may Allah be pleased with him, who reported that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, conveying his Lord’s words: “Allah the Exalted declared: ‘There are three against whom I shall be an adversary on the Day of Resurrection, and whomever I oppose I will overwhelm: a man who pledged in My name and then broke his word; a man who sold a free person and consumed the price; and a man who hired a laborer, took from him the full work, yet withheld his wage.’” This is narrated by al-Bukhari and others.

Accordingly, the laborer’s work is a trust he must safeguard by executing it proficiently, completing it, and offering sincere effort. The laborer’s wage, by contrast, is a debt upon the hirer—an obligatory right that must be paid without delay or diminution. Allah, exalted is He, knows best.