Skilled trades, blue-collar jobs, manual labor. Whether construction or beyond. Chances are if you grew up in a Muslim household in the west particularly a south Asian household Indian or Pakistani for instance. These were all professions/career paths/keywords that were looked down upon and had a negative connotation attached to them. Even if your parents themselves were in these very same fields. The typical mindset our immigrant parents had was for us to study at a well-renowned university name be ivy league post-secondary institution. For us to obtain our undergraduate, followed by our postgraduate perhaps even a Ph.D., and get a white collar job with a major corporation or institution. The two main professions that carried the most respect and aspirations it in their eyes were doctors and lawyers. Beyond that perhaps a career in IT. as a software engineer. Fiancee as an accountant. Essentially professions in the white collar, corporate office environment. Our parents wanted the best for us and still do of course however is this really the right sentiment to have?
Islamic point of view
As with many things I feel it is important to differentiate culture or societal norms/outlooks with religion. Let’s ask ourselves what Islam says about such work. Work requiring some sort of physical exertion or labor of sorts as many of these professions fall under.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one's own hands. The Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah, David used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor."
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، أَخْبَرَنَا عِيسَى، عَنْ ثَوْرٍ، عَنْ خَالِدِ بْنِ مَعْدَانَ، عَنِ الْمِقْدَامِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَا أَكَلَ أَحَدٌ طَعَامًا قَطُّ خَيْرًا مِنْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ مِنْ عَمَلِ يَدِهِ، وَإِنَّ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ دَاوُدَ ـ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ ـ كَانَ يَأْكُلُ مِنْ عَمَلِ يَدِهِ ".
Sahih al-Bukhari 2072
This Hadith goes to show the virtue and Barakah of such blue-collar professions.
Any profession period that requires effort and is halal in nature is something praiseworthy and if we have the correct intention can be an act of worship in itself.
Other factors to consider
The general feeling and satisfaction, the release of endorphins we get after physically exerting ourselves are not to be remised either. Supposed to just sitting on a desk in a cubicle staring at a computer all day. As men, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has put in us an innate need to work and struggle both physically and mentally it is built into our very fitra. In the past we were required to go outdoors and struggle to fulfill even the most basic needs, to survive. Most if not all professions were labor intensive. Something that is lost in the modern world where we have adopted a sedentary lifestyle surrounded by the comforts of the modern world especially those of us in the west.
A change in environments and scenery is something these professions all often provide. In most skilled trade professions you are required to work at different sites or at the very least they do not involve sitting at your desk all day. For many people, this tends to be a much more fulfilling lifestyle. Though some may prefer the comforts of an air-conditioned office building workplace. Studies also show that prolonged sitting and inactivity have a direct correlation to the increased risk of developing cancer and heart disease among other ailments.
Another point to consider is the potential fitnah the opposing industries may cause you to face. Going to a client's house or office site as a plumber either alone which is the most common occurrence or as a part of a pair. Is likely to offer much less fitnah than working in a corporate office environment for instance. A typical day as a plumber involves showing up at the client's site. Going to the boiler room or where the pipping is perhaps. From there you assess the situation, apply repairs if need be, and leave. Where very little unnecessary chatter or free mixing is involved. At least the role in itself is guaranteed to not require doing something compromising to the deen. As a corporate job might be in the very job description itself i.e. someone working in finance in a corporate setting will likely be dealing with Riba/interest either directly or indirectly.
Finances
Now coming to the part where most people will be focusing on the finances. What are the financial prospects of these professions? The answer as with white collar jobs depends on the field, role, and experience. However, generally speaking, there are many jobs and fields that pay more than most jobs that require a university education and are white-collar in nature. The investment one is required is often far less than pursuing an academic degree or a diploma which requires undertaking 10s of thousands of dollars perhaps even 6 figures of Riba-based loans for most people. Whether you are learning your trade from a program at a community college, trade school, or perhaps best of all through an apprenticeship which is often free and may even offer an income while you are still learning. The financial investment will be far far less for most trades.
The average salary in Canada as of 2022 is $54,630 per year or $1050 per week (Gross income / before tax). Let's take a look at a few trades below and their financial prospects and compare them to some white-collar jobs. For consistency, we chose to look at Canadian statistics but the US is fairly comparable in numbers,
Statistics are taken from https://ca.talent.com/salary
Skilled trades
Plumber:
Entry level positions - $49,372
Average salary - $58,500
High end - $74,096
Electrician:
Entry level positions - $50,766
Average salary - $58,538
High end - $70,722
White collar
Teacher:
Entry level positions - $35,100
Average salary - $42,916
High end - $67,201
Accountant:
Entry level positions - $46,537
Average salary - $56,562
High end - $75,602
Closing remarks
Considering the stigma surrounding the first two roles in a lot of our communities compared to the relative goodwill the later two have (ignorantly so of course). One would assume the salaries would be far less but in all 3 categories, both skilled trades have a higher income potential than both the aforementioned white-collar ones. These trades also easily offer the potential to be self-employed or even have your own business with very low start-up costs once qualified which to be fair so does the profession of being an accountant, however, this is not the precedent that is often the case in similar trades. The income potential for these trades then shoots up considerably when being self-employed or having your own business, The benefits of being a business owner and Barakah in it will be a topic for a future article inshallah.
