Work and livelihood

You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.

So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”

You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”

The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.

To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;

For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Have you ever seen a beast or a bird that has a trade? And yet they earn their livelihood without anguish. But all these were created only to serve me, and I, a human being, was created to serve the One Who formed me. Is it not right that I should earn my livelihood without anguish? But I, i.e., humanity, have committed evil actions and have lost my livelihood. This is why people must work to earn a living.

The Gemara raises a difficulty: If so, the phrase: Sustained from charity, is imprecise, as it indicates that he is provided only with enough for his basic needs. It should have said: He earns a living from charity. Rather, must one not conclude from his statement that Rabbi Yoḥanan maintains that the master can say to his slave: Work for me but I will not sustain you? The Gemara comments: Indeed, conclude from his statement that this is the case.

The Gemara rejects this claim: This is not a conclusive proof, as with what are we dealing here, in the mishna? We are dealing with a case where he said to the slave: Spend your earnings to sustain yourself. In other words, I will not provide for you; rather, you must work and earn money for your sustenance on your own. However, this does not mean that a master can force his slave to work for him without providing him with sustenance.

And have appointed the day for livelihood

And make denial thereof your livelihood

And as for those who believe and do good works, He will pay them their wages in full. Allah loveth not wrong-doers

Narrated ʿAbdullah bin ʿUmar bin Al-Khattab: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Your example and the example of Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed some laborers to whom he said, 'Who will work for me up to midday for one Qirat each?' The Jews carried out the work for one Qirat each; and then the Christians carried out the work up to the ʿAsr prayer for one Qirat each; and now you Muslims are working from the ʿAsr prayer up to sunset for two Qirats each. The Jews and Christians got angry and said, 'We work more and are paid less.' The employer (Allah) asked them, 'Have I usurped some of your right?' They replied in the negative. He said, 'That is My Blessing, I bestow upon whomever I wish Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah said, 'I will be an opponent to three types of people on the Day of Resurrection: -1. One who makes a covenant in My Name, but proves treacherous; -2. One who sells a free person and eats his price; and -3. One who employs a laborer and takes full work from him but does not pay him for his lab our Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night for specific wages. They worked till midday and then said, 'We do not need your money which you have fixed for us and let whatever we have done be annulled.' The man said to them, 'Don't quit the work, but complete the rest of it and take your full wages.' But they refused and went away. The man employed another batch after them and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed for the first batch.' So, they worked till the time of ʿAsr prayer. Then they said, "Let what we have done be annulled and keep the wages you have promised us for yourself.' The man said to them, 'Complete the rest of the work, as only a little of the day remains,' but they refused. Thereafter he employed another batch to work for the rest of the day and they worked for the rest of the day till the sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches. So, that was the example of those people (Muslims) and the example of this light (guidance) which they have accepted willingly

Narrated Abu Musa: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The example of Muslims, Jews and Christians is like the example of a man who employed laborers to work for him from morning till night. They worked till midday and they said, 'We are not in need of your reward.' So the man employed another batch and said to them, 'Complete the rest of the day and yours will be the wages I had fixed (for the first batch). They worked until the time of the ʿAsr prayer and said, 'Whatever we have done is for you.' He employed another batch. They worked for the rest of the day till sunset, and they received the wages of the two former batches

Narrated Ibn ʿUmar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Your example and the example of the people of the two Scriptures (i.e. Jews and Christians) is like the example of a man who employed some laborers and asked them, 'Who will work for me from morning till midday for one Qirat?' The Jews accepted and carried out the work. He then asked, Who will work for me from midday up to the ʿAsr prayer for one Qirat?' The Christians accepted and fulfilled the work. He then said, 'Who will work for me from the ʿAsr till sunset for two Qirats?' You, Muslims have accepted the offer. The Jews and the Christians got angry and said, 'Why should we work more and get lesser wages?' (Allah) said, 'Have I withheld part of your right?' They replied in the negative. He said, 'It is My Blessing, I bestow upon whomever I wish

This inner severance from the affliction of misery is spirituality. It should be practiced with determination and with a heart that refuses to be depressed.

