Fatwa

Can an employee be paid a salary as well as a percentage of profits

Question

Aww
Respected Mufti Sahib.
Hope and pray you are in good health.
Kindly guide if it’s permissible to give both shares in profit and a fixed salary to a person willing to work for someone.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

In principle, an employee is to be given a stipulated wage without uncertainty.[1] Offering a percentage of profits leads to uncertainty in his wage. The correct procedure is to stipulate a fixed monthly wage and offer a percentage of profits as a bonus upon the completion of the business period. This means that the monthly wage will always be due, and in the event a profit is made at the end of the business venture, the agreed percentage will be given to him as a bonus.

If one wishes to solely offer a percentage of profits, then a Mudharabah may be considered wherein one party is the financier (who does not work) and the other is the worker (but contributes no finance). In this case, the capital is solely provided by the financier, and he bears all risk of loss. The worker will only run the business, and should there be a profit, he will be entitled to the agreed upon percentage. If there is no profit, he will receive nothing for his work.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Bilal Pandor

Concurred by
Mufti Nabeel Valli

Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia

www.daruliftaazambia.com

درر الحكام شرح مجلة الأحكام – ط. العلمية (1/ 444) [1]

( الْمَادَّةُ 464 ) بَدَلُ الْإِجَارَةِ يَكُونُ مَعْلُومًا بِتَعْيِينِ مِقْدَارِهِ إنْ كَانَ نَقْدًا كَثَمَنِ الْمَبِيعِ بَدَلُ الْإِجَارَةِ إنْ كَانَ نَقْدًا يَكُونُ مَعْلُومًا بِالْإِشَارَةِ إذَا كَانَ مَوْجُودًا فِي مَجْلِسِ الْعَقْدِ وَإِلَّا فَعَلَى مُقْتَضَى الْمَادَّةِ ( 239 ) بِبَيَانِ وَصْفِهِ وَتَعْيِينِ مِقْدَارِهِ وَنَوْعِهِ كَثَمَنِ الْمَبِيعِ . الْعِلْمُ بِالْإِشَارَةِ : يَكُونُ بَدَلُ الْإِجَارَةِ مَعْلُومًا إذَا كَانَ مَوْجُودًا فِي مَجْلِسِ الْعَقْدِ بِالْمُشَاهَدَةِ وَالْإِشَارَةِ وَلَا حَاجَةَ إلَى وَصْفِهِ كَبَيَانِ الْقَدْرِ وَالْوَصْفِ . الْعِلْمُ بِبَيَانِ الْمِقْدَارِ وَالْوَصْفِ : يَلْزَمُ بَيَانُ جِنْسِهِ كَقَوْلِك دَنَانِيرَ , وَوَصْفِهِ كَقَوْلِك عُثْمَانِيَّةً أَوْ غَيْرَهَا , وَمِقْدَارِهِ كَقَوْلِك عِشْرِينَ دِينَارًا مَثَلًا