teach another if the latter requests [instruction] of him, until he reaches the first level.

Ruling952

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The scholar is not obliged to answer what is asked of him except when he knows that what he was asked about is not known to anyone else.

From the editors

Footnotes

That is, to argue with the foolish (sufahā’), consume the wealth of the rich, and exploit the poor; because it is a means leading to what is forbidden, thus it becomes forbidden, as mentioned in Sharḥ Ibn Malak, 122/a. Kaʿb ibn Mālik narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever seeks knowledge to vie with the scholars (ʿulamā’), or to argue with the foolish (sufahā’), or to turn people’s faces toward himself, Allah will admit him into the Fire.” Sunan al-Tirmidhī 5:32, al-Ṣamt 1:105, al-Ghībah wa al-Namīmah 1:15, al-Dīnār 1:62From Abū Hurayrah, the Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever learns knowledge that should be sought for the sake of Allah , but does not learn it except to gain some worldly benefit, he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection.”—meaning its scent. See: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2:346, Sunan Ibn Mājah 1:92, Musnad Aḥmad 2:338, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 1:279, al-Mustadrak 1:160, and it was authenticated.

Ruling953

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If an unbeliever asks a Muslim to teach him the Qurʾān and fiqh, there is no harm in that, in hope that he grasp its virtues and become Muslim.

كتاب الكسب والأدب