When a person attains Pure Reason, they renounce in this world the results of both good and evil. Cling to Right Action. Spirituality is the true art of living.

But you have only the right to work, but none to the fruit of it. Let not the fruit of your action be your motive; nor be you enamored of inaction.

If one should desire to live in this world a hundred years, one should live performing Karma (righteous deeds). Thus thou mayest live; there is no other way. By doing this, Karma (the fruits of thy actions) will not defile thee.

The Brahman once won a victory for the Devas. Through that victory of the Brahman, the Devas became elated. They thought, "This victory is ours. This glory is ours."

Yama said: The good is one thing and the pleasant another. These two, having different ends, bind a man. It is well with him who chooses the good. He who chooses the pleasant misses the true end.

If a mendicant is poor in offerings, the well-to-do ought not look down on them. For the gods indeed praise them, who are tireless and pure of livelihood.

If one is to do what should be done, one should staunchly strive. For the life gone forth when laxly led just stirs up dust all the more. A bad deed is better left undone, for it will plague you later on. A good deed is better done, one that does not plague you.

Mix with spiritual friends, who are tireless and pure of livelihood. Share what you have with others, being skillful in your conduct. And when you’re full of joy, you’ll make an end to suffering.

right livelihood …

There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes predicting whether there will be plenty of rain or drought; plenty to eat or famine; an abundant harvest or a bad harvest; security or peril; sickness or health. It also includes such occupations as arithmetic, accounting, calculating, poetry, and cosmology. They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics.

And what is wrong livelihood? Fawning, flattery, hinting, and belittling, and using material things to chase after other material things. This is wrong livelihood. And what is right livelihood? Right livelihood is twofold, I say. There is right livelihood that is accompanied by defilements, partakes of good deeds, and ripens in attachments. And there is right livelihood that is noble, undefiled, transcendent, a factor of the path.

Working for someone else, O my dear, is like forsaking the bride, and going to foreign countries. In duality, no one has ever found peace, O my dear; you are greedy for corruption and greed. Greedy for corruption and greed, and deluded by doubt, how can anyone find peace? Working for strangers is very painful; doing so, one sells himself and loses his faith in the Dharma. Bound by Maya, the mind is not stable. Each and every moment, it suffers in pain. O Nanak, the pain of Maya is taken away by focusing one's consciousness on the Word of the Guru's Shabad. ||3||

Everyday, people carry on their business, with all sorts of devices to earn interest, for the sake of Maya. If they earn a profit, they are pleased, but their hearts are broken by losses. One who is worthy, becomes a partner with the Guru, and finds a lasting peace forever. ||3||

The merchants and the traders have come; their profits are pre-ordained. Those who practice Truth reap the profits, abiding in the Will of God. With the Merchandise of Truth, they meet the Guru, who does not have a trace of greed. ||6|| As Gurmukh, they are weighed and measured, in the balance and the scales of Truth. The enticements of hope and desire are quieted by the Guru, whose Word is True. He Himself weighs with the scale; perfect is the weighing of the Perfect One. ||7||

When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the warhorses breed in the border lands. There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one’s lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.

Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth cannot make such (spasmodic) actings last long, how much less can man! Therefore when one is making the Tao his business, those who are also pursuing it, agree with him in it, and those who are making the manifestation of its course their object agree with him in that; while even those who are failing in both these things agree with him where they fail. Hence, those with whom he agrees as to the Tao have the happiness of attaining to it; those with whom he agrees as to its manifestation have the happiness of attaining to it; and those with whom he agrees in their failure have also the happiness of attaining (to the Tao). (But) when there is not faith sufficient (on his part), a want of faith (in him) ensues (on the part of the others).

Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. Those who are skilled (in the Tao) do not dispute (about it); the disputatious are not skilled in it. Those who know (the Tao) are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do not know it. The sage does not accumulate (for himself). The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own; the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself. With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not; with all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive.