Does Defrauding Apply Beyond Weights and Measures, Including Work and Worship?
هل ينطبق التطفيف على غير الكيل والميزان؟
What does the act of defrauding apply to?
The answer extends defrauding beyond the scale: to goods and services delivered short in quantity or quality, to employees who take their full salary but fall short in their work, and to acts of worship such as prayer and ablution performed incompletely.
Islam teaches that integrity is indivisible. A person who is dishonest in giving Allah His due rights in worship is also described as defrauding, like the one who cheats people in business or slacks off at work.
Defrauding in Professional Life and Business
1. Business Transactions and Specifications
Defrauding happens at work, in businesses, and in trades. You may find that someone gets paid for merchandise, but he does not supply the full quantity or the exact specification required and paid for by the customer. (And do not defraud people of their property) Ash Shuara 26: 183.
2. Salaries and Work Effort
When someone gets paid a salary and does not put in the hours he gets paid for, this becomes the most common case of defrauding. This occurs when someone takes his full right as a salary and then fails to give the full required effort in return. This deprives the customers or citizens of their rights, such as delaying the service they paid for without a valid reason.
Defrauding in Acts of Worship
1. Defrauding in Prayers
Defrauding applies to everything, including acts of worship. In prayers, it occurs when someone performs only the bare minimum of what Allah has ordained. A person defrauds by not taking his time to properly complete the kneeling (Ruku) or prostrating (Sujood). For such a person, his act of worship is not rewarded, as the Prophet pbuh said to the one who did not pray perfectly: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed."
2. Defrauding in Ablution and Other Deeds
It also happens in ablution when a person does not wash his body parts well or does not wet all the required areas. The Prophet pbuh said: "Woe to the heels from fire" because he saw a man who washed his leg but left a dry spot the size of a dirham that was not wet by water. Similarly, this concept of defrauding extends to fasting, Zakat, Hajj, and all other deeds.
Some scholars said: Defrauding happens in measuring, weighing, ablution, and prayer, and the worst of people in theft is the one who steals from his prayer. Salman al-Farisi said: Prayer is a measure; whoever gives it in full is given in full, and whoever gives short measure, you know what Allah said about those who give short measure.
Note: The original answer attributed this saying to one of the Tabi'in and linked it to the verse on those heedless of their prayers (Al-Ma'un 107:4-5). Ibn Atiyyah reports it from the Companion Salman al-Farisi, referring to Surah Al-Mutaffifin (al-Muharrar al-Wajiz), and it has been corrected.
هل ينطبق التطفيف على غير الكيل والميزان؟
يمد الجواب معنى التطفيف إلى ما وراء الكيل والميزان: إلى نقص كمية السلع والخدمات أو صفتها، وإلى الموظف الذي يأخذ راتبه كاملا ويقصر في عمله، وإلى العبادات كالصلاة والوضوء إذا نقصت.
يعلمنا الإسلام أن النزاهة لا تتجزأ. فالشخص الذي يقصر في إعطاء الله حقه في العبادة يوصف بالتطفيف كما يوصف به من يغش الناس في التجارة أو يقصر في عمله.
التطفيف في العمل والتجارة
1. المعاملات التجارية والمواصفات
من صور التطفيف ما يقع في العمل والمهن والحرف التجارية، فالكسب يشمل نقصان الكمية، ونقص المواصفات المطلوبة في كيفية السلعة والخدمات. قال الله تعالى: (وَلَا تَبْخَسُوا النَّاسَ أَشْيَاءَهُمْ) الشعراء 26: 183.
2. الرواتب والجهد الوظيفي
التقصير في العمل من أكثر الأشكال رواجا، ومن صور التطفيف هو أن يأخذ الإنسان حقه كاملا في الراتب ثم ينقص حقوق المواطنين إذا راجعوه ويؤخرهم لغير سبب.
التطفيف في العبادات
1. التطفيف في الصلاة
التطفيف يكون في كل شيء، فنجد السرقة في الصلاة بأن يأتي بأدنى مما أوجب الله، كأن لا يقيم الركوع ولا السجود ولا يطمئن فيها، فمثل هذا لا حظ له في تلك العبادة كما قال النبي ﷺ للمسيء في صلاته: "ارجع فصل فإنك لم تصل".
2. التطفيف في الوضوء وسائر الأعمال
كما يكون في الوضوء بأن لا يحسن غسل أعضائه أو لا يستوعب جميع العضو المغسول، كما في قوله ﷺ: "ويل للأعقاب من النار" لأنه رأى رجلا لم يغسل رجله وترك كقدر الدرهم لم يصبه الماء. وهكذا في الصيام والزكاة والحج وسائر الأعمال.
