The definition of hiring as a contract stipulating the recompense for the fruits of labour, and stipulating that the benefit is something the employer can receive fully, leads us to understand that hiring is allowed for every benefit which the employer can receive from the employee fully. This could be the benefit of a person like a servant or the benefit of the work of a craftsman, unless a divine evidence has been mentioned that prohibits such benefit. This is because things are originally allowed and benefit is one of those things. It is untrue to say here that this is a contract or a transaction which should be originally restricted by Shar’a rather than allowed. This is untrue because the contract is the hiring itself, not the benefit. The benefit is the matter over which the transaction is concluded and over which the contract is applied, and thus the benefit is not a transaction or a contract. Therefore, hiring is allowed over all benefits when there is no prohibition mentioned regarding them, whether there is a text allowing them or not. So the person is allowed to hire a man or a woman to type for Him on a typewriter, certain pages for a certain wage because this is a hiring over a benefit for which no prohibition is mentioned. So hiring over it is allowed, even though there was no mention of a text to allow it. It is also allowed to hire a person who measures and weighs for a certain work in a certain time-period. Abu Dawud narrated in the hadith of Suwaid ibn Qais, who said: “The Prophet (pbuh) (pbuh) came to us (in the market) and He bartered with us and we sold to him. And there was a man who was weighing for a wage. The Prophet (pbuh) (pbuh) then said: ‘Measure and out-weigh (the scale of balance).’” So this hiring is allowed and there is a text that allows it. But as for the worships, whether they are Fard or Nafilah, they have to be examined. If their benefit does not extend to other than the person who performs them, such as performing the pilgrimage for himself, and paying his own Zakat, then He is not allowed to receive a wage for it because the wage is a recompense for a benefit and there is no benefit in these matters for other than himself. Accordingly, hiring Him on these matters is not allowed, because they are Fard upon him. But if the benefit of the worship goes beyond the one who performs it, then hiring over it is allowed. Examples include making Adhan for others and leading the others in prayer or hiring a person to perform Hajj on behalf of a dead person or a person to pay his Zakat on his behalf. All these things are allowed because it is a contract over a benefit for recompense. The wage in these matters is recompense for benefit, which was accomplished by another person, so the hiring was allowed. In regard of what At-Tirmidhi narrated from Uthman ibn Aby al A’as, He said: “The last thing the Prophet (pbuh) commanded me to do is to use a Muadhin (caller to prayer) who does not take a wage for performing his adhan.” In this Hadith the Prophet (pbuh) forbade using the Muadhin who takes a wage as a Muadhin for him, but He did not forbid the Muadhins from taking a wage. This indicates that there are Muadhins who take a wage and others who do not take a wage. So the Prophet (pbuh) (pbuh) forbade Him from taking a Muadhin from those who take a wage. This prohibition indicates alienation from taking a wage over Adhan, which implies the dislike of taking a wage over Adhan. However, this does not indicate the prohibition of taking a wage over Adhan; rather it indicates that it is allowed but with dislike.

With regards to education, a person is allowed to hire a teacher to teach his children or himself or to teach anyone He likes. This is because, teaching is an allowed (Mubah) benefit, for which it is allowed to take recompense for, so hiring for it is allowed. And Shar’a has allowed taking a wage for teaching the Qur’an, so taking a wage for teaching other than the Qur’an is allowed by greater reason. Bukhari narrated from ibn Abbas from the Prophet (pbuh) of Allah (swt) that He said: “The most worthy thing to take a wage for is the Book of Allah.”

Bukhari also narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’ad As-Sa’idi that the Prophet (pbuh) married off a woman to a man for what He knew of the Qur’an i.e. to teach her what He knew of the Qur’an. There was a consensus of the companions as well that it is allowed to take a provision from Bait ul- Mal for teaching; therefore it is allowed to take a wage for it.

