Question:
Rasulullah ﷺ said:
” أَعْطُوا الأَجِيرَ أَجْرَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَجِفَّ عَرَقُهُ ”
“Give the employee his wages before his sweat dries”
You have written about transitioning ownership of companies to the workers, so why didnt he ﷺ say ” share profits with them” ? What is the basis for your idea in Islam?
Answer
A few points here. The command to “pay the worker his wages before his sweat dries” relates to the timeliness of remuneration, not with what type of remuneration the worker should receive. It is a command to never delay in compensating someone for their labor, but the hadith does not define or restrict what the worker’s compensation can be. There is nothing in this statement that contradicts the idea of workers being the majority shareholders of the companies they work for.
Corporations did not exist in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ, and the tremendously dysfunctional economic system we face today is unprecedented. It can only be remedied by applying core Islamic principles that ensure the circulation of wealth in society rather than the accumulation of wealth by a small number of super-rich elites, because the current system is designed to create a social scenario that is the polar opposite of what Allah, Subanahu wa Ta’ala commands us:
“… كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ ۚ …”
We have to develop an Islamic response to the corporate ownership structure.
The closest comparison we can make, perhaps, between the owners of capital and the workers is that of the relationship between slaves and their master on a massive estate. It is not exact, of course, but it is maybe the closest example we have in Islamic history to the current system of corporate ascendancy.
In Islam, as we know, slaves are essentially extended family members of their owners. They are to be treated as equals; fed, clothed, and housed just as their master feeds, clothes, and houses himself and his family. And if the slave desires his freedom, he is to be given a contract which will allow him to purchase his freedom. It seems to me that this legal principle alone is sufficient to justify the transition of share ownership from remote shareholders to workers.
Furthermore, the broader socioeconomic impact of such a transition would be hugely beneficial, both for the community and for sustainable economic policy, which certainly coincides with Islamic priorities and principles.
To be clear, we are not talking about a classless society. Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala said:
“… نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا ۗ وَرَحْمَتُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ …”
So we know that some degree of class differences are a necessary factor in society. But as with all matters, Allah has regulated wealth distribution to maintain a healthy and honorable balance between the rights and responsibilities of individuals vis-a-vis the society in which they live. The corporate system has wrought havoc on this balance, and it is imperative that we strive to restore it.