This article was of course from my own perspective and a lot of the arguments might be circumstantial. The point however was not to pit one field against the other or say either is better than the last. Nor was it to generalize white-collar jobs against skilled trades.
The point was to show that skilled trades and as I have mentioned many times in this article as it is a very good trade. Plumbing for instance but beyond that most skilled trades are a very valid and viable career choice. Some may even have much more benefits than the alternatives, especially for a Muslim living in the west as I highlighted above.
Goes without saying however one should explore all career paths themselves and decide what is best for them their individual circumstances and their goals.
JazakAllahu Khairan,
R.M.Z.A
Dua for settling a debt
Allāhummak-finī biḥalālika `an ḥarāmik,
wa 'aghninī bi faḍlika `amman siwāk.
O Allah, suffice me with what You have allowed instead of what You have forbidden,
and make me independent of all others besides You.
اللّهُـمَّ اكْفِـني بِحَلالِـكَ عَنْ حَـرامِـك،
وَأَغْنِـني بِفَضْـلِكِ عَمَّـنْ سِـواك
At-Tirmidhi 5/560. Al-Albani, Sahih At-Tirmidhi 3/180.
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh we begin in the name of Allah Subhanahu Wa Allahta'ala and by sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and his companions. Please allow me a moment of your time as I give a brief introduction to what this platform is and what we wish to achieve.
What is Barakah Jobs?
Barakah Jobs is a global job board platform where users both employees and job seekers alike can conveniently post and find Shariah-compliant or halal jobs in other words. The platform will be released in the form of a website optimized for both desktop and mobile including all the popular browsers such as chrome, edge e.t.c. We are also looking to revise our android app and will begin development on an ios app both of which will be released very soon as we grow.
The importance of seeking Halal Rizq
Whether it be in the western world or even Muslim majority countries we have come to find that earning a living in these times or at least one devoid of haram and or compromising the deen has become extremely difficult. Not just because of economic and circumstantial factors such as the pandemic, recession, inflation, lockdowns, and so forth but also due to the reality of the society we live in.
As the world becomes more and more secular we find that it is becoming increasingly harder to practice your faith and live life as we were instructed to by following Islam using the Quran and Sunnah with the understanding of the Salaf and in particular the companions collectively as a complete guide for our lives. We find that something that is so great a part of our lives as work or even finding work in the first place becomes very difficult to do so without compromising at least some part of our religion or in a lot of cases most of it in exchange.
Anas ibn Malik (R.A) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), said, "A time of patience will come to people in which adhering to one's religion is like grasping a hot coal." Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2260 Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Sheikh Al- Albani (Rahimullah). That time seems to have come or is near us Allah knows best, however, we need to realize that Allah is Al Razaq (the provider, the sustainer) he has power over all things. Whereas if we seek to make our living in a halal way Allah will surely make a way out for us. So many of us work in jobs that due to a combination of factors such as the environment we work in at our job, for instance, make our work impermissible or on the contrary our job in itself might just be blatantly haram / impermissible in the first place. As in we may be dealing with for example Riba/interest. Do we not realize that the money we make from such an occupation will do us no good? Did we forget that Allah Subhanahu Wa Allahta'ala said (Surah Al-Baqarah 278-279) that dealing in riba is waging in war against him ? On the other hand if one makes the intention to seek Halal Rizq (sustenance) that is pleasing to Allah and earns his living from halal means then his/her work becomes an act of worship which the individual is rewarded for. Even if we end up leaving a job that pays more but is not permissible for one that pays less but is done through means that are halal we find that we are content with it because Allah puts barakah in it. Which Rizq obtained through the wrong means simply does not. Allah Subhanahu Wa Allahta'ala tells us that when we leave something for the sake of Allah he replaces it with something better. As is apparent he will open doors for you that you never could have imagined in the process.
What do we wish to achieve? / Our mission statement
We hope InshAllah with the blessing of Allah that we can be a small part of the solution whilst being a successful and profitable business. One that we hope can benefit the ummah and society whilst following the very same principles both collectively as a company and as individuals we are promoting without compromising anything in return in this great deen of ours. This is of the utmost importance to us and me.
So please post and apply to jobs, share us with your friends and families, and read our terms and conditions before using and kindly adhere to them so we can ensure the sanctity of this site's contents. If you are an employer or company contact us to advertise your product, business, or service, or for a featured job listing / to be a featured company.
We look forward to further developing this site so we can work together and achieve our goal of both encouraging and allowing users to conveniently post and find Shariah-compliant or in other words Halal Jobs.
No more compromises bring Barakah to your job today.
JazakAllahu Khairan,
R.M.Z.A - Founder/Director/CEO of Barakah Jobs
