Permissible and Impermissible employment

Paying for Extra Work

Q: A person pays a driver a monthly salary for a fixed pick-and-drop route. One day, he requests the driver to take a detour and make an additional stop (without discussing extra payment). The driver agrees and does so, and does not ask for extra money. Does the employer owe the driver money for the extra work?

Working in a mixed environment

Q: If a person is working in a non mixed environment, all his needs are being met. Is it permissible for him to take a job in a office where there is both genders working freely and he will have to communicate with the opposite gender, in the name of progress?

Also a person is working in a Islamic school and is married. It is a fully segregated environment. He earns less but through other jobs like picking up and dropping of kids he covers everything else. This person studied in college and studied other certifications and worked in an office environment with non-Muslims for over 5 years. He left it due to getting the opportunity to work in a halal environment. Now his father keeps telling him you are stupid for leaving and you should stick to your career. A Muslim must be strong and not weak, he should go into there environment succeed and give dawah. But this person refuses and stays content with the Islamic school job. Is this person doing something wrong by not listening to his father? The reason why I am asking is because in this time it is so confusing even when you try to save yourself from sins, parents and relatives say that we are narrow minded even though that said parent may have went 4 months jamat 5 times and reads Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvis books.

Also, this parent listens to other scholars that say that if a person is living in the west and doesn't get to study there, schooling is at a loss. Im so confused. Is it permissible for a person to commit sin and earn a little bit more halal earning, like lying on a resume working with non-Muslims. Is this person that works at the Islamic school stupid for not wanting to go back to his career and is he selling himself short. The person still has ambition and inshaAllah if Allah gives him the chance he will try and work on some business. But he doesn't want to go back to the haram career.

Sales rep receiving commission

Q: I would like to know about Network Marketing. I heard about a company from one of my best friends which sells products like kitchen items, laptops, smart phones, TV's, Refrigerators, washing machines, sofa sets, CCTV camera solutions and many more use full products. The products are sold at market price and in good quality with a warranty. The company is a government registered company and they pay income tax too.

1. If I purchased a product from them, I can be a dealer (sales rep) if I wish. Is it permissible in Islam?

2. When I recommend this product and start to selling it, I'll receive a direct sale commission. Is it permissible in Islam.?

3. When I achieved my target as a sales rep, I'll be promoted as a leader (supervisor). Then we need to help my reps to achieve their targets. If they achieve their targets, I'll get a group sale commission. If not, I won't get a commission. Is it permissible in Islam? Usually this is how a marketing commission scheme works. Sales executive, Senior sales executive and more promotions are also there.

Doing business while working for a company

Q: I'm working as a cashier. My company says no illegal business while doing your duty. But in my location, some illegal business is going on and the company knows about it but remains silent. Maybe they are supporting this activity. Can I earn money from this source? Is it haram or what?

Note: The business we are doing is exchanging money for customers at a bank rate and we sell this currency outside then we get a profit from it

Using one's past experience to find a new job

Q: I got my job through the reference of my father's friend. I always doubted the procedure for acquiring a job but under my father's pressure worked for 3 year then I left. I thought that Allah will not be happy with me although I wanted my Allah to provide for me a job by better means. Now I want to know that whether I can use my past experience to find a new job or not?

Concern for earning halaal

Q: I would like to know about halal and haram incomes. Alhumdulillah I have a full time job. I have undertaken a second job working in hospitals on a casual basis for the basis of saving for hajj, investing in a business and paying off my mortgage (riba based unfortunately). I have chosen to work on Male wards to avoid mixing. But there are some points I would like to clarify. I will be working on mental health wards as a nursing assistant which from time to time require restraint of patients.

1. If I am called to another ward in an emergency situation can I restrain the patient if the patient in this ward is a female?(Alhumdulillah this has not happened to date)

2. The training required to restrain patients is carried out in a mixed environment where physical contact with females for the purpose of practising restraining techniques is highly possible. Would I be able to do this training?

3. I make an effort to avoid serving haraam foods served in the hospital by explicitly stating religious reasons (Alhumdulillah, to this day I haven’t had to serve haraam food). But if no one else is around to carry out the duty I may have to serve the haraam food. Can I do this?

4. So far none of the instances have occurred in this job and the chances of the above points happening are very low (except for training which takes place once every year).

5. The income earned from this job, would it be halaal? To use for hajj or daily living or investing etc.. if any of the above points occurred.

6. Finally is this job suitable (halaal) based on the above information, if not what should I do with money earned so far.