for an employee to engage in trade or to open a shop, yet he gives it no heed. He goes ahead and opens a business—sometimes under his own name, sometimes under an assumed name, and sometimes by putting a third party in charge of the premises, or the like. In doing so he lies, betrays the state, and consumes wealth unlawfully. The money he earns is illicit, and that unlawful income becomes a barrier that prevents his supplication from being answered—Allah’s refuge is sought.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah is Good and accepts only what is good. Allah has commanded the believers with the same command He gave to the messengers, for He said: ‘O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided for you and give thanks to Allah, if it is Him that you worship’ (Quran 2:172); and He said: ‘O messengers, eat of the good things and act righteously; I am fully aware of what you do’ (Quran 23:51).” He then mentioned “a man on a long journey, disheveled and dusty, who stretches out his hands toward the sky, crying, ‘My Lord! My Lord!’ Yet his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and he has been nourished with the unlawful—so how can his prayer be answered?”

Thus the Prophet ﷺ declared, “How can his prayer be answered?”—indicating how unlikely it is that Allah will respond to a man who, though disheveled and dusty and pleading “My Lord! My Lord!”, lives on what is forbidden.

Accordingly, when an employee—whose contract explicitly bars him from engaging in commerce—nevertheless goes ahead and does business, every penny he earns from that trade is forbidden, pure suht (illicit gain). Yet he remains unconcerned. To such a person we say: you now have a choice: if you wish to keep your government post