Craft and occupation (hirfa)

الحرفة

Craft (hirfa) comes from earning a living, and the jurists use it for any way of earning, including appointed offices. ¹ Practising a craft is a communal duty, which can become an individual duty. ¹ Among its rulings: a craftsman prays in clean clothes, and if he cannot, he may pray in clothes whose soiling is unavoidable; a hired worker's contract does not stop him praying. ^{1 2} In fasting, a craftsman may work while fasting and break the fast only as far as necessity requires, making up the day; the rule is strict when he has enough. ^{2 3 4} No zakat is due on the tools of a trade, which are basic needs, and a man with a trade that covers his needs is not poor for zakat purposes, according to the majority. ⁴ For the hajj, the Hanafis and Malikis count a craftsman as able if his trade does not degrade him and he can earn during the journey; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis count only provision and a mount. ⁵ Trading in the mosque is disliked by the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Malikis and forbidden by the Hanbalis. ^{5 6} Marrying on a dowry of the usefulness of a craft is allowed by the Shafi'is and Hanbalis; the Hanafis allow dowries that are property or deliverable benefit. ^{7 8} The testimony of a craftsman of humble trade is accepted by the majority if he is just, and that of one whose trade is forbidden, such as an astrologer, or one who deals in usury, is rejected. ^{8 9} A craftsman is liable for what is lost through his negligence or fault, and prices may not be fixed for craftsmen except when people need the craft. ^{9 10}