This letter raises one of the real problems which affect many Muslim countries. Inflation has grossly aggravated the economic difficulties prevailing in several countries, particularly where it continues to rise unchecked, and wages do not rise in similar proportion. A head of the family, who has been earning enough to ensure a decent standard of living for his family a few years ago, has helplessly watched his income dwindle in real terms to the extent that he is unable to meet the basic needs of his wife and children. His wife, who has been fulfilling the most important role of looking after their children, has gradually come to the conclusion that she must go out to work in order to add some extra income. This state of affairs plays havoc with the lives of people. It does not affect a single family or a small section of society; it affects all. Most importantly, it affects the poor who soon find themselves in a desperate situation, unable to earn enough to feed their children.

My reader asks whether it is preferable that women should economize as hard as they can rather than go out to work. In many cases the choice does not exist. First of all we are assuming that employment is available for women who want to work and they can have it if they want it. We are also assuming that most, if not all, women are in situations that allow them to work. I realize that this does not apply in many cases. Some women cannot find work even if they most eagerly want it, while others cannot go out to work because they have to look after their young children. When a woman is able to work, and she has an offer of employment, should she consider the alternative of economizing hard? I say that the alternative may not exist. Inflation can soon deny her that choice. She realizes that unless she goes out to work, her family will sink further and further down the social ladder. For many people, this is not easy to accept if it can be prevented at all.

The ideal solution is that which provides a well considered economic policy which tries to make use of all resources of the country and make use of the talents and skills of all people in society as to increase the productivity of the country and make basic commodities available in abundance. This is by no means an idealistic solution. It is a real one, although governments are rarely willing to consider it, because it takes a great deal of effort to implement. Moreover, where corruption exists, it is sure to block it. The point is that most of the economic problems of the world are the result of mal-distribution of wealth at the local, national and international levels. In those societies where inflation has more or less ruined the economy of the country, you will still find that a small minority of people are enjoying the benefits of the greater share of the country's wealth. Their wealth increases more and more and they get fatter and fatter because they can easily exploit the situation to their own interest, in total disregard to the interest of the community. Moreover, powerful nations, like American and Western European nations, are not willing to provide more than derisory aid, while they watch the gap between themselves and the rest of the world continue to increase.

The Islamic system is geared to reduce this mal-distribution of wealth wherever it exists. When Islam is the way of life in a country, the community will soon benefit by its implementation in ensuring that there will be no section of society which endures a standard of living below the line of subsistence. If there is such a section in a particular society, then that society does not implement Islam properly. When Islam has been implemented for a longer period, it ensures a decent standard of living for all. When Islam is implemented over a wide area, i.e. in a number of countries, its benefits will be apparent to all. If all humanity were to follow the Islamic way of life, it will enjoy a high standard of living and poverty will be non-existent. That is because Islam ensures fair distribution of wealth.

However, in the present world, we have real problems like the one our reader has raised. Women must go out to work in order to help with the finances of the family and they endure social pressures which force them to abandon certain Islamic practices. The appearances of certain working women is perhaps one of the most immediate problems working women have to face. It is important to realize that social pressure can be very hard on women. When a woman is desperate to work in order to help her family and when she is told that she has to work in uniform or appear in a certain way which does not observe Islamic standards, she finds herself in an unenviable situation.

The pressures may be too hard. Once again, I say that it is the responsibility of the governments to ensure that those women of their population who want to work can do so observing Islamic values. Many governments do not do so. The responsibility remains that of the individual.

