Business and Dealings

Q: We at a school employ teachers who are paid per hour. Working hours are fixed by the administration. Can their working hours be reduced in the next year without their consent. E.g. a teacher started work in 2018 and he was given 4 hrs teaching. 50 rands a hour (2hrs in the morning and 2 hrs in the afternoon.

1. In 2019 can we reduce his working hrs to 3hrs a day without his consent. In other words his work and salary will be reduced.

2. Can we impose on him to teach more hrs e.g. 5 hrs and pay him accordingly.

Q: Is lending money by a Muslim for a standard service fee halaal? If not, what is the permissible way of a Muslim lending money?

Q: After two months of unemployments, I found a job which manufactures glass bottles from scratch, literally from sand. Then they manufacture different sorts of empty glass bottles. They sell the empty bottles to juice companies like Snapple’s, Ketchup companies like Heinz, etc. More than 40 percent of their customers orders are from beer and wine companies which I found out later. Should I continue working here? I work in their software IT division.

Q: I live in India. Previously I used to not take the railway ticket rules seriously. I used to enter railway platforms without a ticket (which is wrong and would be fined if caught). I have sometimes travelled in trains with improper ticket. Mostly unintentionally as the rules are very complex and so we end up breaking them without intending to. This would also have been fined for if I were caught.

Once I was caught by the inspector did not fine the amount stipulated by the government. Now I feel regret for all this. Is this a sin that we need to do tawba from? If yes, then would it be sufficient to do tawba in the heart or should I give also some monetary compensation for my violations ? (There is no proper government facility to collect fines for violations that go unnoticed). 

If I should give compensation, should I just pay the government the original amount that I should have paid? Or should I also give the fine that I would have had to give if I were caught? I am very confused as to what I should. Please guide me on this issue.

Q: What is the ruling for a lady who is a dentist. While treating her male na-mahram patients, she have to touch their mouth area to do the required cleaning and surgery operations. She wears gloves during the entire operation or cleaning procedure.

Also, there are many male dentist doctors availabe in our city. Is it still halaal for her to practise dentistry and treat na-mahram male patients? What is the Islamic ruling on this?

Q: If a person has done a diploma in a particular field and has a good work experience but for promotion and growth of the company, they ask for a degree. There are institutes which will give a degree in 1 year through lateral entry inspite of 4 years which will be valid and recognized, not a fake or forged one. The person knows his work but just needs a certificate for the promtion. Is it permissible to get such a certificate?

Q: I lost my dad so I am the responsible person at my home and I recently graduated in mechanical engineering and the job market for freshemen is really hard. Everyone wants experienced people. So people told me to add a fake experience and after trying for a lot (months) I hardly got any reply. Being sad, I added a fake experience and I landed a job. I didn't take the salary and left it even before completing one month.

Again I tried but didn't get any interview call. I added the fake experience and got selected in a company. Trust me, I can say it was my dream job but again the fake experience is haunting me. If I join with the fake experience, will it affect my earnings, will it be halaal or haraam?

By the way, the experience I added is of field work and the job is for sales so it's no relation and the fake experience was in the construction industry, and the current job is in the oil and gas sector. So the experience and job description aren't related, but still fake is fake. 

Q: A person agreed with another person to lend some money and in exchange they will continue their friendship relationship. They have been friends for a year now and in order to continue the other person has agreed to lend money. Assuming if the borrower of the loan is willing to continue the relationship in exchange of a loan. Then friendship or continuation of relationship considered to be a benefit/interest in this scenario?

Q: What is the Islamic ruling on an employee that does remunerative private work during his working hours for his employer? Are these earnings, both salary and private work halaal? If the employee takes time off that his employer does not approve of or is not aware of, does the salary earned become haraam?

Q: My teacher ordered kitaabs for madrasah students. Some of us didn't hand over the payment yet. Is it permissible for us to take the kitaabs home? Will the bai' be faasid if we do so?