Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 142
142 ,=E" j,$h “Indigence is my pride. ” That is, they should realise that the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had collected no worldly goods for himself. Furthermore, being himself poor, he was of them and with them, and that his pride lay in his poverty. At the same time, in this Hadith, the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) has, by saying the words, “Before the sweat is dry,” given a subtle hint that the labourer who is honest in the eyes of God is the one who sweats in his work and does not work for show, nor neglect it in the absence of the employer, nor is dishonest. If therefore, on the one hand, it is the duty of the employer to make payment of his wages to the worker in full measure and without delay, whilst respecting his rights, it is at the same time, the duty of the worker to prove his honesty and sense of duty by sweating hard in his work. This is the middle course which alone can serve to establish true peace between the employer and the employee, the master and the servant, on a firm foundation.