COMSATS INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ISLAMABAD

Term Paper on:

Rights of Employees in Islam
&
Their Impact on Employees Productivity and Organizations Performance




Prepaired by:

Hafiz M Arslan SP14-RMS-005
Yumna Minal SP14-RMS-006
Aisha Minhas SP14-RMS-014
Wasim Udin SP14-RMS-021
Eram Shahid SP14-RMS-012


Introduction
The world we live in is bringing about changes in it every coming day in form of globalization,
technology and development etc. These changes at global level are resulting in form of great
changes at workplace too. Now the organizations need to be more dynamic, adopting new
procedures and rules but despite all these changes the core relationship between employer-
employee remains the same. The relationship between employer-employee seems very simple at
first glance where employees perform work in return for a wage or salary paid by employer.
However, the relationship is not so simple in reality. The nature of their relationship is fiduciary
which give both parties rights and responsibilities towards each other.
Islam which is divine and complete code of life explains the rights and responsibilities of both
parties in detail. The rights of one party are the responsibilities of other party and vice versa. As
long as both parties keep following the commands of Allah (S.W.T), and the practices of the
Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W) and his companions and keep paying the rights and responsibilities
properly, the environment at workplace remains very job-friendly. But unfortunately when any
one or both parties start to violate these teachings, problems start to rise and the environment at
workplace become unfriendly and difficult to work in.
In this paper we will focus on Rights of Employees in Islam which is one of the very important
factor for a good workplace. The reference from Quran and/or Hadith will be provided when
necessary.

Literature Review
The word right is translated from Arabic word "". It has various definitions and is used in
various different meaning. Islam put more emphasis on the equality of rights. No society can
have peace and harmony in it without adopting complete justice. There are two words used for
justice in the Holy Qur'an: al-adl and al-qist. Al-Adl is to follow the balanced way. Al-Qist
means to recognize that every person and everything in this world has some rights.
However the definition of the word right which we are concerned here is as follows:
Right is such an opportunity the absence of which deprives man of something essential (Dr.
Muhammad Sharif Chaudhry).
The employee is defined as the one who rents out his self (labor). However, the employee is
categorized into two groups based on their specification as private employee (ajir khas)
and common employee (ajir mushtarak). (Majalla, the civil code of the Ottoman Empire)
Rights of Employees
We will discuss some Rights of Employees which we will be using as variables for our
paper and we will try to observe their impact on employees productivity and performance of
organization.
1. Kindness to Employees
If we consider the organization as a big family and workplace as a house then the workers
are very important members of this family and should be treated so. They are the helpers
who facilitate the employers to accomplish organizational tasks, so they should be treated
with great kindness.
Employers should not put burden on employees beyond their capacity. The employees
should be facilitated with proper, humane and safe environment for work. They should be
remunerated if they are harmed in any way performing their job.
Women should be provided proper environment for hijab without hazarding the rules of
khalwah (privacy).
The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) said:
"Your brothers are your responsibility. Allah has made them under your hands. So whosoever has a
brother under his hand, let him give him food as he eats and dress as he dresses. Do not give them work
that will overburden them and if you give them such task then provide them assistance." (Al-Bukhari)
2. Proper and timely wages
Employees should be given proper and just wages. Islam strictly forbids the Manipulation
and exploitation of employees.
Allah (T.W.T) says in the Holy Quran:
To the Madyan people We sent Shu`aib, one of their own brethren. He said: "O my people! worship
Allah; you have no other god but Him. Now has come unto you a Clear (Sign) from your Lord. Give just
measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due; and do no mischief on the
earth after it has been set in order: that will be best for you, if you have Faith. (Al-A`raf 7: 85)
Employees should be paid on time. The wages and rewards of employees should not be
delayed.
The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) said:
"Give to the worker his wages before his sweat dries." (Ibn Majah).
3. Clear and proper agreements
There should be a proper agreement between employer and employee. The agreement
should mention their duties and responsibilities and they should be aware of their rights
in terms of vacations, leaves, compensations, etc.
All agreements, whether oral or written, must be clear and transparent. The agreements
must be legal and fair to both parties. Islam does not allow employer to manipulate the
agreement due the power he/she has over employees. .
Illegal terms and conditions are not valid under Islamic law.
It is the duty of both the employers and the employees to fulfill their agreements to the
best of their capacities.
Allah (T.W.T) says in the Holy Quran:
O you! Who believe, fulfill your contracts. (Al-Ma'idah 5: 1)
The The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) said:
"Muslims must abide by their agreements, unless there is an agreement that makes halal what is haram or
makes haram what is halal." (At-Tirmidhi)


Impact on Employees Productivity and Organizations
Performance
Employees productivity and organizations performance have direct proportional relationship
because organizations performance is dependent on the employees productivity. All the
variables we have mentioned above have positive, directly and/or indirectly, impact on
employees productivity which always results in high performance of organization.
When employees are treated with kindness they feel obliged to organization and they
build an emotional relationship with it and perform their jobs heartily which increases
their productivity.
When employees are paid proper, just and timely wages, they feel financially secure and
they dont get worried about financial problem. This results in more focus on their job
which also helps them to increase their productivity.
When employees have clear and proper agreement and they exactly know their duties and
rewards without ambiguities, they can focus on their jobs much better than those who are
not clearly and fully aware of their duties and rights.




Kindness to
Employees
Proper & Timely
Wages
Clear & Proper
Agreement
Employees
Productivity
Organizations
Performance
Conclusion & Recommendations
Islam always puts much focus on the balance of individual-society-state and prioritizes the
security and livelihood of its communities with the principle of social justice. Islam wants us to
build a world where everybody gets what he/she deserves. Islam considers labor as a high value
factor of community. It prioritizes labors economic well-being and always discourages and
forbids extravagance.
According to Islamic point of view the organizations should build a workplace in which the
employers support the employees and the employees back up the employers. Both parties should
be aware of the fact that one of the most important things, after mans accountability to Allah, is
to be respectful of the rights of others.
Every day we listen or witness the unfortunate incidents where employees deceive the
expectations and trust of their employers, and employers fail to fulfill their promises with
employees and fail to give them their due rights. Unfortunately, such behavior is extensive
amongst Muslims as well. We can only get rid of such a bad behavior on personal and
organizational level by adopting and applying the divine commands of Allah (S.W.T), and the
practices of the Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W) and his companions, and we can set the benchmark
in workplace relations which will be beneficial for both organizations and employees.

(Allah S.W.T knows better)


References
http://www.aussiemuslims.com/forums/showthread.php?54268-Islam-at-the-workplace-
employers-and-employees
http://www.thepenmagazine.net/employer-and-employee-relations-in-islasm/
http://www.muslimtents.com/shaufi/b23/b23_14.htm
http://www.onislam.net/english/shariah/shariah-and-humanity/shariah-and-life/456899-rights-of-
workers-in-islam.html
http://dawa.tv/Last-words-of-Prophet-MUHAMMAD-(PBUH).php
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