Rights of Workers
The protection of workers' rights including fair wages, good treatment, and timely payment.
Huquq al-'Ummal (حقوق العمال) establishes workers' rights in Islam. The Prophet (PBUH) said: 'Give the worker his wage before his sweat dries.' Workers must be paid fairly and promptly, not overworked, and treated with dignity. One hadith qudsi warns that Allah will be an adversary on Judgment Day against one who hires a worker and does not pay the full wage. The employer should not burden workers beyond capacity and should share food if it's not too difficult. Exploitation of labor is forbidden, and workers are to be treated as brothers.
Give the worker his wage before his sweat dries.
Umar ibn al-Khattab would personally inspect markets to ensure fair treatment of workers and just wages, holding employers accountable for the wellbeing of those they employed.
Sunan Ibn Majah
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- What Islam says about justice
Pay the worker before his sweat dries. The instruction is about timing, which is where wage injustice usually happens in practice.