No Side Job for the Employees

Lately, a rule was made which forbade the civil servant to start an entrepreneurship or a business; which, in turn, bothered the mind of some civil servants. Moreover if they are of lower income civil servant and heavily burdened with their family needs.

Such rule has actually been long ceased, but the discourse around it emerged back recently as a respond towards the extermination of corruption and the lack of working productivity among the civil servants.

What then, according to the law of sharia, the status of income of civil servant who has an entrepreneurship? Is it lawful or unlawful? Below is the complete explanation of these questions.

Basically, a civil servant or private employe is allowed to have a side job beside his main job. The employer is not rightful to prevent his employee to have a side job, as long as the employee still work and carry out his main task properly.

Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Jibrin once was asked, “Is it alright for an employee to have a side job, which he runs on holiday or at night time after he accomplished his main task?”

He replied, “A servant or employee may have a side job which he run at night, or evening, or on holiday, with a requirement that the side job shouldn’t tire him so hence he is unable to work properly or the side job caused him to be bored with his main job thus his productivity decline. As long as there are no such things, it is alright for an employee to work and his wage from the job is lawful for him. The employer shouldn’t prohibit his employee to have a side job.

Likewise the civil servant; he shouldn’t be prohibited to have a side job which he run at home, in a field he mastered, and the wage he earned from that side job is his right because he obtained it with his struggles.” (Fatwa of Scholars of The Holy City. Page: 377. Published by Dar Ibn al Haitsam, Egypt).

Author: ustadz Aris Munandar, M.Pi.
Article of www.syaria.com