Pay your workers, Your Excellencies

Government workers, in most States of the federation, have not been paid their salaries for several months now. The pains of their financial woes can only be imagined. This is why when I read the Friday sermon delivered by Imam Murtadha Gusau, at Okene yesterday, I couldn’t help reproducing it here. It is particularly apt […]

Government workers, in most States of the federation, have not been paid their salaries for several months now. The pains of their financial woes can only be imagined. This is why when I read the Friday sermon delivered by Imam Murtadha Gusau, at Okene yesterday, I couldn’t help reproducing it here. It is particularly apt as Muslim workers gear up to celebrate Eid-il-Kabir next week.

By Imam Murtadha Gusau

In The Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Alhamdulillah. Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from our wrongdoings. He whom Allah guides, no one can misguide; and he whom He misguides, no one can guide…..

“O you who believe! Revere Allah and say fair words. He will then rectify your deeds and forgive your sins. He who obeys Allah and His Messenger have certainly achieved a great victory.” (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:70-71)

Servants of Allah! As you all knows, under the present administrations, in some states workers are owed salaries for upwards of 5, 7, 10, 14 and 17 months. Pensioners are owed several month’s arrears and are dying.

As reliable and confirmed reports show, no fewer than 12 states are owing their workers a backlog of salaries and allowances, despite double bailout funds from the Federal Government, with Kogi State owing as many as 15 to 17 months, according to investigations carried out in April.

Also on the list of heavily indebted states are Osun, Kwara, Bayelsa, Ondo, Ekiti and Oyo. Others are Benue, Nasarawa, Abia, Imo as well as several months of unpaid allowances, in addition to Ogun State, which owes months of unremitted deductions from workers’ salaries meant for cooperatives, union dues and others.

In June, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, said that 23 states of the federation currently owed local government workers’ salary arrears ranging from one to 16 months, as the national President of the union, Ibrahim Khalil, stated in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, in Abuja.

Therefore, I am appealing to governments, at all levels, to fear Allah and pay workers their salaries, their arrears and other allowances, as Muslim faithful prepare for Eid-El-Adha celebration, in order to avoid Allah’s wrath on themselves, their local governments, their states and the country in general.

Brothers and Sisters! The employer-employee relationship is considered a contract and hiring relationship, and we have some Shari‘ah texts that clarify the principles and regulations of this relationship as stated by Islamic jurists in their books.

It is the right of the employee to have his wages specified in advance by the employer and to get it completely and on time. Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet, (Pbuh), said: 

“Whoever employs someone to work for him, he must specify for him his wage in advance.” [See Musannaf of Abdur-Razzaaq]

Similar Hadiths were also narrated by Ibn Abi Shaibah in his Musannaf on the authority of Abu Hurairah, Abu Sa‘id and Uthman. 

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet, said:

“Allah SWT declared, ‘I will be the opponent of three on the Day of Judgment: One of them is he who hires a workman and having taken full work from him, does not pay him his wages.‘”

On the Day of Judgment, Allah The Exalted will be the opponent of these types of people. Hence, the employers who hire workers then delay their wages for a month or two or more must fear Allah’s wrath.

Abdullah Ibn Umar narrated that the Prophet, said:  “Pay the labourer/worker his wages before his sweat dries.”

Moreover, the employer has no right to force the worker to do more work or work longer than the time they agreed on, provided that the worker has the ability to do what they agreed on.

On the other hand, the worker must satisfy the conditions between him and the employer in what is not prohibited under Shari‘ah. Allah The Almighty Said: 

“O you who have believed, fulfill [all] contracts.” [Quran 5:1]

The worker must also perform the work that is assigned to him perfectly. Al-Baihaqi and Abu Ya’ala narrated on the authority of A’ishah that the Prophet, said: 

“Verily, Allah loves that when anyone of you does something he does it perfectly.”

Let me mention the great rule that the Prophet, (Pbuh) stated in a Hadith: 

“There should be neither harm nor reciprocal harm.” [Imam Ahmad in Musnad]

Hence, there should be no harm against the employer or the employee.

My respected people! Wallahi, it is not permissible to delay payment of salaries to employees beyond the time when they are due, which is when the work is completed or at the end of the agreed-upon period. If the agreement is that the salary be paid monthly, then it must be paid to the worker at the end of each month; delaying it with no excuse is regarded as unfair and unjust.

Ibn Majah narrated that Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said: 

“Give the worker his wages before his sweat dries.” [Classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih Ibn Majah]

My people! What this means is we should hasten to give the worker his dues as soon as the work is done. Similarly, when the agreed-upon period ends (which is one month in the case of most employees nowadays), then it is obligatory to hasten to give him his dues.

Imam Al-Manawi said in his book, Fayd al-Qadir that:

“It is haram to delay and postpone when one is able to pay. The command to give it to him before his sweat dries is a metaphor for the obligation to pay him as soon as the job is done, even if he does not sweat, or if he sweated and it has dried.”

Also the company owner or any private business owner’s delay in paying the salaries is wrongdoing which makes his honour and punishment permissible, as the Prophet (Pbuh) said: 

“Withholding of payment by a rich man is wrongdoing.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim]

And the Prophet (Pbuh) said: 

“If one who can afford it but delays payment, his honour and punishment become permissible.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah. Classed as hasan by al-Albani in his book Irwa’ al-Ghalil]

What is meant by his honour becoming permissible is that one may say: “So and so delayed paying me and he wronged me.” Punishing him means detaining him. This is how it was interpreted by Sufyan and others.

Servants of Allah! The Standing Committee was asked about a boss who did not give his workers their salaries until they traveled to their homelands once every year or two, and the workers agreed to that because they have no choice, job opportunities are few, and they need the money.

They replied: 

“What this boss should do is to give his workers their salaries at the end of every month, as is the custom among people nowadays. But if there is an agreement and they accept that the salary will be paid all together after one or two years, there is nothing wrong with that, because the Prophet (Pbuh) said in a sahih hadith: 

“The Muslims are bound by their conditions.” [See Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 14/390]

Based on the above, we should advise our governments at all levels and also company owners, that it is haram to delay employees’ salaries and it is haram to harm them.

The Federal, State and Local Governments as well as private companies must understand that delaying the payment of employees’ salaries will cause serious problems, which will affect their efficiency and lead to disruptive, dangerous thoughts. The job contract requires the employers to pay them their monthly pay, and it is an injustice to delay that as it will affect them and their families.

Also private businessmen have to fear Allah and pay their salaries on time. The delay in paying salaries might worry workers and lead to disruption of important government projects. This might also give workers justification for fraud and corruption, which would result in massive damage to the country.

I  ask Allah to assist us in living by the Quran and Sunnah. I pray that He lets us recognise the truth for what it is and helps us to follow it, and that He lets us see falsehood for what it is and helps us to avoid it.

O Allah! Guide us and protect us from the causes of ignorance and destruction! Save us from the defects in ourselves! Cause the last of our deeds to be the best and most righteous! And forgive all of us. Ameen Yaa Rabb!

May Allah be praised; and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and Companions.

With this I conclude my Khutbah (Sermon) and ask Allah, the Almighty and the Sublime, to forgive all our sins. He is.All -Forgiving, Most Merciful.

This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday Sermon) was delivered by Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and late Alhaji Abdurrahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene Kogi State Nigeria.