Is it Permissible to Write Down More Hours on the Timesheet Even if One Did Not Work?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I work on a construction site in Germany. I am present the full number of hours. We work in different buildings. We have to write time sheets. Sometimes we are there for 6 hours, but the foreman tells us to write down 8 hours. When I asked my supervisor about it, he told me that no one was being robbed and that the hours were agreed upon with the client. By writing down more hours on the construction site, the preparatory work of my supervisor and my boss is paid. I had two moments. I felt very bad, so I decided to quit my job. After that, though, I felt very good again. The second time I read about halal and haram in a book and as an example of haram-earned money, I read about the writing of false time sheets. I hope you can help me.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

What you did was correct by writing the hours you worked until. Generally, we should fulfill our contractual hours and contract terms. This is indicated by the Quran when it instructs, “O you who believe, fulfill your contracts.” [Quran, 5:1]

However, if there is general practice of a given employer or company allowing employers a degree of flexibility when it comes to doing the hours, there would be no problem in availing oneself of this. The employee should be confident that this is, in fact, the accepted culture of the company he/she works for and not merely him/her taking advantage of an employer’s unawareness or being remiss in the duties contractually and customarily expected of one.

Based on this, a key principle of Islamic commercial law is that transactions and contracts are based on mutual consent (taradi).

[Al-Majalla al-Ahkam al-Adaliyya]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related Answers

• Do I Have to Be Very Strict in Completing the Hours Expected at Work? – SeekersGuidance
• Wasting Time at Work and Personal Use of Its Resources – SeekersGuidance
• Provision and Work: A Reader – SeekersGuidance

Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.