قال بعض العلماء: التطفيف في الكيل والوزن والوضوء والصلاة، وأسوأ الناس سرقة من يسرق في صلاته. وعن سلمان الفارسي رضي الله عنه أنه قال: الصلاة بمكيال فمن أوفى أوفي له، ومن طفف فقد علمتم ما قال الله عز وجل في المطففين.
ملاحظة: نسب الجواب الأصلي هذا القول إلى بعض علماء التابعين وفسره بآية الماعون 107:4-5، والصواب أنه من قول الصحابي سلمان الفارسي رضي الله عنه، ومراده ما قال الله في المطففين، كما نقله ابن عطية في المحرر الوجيز، فصحح.
1. Full Measure and the Straight Balance | إيفاء الكيل والقسطاس المستقيم
Shu'ayb told his people to give full measure and not be among those who cause loss, to weigh with the straight balance, and not to deprive people of their things (Ash-Shu'ara 26:181-183). The answer applies this to anyone paid for goods or services who delivers less than the quantity or quality agreed.
وَزِنُوا بِالْقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ (سورة الشعراء: 182)
قال شعيب لقومه: أوفوا الكيل ولا تكونوا من المخسرين، وزنوا بالقسطاس المستقيم، ولا تبخسوا الناس أشياءهم (الشعراء 26:181-183). ويطبق الجواب ذلك على كل من يأخذ ثمن سلعة أو خدمة ثم ينقص كميتها أو صفتها المتفق عليها.
2. The Employee's Trust | أمانة الموظف
The Prophet said that a servant is a guardian of his master's wealth and is responsible for it (Sahih al-Bukhari 2409). An employee who takes his full salary but gives less than the work owed, or delays people's business without reason, falls short in this trust. Allah praises those who keep their trusts and their covenants (Al-Mu'minun 23:8).
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ (سورة المؤمنون: 8)
قال النبي ﷺ: "والخادم في مال سيده راع وهو مسئول عن رعيته" (صحيح البخاري 2409). فالموظف الذي يأخذ راتبه كاملا ثم ينقص العمل الواجب عليه أو يؤخر مصالح الناس بلا سبب مقصر في هذه الأمانة. وقد أثنى الله تعالى على الذين هم لأماناتهم وعهدهم راعون (المؤمنون 23:8).
3. Prayer and Ablution Done in Full | إتمام الصلاة والوضوء
The Prophet told a man who prayed hastily to go back and pray, for he had not prayed, then taught him to bow, rise, and prostrate until he was at rest in each position (Sahih al-Bukhari 757). He saw a man who had not washed his heels and said: woe to the heels from the Fire (Sahih Muslim 242), and when he saw a dry spot the size of a dirham on a man's foot, he told him to repeat his ablution and his prayer (Sunan Abi Dawud 175, graded sahih by al-Albani).
حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ (سورة البقرة: 238)
قال النبي ﷺ للمسيء صلاته: "ارجع فصل فإنك لم تصل"، ثم علمه أن يطمئن راكعا وساجدا وجالسا (صحيح البخاري 757). ورأى رجلا لم يغسل عقبيه فقال: "ويل للأعقاب من النار" (صحيح مسلم 242)، ورأى رجلا في ظهر قدمه لمعة قدر الدرهم لم يصبها الماء فأمره أن يعيد الوضوء والصلاة (سنن أبي داود 175، صححه الألباني).
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Can an employee be guilty of defrauding at work?
Yes. An employee who takes his full salary but intentionally works less than he owes, or delays people's business without a valid reason, falls short in a trust; the Prophet said that a servant is a guardian of his master's wealth and is responsible for it (Sahih al-Bukhari 2409).
How does a person defraud in their prayer?
By rushing through it without being at rest in bowing and prostration. The Prophet told a man who prayed this way to go back and pray, for he had not prayed (Sahih al-Bukhari 757).
What did the Prophet say about incomplete ablution?
He saw a man who had not washed his heels and said: woe to the heels from the Fire (Sahih Muslim 242), and he told a man with a dry spot the size of a dirham on his foot to repeat his ablution and prayer (Sunan Abi Dawud 175, graded sahih by al-Albani).
Who said that prayer is a measure?
The Companion Salman al-Farisi, as Ibn Atiyyah reports: prayer is a measure; whoever gives it in full is given in full, and whoever gives short measure, you know what Allah said about those who give short measure.