Doing work well (itqan al-amal)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy holds that an employee who works for God's pleasure does his work well and is careful with his salary, while one who comes to work unwillingly and does only the minimum lacks responsibility ¹². He says work done for God earns both a wage and a reward ³.

The speaker says a person's work speaks better than much talk, and gives a saying to this effect (needs_source: the saying is not sourced in the recording), and cites the Companions digging the trench beside the Prophet ﷺ ⁴. He says an employee who does only the minimum carries no responsibility, in contrast with a diligent one ². He describes an employee who works for God's pleasure and is careful with his salary, compares him with one who comes to work unwillingly, and warns that the ego is a serious disease ¹. He cites a hadith that permits asking only in dire need, and says that teaching a trade is better than giving a fish, using a common proverb ⁵.

He advises new employees to be punctual, sincere and humble toward those older than them or above them in rank ⁶. He criticises students who leave their books, employees who leave their desks and doctors who leave their hospitals for idle time ⁷.

He holds that sincerity is a condition of the value of work. He criticises employees and managers who work without sincerity, and says the condition of the nation would change if people were sincere in their work ⁸. He tells of a man who gave an employee twenty years of help and saw no trace of it; in his view the good was not done sincerely ⁹.

He describes an employee who arrives late and gives excuses such as traffic, and says the job is a contract that must be kept ¹¹. He calculates that half an hour's lateness each day adds up to hours in a week and a full day over a month, and says this lost time is taken from money and family (needs_source: the calculation is the speaker's) ¹².

He says the relationship between an employee and an institution is a contract, so the employee must keep his time ¹³. He says that when his work is finished, a person should ask the responsible supervisor's permission before leaving, and should not sit idle ¹⁴. He holds that if a school asks teachers to cover summer shifts they must do so, since if everyone left at once the school would be empty ¹⁵.

He says that using workplace electricity for personal purposes is not advised, out of scrupulousness; at best he considers it doubtful, and he cites a figure of forty days (needs_source: the figure is not sourced in the recording) ¹⁰.

He says work does not prevent prayer: the time between dawn and noon is over seven hours, and between noon and the afternoon prayer three or four hours (needs_source: the figures are not sourced in the recording), and he holds that the prayers should not be combined ¹⁶. He says that a person who has finished his work may go about his affairs ¹⁷. He holds that a person should balance serious work with rest, dividing his time between worship, family, relatives, funerals and celebrations ¹⁸.

He describes the chain of people and resources behind a doctor's care and a patient's journey, from laboratories and specialists to oil, farms and pharmacies, and calls all of it part of God's provision ¹⁹. He says the doctor is a means, and the cure comes from God: the physician prescribes and God heals ²⁰.

He says doctors, police and others on night duty are rewarded if they intend to serve people, even while they sleep ²¹. He describes a doctor who prayed two rak'ahs before each operation, asking God for success and for the patient's safety, and says he did so for forty years (needs_source: the duration is not sourced in the recording) ²². He says the doctor and the patient's family should ask God for understanding and skill, because God places the secret of cure in medicine ²³.

He says work done for God earns both a wage and a reward, and that doctors and others should do their work well ³. He says a Muslim should treat elders as parents, peers as siblings and the young as children, and do his work seeking God's pleasure ²⁴. He cites a hadith on the good effect of trust in God on provision, and says God loves the believer who works ²⁵. He holds that lawful work that benefits family and society is good ²⁶.

He proposes teaching Arabic to Muslims who cannot read the Qur'an in Arabic, and translating books about Islam, and says the reward continues as long as readers benefit ²⁷. He defines neglect as the opposite of righteousness, and says deeds not grounded in knowledge and revelation have no value ²⁸. He says provision comes from God, not from a department or a salary clerk, citing a Qur'anic statement that provision is in heaven (no verse named) ²⁹.

He says zakat is a duty, that the trust also covers office and administration, and that a manager is answerable for those under him ³⁰. He tells that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, on taking office, asked people not to praise him or approach him with flattery (needs_source: the story is not sourced in the recording) ³¹. He says blessing and office depart from leaders who do not fear God, or who use their position for their own gain, and that the rights of the weak must be kept ³².

The speaker tells how Umar sent away a man who sought office, later found him on all fours with his children on his back, and said that one who is not merciful at home cannot be merciful to the public (needs_source: the story is not sourced in the recording) ³³.

He says workplaces are full of gossip, and that one should avoid evil without cutting people off, and pray for the guidance of those who wrong others ³⁴. He criticises those who collect news about colleagues and managers ³⁵.

He tells of an employee who was docked two days' pay and blamed the manager, and says the real question is whether the employee was right to think the manager was the cause ³⁶. He says that when a colleague returns a cold greeting, one should assume a reason, such as trouble at home or at school, rather than take offence ³⁷.

He criticises people who work without conscience, says that a salary in which one unlawful dirham is mixed taints the rest, and advises keeping one's contract with the employer and trusting God over injustice ³⁸. He holds that the community should be truthful in work and in worship, in small matters and great ³⁹. He sums up these qualities in a framework that joins truthful speech, honest work, sincere intention, trustworthiness and eating only lawful food, and asks whether these qualities become a method of conduct ⁴⁰.