Tafseer: Whom do you hire for work?

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

Allaah تعالى mentions about one of the sisters whom Moosaa عليه السلام had helped:

﴿قَالَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا يا أَبَتِ اسْتَـْجِرْهُ إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَـْجَرْتَ الْقَوِىُّ الأَمِينُ﴾

{And said one of them (the two women): “O my father! Hire him! Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy.”} [Surah al-Qasas (28): 26]

Tafseer al-Muyassar (by prominent scholars):

One of the two women said to her father: O my father! Hire him so that he may tend your cattle for you. The best person to be hired for shepherding is the one who is strong - capable of protecting your cattle, the trustworthy – from whom you do not fear any betrayal in what you trusted him with.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer:

﴿قَالَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا يا أَبَتِ اسْتَـْجِرْهُ إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَـْجَرْتَ الْقَوِىُّ الأَمِينُ﴾

{And said one of them: “O my father! Hire him! Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy.”} One of the two daughters of the man said this, and it was said that she was the one who had walked behind Moosaa عليه السلام. She said to her father:

﴿يا أَبَتِ اسْتَـْجِرْهُ﴾

{O my father! Hire him!} as a shepherd to look after the sheep.

`Umar, Ibn `Abbaas, Shurayh Al-Qaadhi, Abu Maalik, Qataadah, Muhammad bin Is-haaq and others said: “When she said:

﴿إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَـْجَرْتَ الْقَوِىُّ الأَمِينُ﴾

{Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy.} Her father said to her: ‘What do you know about that?’ She said to him: ‘He lifted a rock which could only be lifted by ten men, and when I came back with him, I walked ahead of him, but he said to me, walk behind me, and if I get confused about the route, throw a pebble so that I will know which way to go.’”

`Abdullaah (Ibn Mas`ood) said: “The people who had the most discernment were three: Abu Bakr’s intuition about `Umar; the companion of Yusuf when he said (to his wife):

﴿أَكْرِمِي مَثْوَاهُ﴾

{Make his stay comfortable} [Surah Yusuf (12): 21];

and the companion of Moosaa, when she said:

﴿يا أَبَتِ اسْتَـْجِرْهُ إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَـْجَرْتَ الْقَوِىُّ الأَمِينُ﴾

{O my father! Hire him! Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy}.”

Tafseer Al-Sa`dee:

﴿قَالَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا﴾

{And said one of them} meaning: one of his two daughters.

﴿يا أَبَتِ اسْتَـْجِرْهُ﴾

{O my father! Hire him!} meaning: make him work for you, tending to your sheep and watering them.

﴿إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَـْجَرْتَ الْقَوِىُّ الأَمِينُ﴾

{Verily, the best of men for you to hire is the strong, the trustworthy} meaning: It is more appropriate that precedence should be given to Moosaa for hiring for he has both qualities – strength and trustworthiness; And the best workman should be employed, the one who has both the qualities – strength and ability (and qualification) to carry out the required task, and being honest and not dishonest. And these two qualities should be taken into consideration by everyone who wishes to hire people or for other reasons. The shortcoming is only when both or either one of these characteristics are lacking. But when both of them are present (in a person), then the desired target is achieved and completed.

And she only said that after she witnessed the strength and energy of Moosaa عليه السلام when he watered (their flock) for them. And she witnessed his honesty and his religiosity, for he had mercy upon them and did not ask for any return (for the favor he did for them), even though he was in a state (of need). Rather, he only did that seeking Allaah’s Countenance.

Summary:

The two criteria for hiring a person as mentioned in this Aayah are:

1. Strength: In today’s world, apart from having physical strength, different jobs require different qualities which include having knowledge of a particular field as well as having skills and experience.

2. Honesty: Honesty should be the inner nature of every Muslim, young and old. Parents should make extra efforts in teaching their children to be honest. Honesty is from the fruits of Taqwa. The level of honesty of a person depends upon his religiosity and sincerity. If betrayal is the sign of hypocrisy, then the mark of every Muslim should be honesty. Not every honest person is a Muslim, but every Muslim should be honest.

And Allaah knows best.