3 – The hadith shows that trade is among the finest ways to earn a living, provided it is free of prohibited contracts such as usury, excessive uncertainty, deception, fraud, and every other form of illicitly consuming people’s wealth.

4 – It also demonstrates that righteousness is not confined to acts of worship; it extends to financial dealings as well. When a Muslim is sincere in his selling, buying, manufacturing, labour, or craft, that conduct counts as birr (righteousness) and ihsān (excellence) for which he is rewarded in this life and the next.

5 – The report indicates that any lawful work a Muslim undertakes to preserve his dignity and spare himself dependence on others is considered wholesome earning. Every person is naturally suited to certain jobs, crafts, and industries.

6 – The fact that the Lawgiver did not single out one specific occupation proves that the divine creative will intends for the earth to be developed through a diversity of activities, each individual or group taking on tasks that others do not. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “He gave everything its form, then guided it” (Q 20:50).

7 – The mention of “the man” in the hadith is not restrictive; it is simply the predominant case, since men are usually the ones who earn and spend.

8 – A mabrūr (upright) sale is one concluded in accordance with the Sharia: all of its pillars and conditions are present, its impediments and corrupting elements—such as undue risk, ignorance of the goods, gambling, usurious contracts, cheating, and the concealment of defects—are absent.

Disagreement among the scholars

The scholars have differed over which source of income is the purest and most excellent.

• Al-Māwardī said: “The purest is agriculture, because it is closer to reliance upon Allah.”

• Al-Nawawī said: “The finest livelihood is what a person earns with his own hands, and if that is through farming, then…"