It was narrated from Ibn Aby Sheeba from Sadaqa al-Dimashqi from Al-Wadhiya ibn’ Ata’a, that He said: “There were three teachers in Madinah who used to teach the youngsters, and ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab used to provide every one of them with fifteen (Dinars) every month.” All of this indicates that taking a wage for teaching is allowed. With respect to the Ahadith which came in this regard to discourage taking a wage, they were focused on discouraging the taking of a wage for teaching the Qur’an, rather than denying the hire of people to teach it. They all indicate the dislike of taking a wage for teaching the Qur’an, rather than forbid the hiring to teach it. Dislike of taking the wage does not deny its permissibility, so it is disliked to take a wage for teaching Qur’an, yet it is allowed to hire people for doing so.

Concerning the hiring of the doctor, it is allowed because it involves a benefit which the employer can receive, but it is not allowed to hire Him for curing, because that would be hiring over an unknown matter. It is allowed to hire the doctor for examining a patient because this would be a known benefit, and it is allowed to hire the doctor for serving the patient during certain days, as this would be a defined work. It is also allowed to hire the doctor to treat the patient, because his treatment is known in a manner that removes ignorance, even if the type of disease is not known, since it is enough for it to be known that the patient is sick.

The permissibility of the hiring of a doctor is established because medicine is a benefit which the employer can receive, so hiring over it is allowed. Also, it was mentioned that the Prophet (pbuh) indicated the allowance of hiring for medicine. Bukhari narrated from Anas that He said: “The Prophet (pbuh) called Abu Taeeba to cup/bleed (Ihtajama) Him then He gave Him two Sa’a (cubic measures) of food and He recommended to his master to reduce work on him.” Cupping at that time, was a medication with which people were treated, so taking a wage for doing it indicated the allowance of hiring a doctor. In regard of the saying of the Prophet (pbuh) which Tirmidhi narrated from Rafi’a ibn Khadeej that “the earning of the cupper is filthy (Khabeeth),” this does not indicate the forbiddance of hiring a cupper. Rather it indicates the dislike of earning by cupping, though it is Mubah (allowed) by the evidence that in the Hadith narrated by Muslim from M’adan ibn Aby Talha, the Prophet (pbuh) described garlic and onion as evil, though they are allowed. All this is in regard of the worker whose service is private.

But regarding the worker whose benefit is common, his services are considered to be of the interests which the State has to supply for the people. This is because every service whose benefit goes beyond the individuals to the community, and the community was in need of it, then this service would be of the public interests which the Bait ul-Mal has to make available for all of the people. An example of that is when the ruler hires a person to judge among the people on a monthly basis, or such as the hiring of employees for departments and services, and the hiring of Muadhins and Imams. Amongst the services for which the State has to hire employees in order to provide for the people are education and medicine. In regard to education this is the case, due to the consensus (Ijma’a) of the companions on giving provision to the teachers by a particular amount as a wage for them from the Bait ul-Mal. Also because the Prophet (pbuh) assigned the ransom of the captives (of Mushriks) as being to teach ten Muslim children, while this ransom was of the booties which are property belonging to all the Muslims. In regard to medicine, this is because the Prophet (pbuh) was given a doctor as a gift to him, whom He assigned to the Muslims. The fact that the Messenger received the gift and did not dispose of it, nor take it, but rather assigned it for the Muslims, is an evidence that this gift belongs to the Muslim public, and not to him. Since the Prophet (pbuh) had received a gift and He put it for all the Muslims, this indicates it is one of the things which belongs to the Muslim public. Therefore, giving provisions to the doctors and teachers is from the Bait ul-Mal. Nonetheless, the individual himself is allowed to hire a doctor and hire a teacher. But the State is obliged to make medicine and education available for all citizens, with no difference between the Muslim and the Dhimmi or between the rich and the poor. This is because these are like the Adhan and the judiciary, which are of the matters whose benefit extends beyond the one himself, and the people need them; so they are of the public services which have to be made available for all citizens, and the Bait ul-Mal has to secure them.