It is not possible for me or any human being to tell a woman in such a situation that she is allowed to forego her Islamic dress. No human being can change a requirement made by Islam because requirements have the authority of Allah. We must state to individuals, men and women, that "no creature may be obeyed in what constitutes disobedience to Allah." Therefore, if the employer of a Muslim woman requires her to dress like a Western woman, she should not obey him. It is indeed wrong for the employer to make such a request. Those women who succumb to the pressure should always seek Allah's forgiveness. I counsel them to maintain their Islamic values and continue to offer their Islamic duties in the same way as good Muslim women throughout the world. Let them remember the Qur'anic verse which tells every Muslim: "Be God fearing as much as you can." This means that when circumstances force a Muslim to be in breach of Islamic standards and values, he should try his best to limit his breach to the narrowest possible area and the shortest possible time. In practical terms, woman [in such a situation] should first of all, try to find alternative work where she can observe Islamic standards without any pressure. Secondly, if she cannot find such alternate employment, she should consider leaving work altogether. However, if she cannot, because she has children to feed and there is no other wage earner in the family, or if she is in similar difficult circumstances, she should declare her objection to being forced to violate Islamic values. Moreover, the fact that she has to dress in a certain fashion at her place of work should not give her a license to carry on with that violation elsewhere. In other words, she should confine the requirements of work to her workplace. If she is obliged to dress in a certain fashion while working, once she finishes her work, she should wear her Islamic dress. She must not carry the violation home or to the rest of her social life.

The answer depends on various variables. What we can say, however, is that if the government concerned is not in an actual state of war with any Muslim country, then the Muslim individual must consider the nature of the job he will be doing. If it is calculated to benefit the people or stop something evil from happening to them, then he may go ahead and do that job. What such a Muslim employee must do is to ensure that his work does not place him in a position where he has to compromise any principle or part of his faith. He must also not do any type of work which helps any anti-Islamic creed or philosophy to strengthen its roots or to spread. On the other hand, if he can make use of his position or his work in order to make Islam come to be reviewed in less hostile light, or if he is able to promote a favorable image of Islam, then he should not hesitate to accept that work. He should indeed balance out the benefits he believes will accrue to Islam or to Muslims as a result of his work against the harm that might result from it, or at least against the benefits which non-Muslims will gain from his work.

It is even more important to consider whether it is permissible for a Muslim to work for a tyrannical government which is clearly hostile to Islam and which rules over a Muslim country. This is a very tricky situation which each individual has to consider on the basis of his circumstance in the light of what he is required to do. Generally speaking, however, we can say that if a person is able to promote something of benefit or stop something evil as a result of his work, then he should not hesitate to accept such employment. A clear example is that of a teacher, regardless of the subject he teaches. A teacher who is committed to the cause of Islam is able to influence his students and help them recognize the importance and benefits of implementing Islam.

Your friend seems to be in confusion about a number of issues. The first thing is that of expecting immediate reward for his good behavior and his attending to his religious duties. Moreover, he wants a reward in a particular form, namely, protection from the scheming of others. Since this man whom he trusted and gave the money to find a job for his father was a bad person, then Allah should have revealed to your friend the nature of that person and what he had been scheming. This is what your friend expects, although neither you nor he has put that idea so clearly. This is unfortunately true of many people. Since they offer their prayers and fast and pay their zakah, they expect full protection against any evil perpetrated by other people and against any harm caused by natural phenomena. This is totally wrong.

Look at the history of the Prophet himself. There never was and there never could be a human being more perfect in behavior than the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, himself. His conduct provides an example for everyone of us to emulate, not only to attain a high standard of perfection but also to earn the pleasure of Allah. Nevertheless, the Prophet himself was subjected to much harm by the non-believers in Makkah. Allah protected him from the non-believers who tried to kill him because Allah wanted him to complete his task of conveying His message. Otherwise, the Prophet suffered much harm at the hands of the non-believers in Makkah, the Jews and the hypocrites in Madinah and others as well. When you consider what the Prophet had suffered, you will find that losing an amount of money, large as it may be, is only a trivial matter.

Your friend should ask himself from a very practical point of view. If Allah were to protect every well-behaved believer against the designs of others, how would the good distinguish themselves from the bad in this life? How will it be known that a particular person is corrupt or harbors ill-intentions? We must not forget that this life is a test for every one of us. We have to make sure that we pass this test successfully. Having provided us with enough guidance to show us the way to follow in order to pass this test and earn His reward in the hereafter, Allah leaves us alone to face this life with all its problems and difficulties.

The loss of money as a result of deception by another person is only an aspect of the difficulties that we may encounter. If any of us loses a large amount of money as a result of deception by another person, would that mean that Allah has abandoned us, or that He does not take good care of us?

Let us remember here that if we follow the guidance Allah has provided for us through His messenger, we only benefit ourselves. Allah does not benefit by our worship. Nor our disobedience would harm Him in any way. He says in a Hadith-e-Qudsi: "My servants, you will not attain harming Me as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you, to rise up in one place and make a request to Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, anymore than a needle decreases the sea if it is put into it." (Related by Muslim, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah)

Since our worship does not benefit Allah, why does He make it a duty which we are bound to fulfill? The answer is that our worship benefits us in making us better people. You speak of your friend as a man of exemplary conduct. In your detailed letter it appears very clearly that he is so because he is a good believer and he attends to his Islamic duties. He has made the error of trusting a bad person, but that error may be committed by anyone of us. [It has not been disclosed what necessitated advance payment of a large sum of money for procurement of a job. It is assumed that the deal was not dubious.]

It seems to me that the problem with your friend is not so much the loss of his money, but the possibility that the person who defrauded him can get away with it by simply repenting what he did or going to pilgrimage or doing some good action. This is not so. The sins we may commit are of two types. They are either an aggression against what is due to Allah or an aggression against what is due to other people. When we are resurrected on the day of judgment, everyone of us faces the reckoning. We will have certainly committed numerous offenses against the rights of Allah or the rights of other human beings. What is due to Allah, He may forgive readily if the person concerned has earned his forgiveness through genuine repentance and through good action that he had made subsequently in this life. Thus, a person might have spent 10 or 15 or 30 years without offering a single prayer or fasting a day in Ramadhan. If he has genuinely repented of all that and began to attend to his duties but he died before he could attend properly to his Islamic duties, Allah may forgive him all that he had committed or neglected in the past.

But a person who comes on the day of judgment having done injustice to one person and stolen the property of another and got away with what was due to a third, will not find forgiveness so readily available. Allah will not forgive him those rights of other people simply because he turned to Him in repentance. Allah first asks the people who have claims against that person whether they are willing to forgive him or not. Allah does not write off the claims or the rights of people against any person unless they themselves consent. Everyone of us will be free to state whether he forgives what is owed to him by another person. If your friend states on the day of judgment that he does not forgive his defaulter, Allah will take away the credit of some of the good deeds that person had done in his life and credit them to your friend until he is satisfied.

In other words, if a person cheats or commits injustice against another or backbites him or injures him in any way, he will give him of his good deeds on the day of judgment unless he is satisfied. If that person's good deeds are exhausted and the person who is entitled for compensation is not yet satisfied, then Allah will take away some of the sins he had made and add them to his defrauder or his opponent, until the scales are shown to be right and the aggrieved person receives his full compensation. Needless to say that this is a very tough prospect for anyone who has treated other people unfairly. To lose one's good deeds when one is in need of every little credit he can have is not the position anyone of us would wish to face. Therefore, when a person repents of his past deeds, he should try to identify anyone whom he had wronged and try to make amends. If he had got away with some money owed to him, he should return that.

It may happen that a person has genuinely repented and that he is unable to return to other people the rights he owes to them. Allah may wish to forgive him, but Allah does not abandon what is due to other people he had wronged. On the day of judgment, Allah takes over compensating those people for the wrong they had suffered. Suppose that Allah wants to forgive the person who had wronged your friend. On the day of judgment, Allah will ask your friend to forgive him and He will credit your friend with as much reward as he wishes until he is fully satisfied. Therefore, the money he has lost in this world will be translated into enhancing his position on the day of judgment. Why should any of us be so aggrieved at what someone else has done to him when he faces this prospect of absolute justice on the day of judgment? If he neglects his Islamic duties or changes his good behavior, he is only adding a new injury to himself and he is the only loser.