Etiquette of Lawful Earnings & Pure Wealth (Al-Kasb al-Halal) in the Quran & Sunnah

1. Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly.

Allah says:

وَلَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا۟ بِهَآ إِلَى ٱلْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا۟ فَرِيقًا مِّنْ أَمْوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Do not eat up each other’s property by false means, nor approach with it the authorities to eat up a portion of the property of the people sinfully, while you know (that you are unjust in doing so). (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:188)

The verse forbids eating wealth by false means and dragging it before judges to swallow a portion of people’s property in sin, “while you know.” Lawful trade by mutual consent is the only open door.

2. Wealth only by trade with mutual goodwill.

Allah says:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَـٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٍ مِّنكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا

O you who believe, do not devour each other’s property by false means, unless it is trade conducted with your mutual consent. Do not kill one another. Indeed, Allah has been Very-Merciful to you. (Surah An-Nisa 4:29)

The same command is given to the believers as a community: your properties circulate among you by trade you all consent to — not by the tricks that wear trade’s clothing.

1. Allah is Pure (Tayyib) and accepts only what is pure.

“O people, Allah is Good (Pure) and He therefore accepts only that which is good (pure). And Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the Messengers: ‘O Messengers, eat of the good things and do righteous deeds…’ and ‘O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided you.’”

Lesson: The halal morsel is not a technicality of slaughter alone; the whole earning that bought it is presented with it.

2. The dusty traveller whose food, drink and clothing are haram.

“Then he mentioned the man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty, stretching his hands to the sky: ‘O Lord! O Lord!’ — while his food is haram, his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and he is nourished with haram. So how can he be answered?”

Lesson: The longest journeys of dua are blocked by the shortest question: from where did this morsel come?

3. The curse upon the briber and the bribed.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it.”

Lesson: Bribery is not a fee for speed; both hands in the exchange — the giving and the taking — stand under one curse.

4. Forbidden prices: the dog, the prostitute’s fee, the soothsayer’s payment.

Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansari reported: “Allah’s Messenger ﷺ forbade taking the price of a dog, the money earned by a prostitute, and the payment made to a soothsayer.”

Lesson: Some coins are marked by what bought them; the market of Islam has goods whose price is itself haram.