Posted by: TheMajlis

Question: When Ustaadhs in a certain Muslim school are absent on a Monday, the management deducts three days pay from their salary. If they are one minute late on Friday, for example, a whole day’s pay is deducted. Is such punishment permissible?

Answer: No, it is never permissible. Such punishment is zulm. The deductions from the salary of the Ustaadhs is haraam. The school management is guilty of usurpation and gross injustice.

Although the intention of the management may be to constrain the ustaadhs to be punctual and regular, injustice is not permissible. Precisely for this reason does the Shariah disallow monetary fines. For a day’s absenteeism, only the day’s pay may be deducted. For a minute of late-coming, only a minute’s pay may be deducted. This school’s system of punishment is unprecedented in injustice.

KHIYAANAT
Besides this unjust action of the school, it has to be conceded that Ustaadhs in Madaaris and personnel of Deeni institutions generally take undue and haraam advantage with their careless attendance.
Although they expect their salaries to be paid in full, they do not meticulously observe the huqooq (rights) of their work contract. It is indeed peculiar and lamentable that men of Deeni knowledge who are supposed to have a better understanding of the Deen, regard the theft of time as an insignificant perpetration. In fact, if a just deduction is made, they take offence, little understanding that they will be answerable in the Divine Court on the Day of Hisaab when an account will have to be given for every misappropriated cent.

GRAVITY
Many personnel in Deeni institutions are guilty of khiyaanat. It is surprising that inspite of having acquired Deeni Ilm and working in Deeni institutions, they miserably fail to understand the gravity of the khiyaanat they commit when they do not meticulously observe the time for which they are being paid.

It is simply considered an acceptable norm for an Ustaadh or a Deeni worker to step late into the class, take unofficial breaks and holidays, do private work during his paid time, read newspapers/magazines, etc. when he is supposed to devote every minute of his paid time to the duty for which he has been engaged.

THEFT
It is also surprising that persons connected to Deeni institutions differentiate between theft of money and theft of time. While there is a technical difference in the zaahiri Shariah, the crime is the same morally and in terms of the Aakhirah. In fact, abuse of the amaanat of time by Deeni personnel is worse than the theft of money by ignorant labourers who lack understanding of the Deen.

Ustaadhs and Deeni workers in general, who are paid from the Lillaah funds of the organisation should not labour under any misapprehension regarding the khiyaanat they are guilty of for collecting full pay when they did not devote full time to their duties and obligations.

They should understand well, that the money they are being paid, for the time which they had stolen, is haraam. They ingest haraam into their systems. Their morality will further suffer by such ingestion of food, etc, purchased with contaminated Lillaah funds.

SIMPLE METHOD
Hakimul Ummat Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thaanvi (rahmatullah alayh) had devised a simple method for creating awareness in Ustaadhs and for saving them from the grave sin of khiyaanat. Ustaadhs should daily fill in a register in which they themselves will record the times they clocked in and out. Obviously it is not expected that an Ustaadh or an employee of a Deeni institution would falsify the register by making false entries.

If an ustaadh who teaches the Qur’aan or any Deeni subjects falsifies the time-register, he will be totally unfit to be retained in the position of trust. Such an unscrupulous person should be dismissed

The worker of the Deen who is paid from Lillaah funds should himself keep a time register and record the times he had faithfully devoted to his duties. At the end of the month he should inform the management of the institution of the amount that should be deducted from his salary for late-coming and for the time he had engaged in private affairs.

If Deeni workers fail to maintain proper records of the time they had actually worked, and despite this, expect full pay, they should then understand that they are guilty of ‘theft’ and abuse of Amaanat. Such khiyaanat will undoubtedly have to be accounted for in the Court of Allah Azza Wa Jal.

FITTING NASEEHAT
The episode of the buzrug of Bani Israaeel, which appears on this page should be adequate naseehat for Deeni Ustaadhs and workers who commit khiyaanat in the time for which they are being paid.