All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

An employee is entrusted by the entity they work for, and the nature of this trust requires that they do not benefit personally in any way other than what was agreed upon with the employer, such as their salary or other compensation. This is based on the verse from the Qur'an {which means}: "O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence." [Al-Anfal: 27]. Imam Al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Trust encompasses all duties of religion, according to the correct opinion, which is the view of the majority" [Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 14/P. 253].

This being the case, when an employee transports people for personal benefit and charges them a fare, while assigned to work outside the company and during official working hours, it can be classified into two scenarios:

First scenario: Using company vehicle. As a general rule, it is not permissible to use the company vehicle except in accordance with the company's regulations. Employees must adhere to these regulations, as they are entrusted with the work they are assigned and with the resources provided by their employer. The employer owns the money, tools, and machinery used for work, and employees may not use them for anything other than work or work-related activities unless with an explicit permission from the employer. Any earnings from unauthorized use are considered ill-gotten gains and must be returned to the employer. If it is impossible to return the money, it should be donated to charity, as the path to purifying ill-gotten gains is through charity.

Second scenario: Using personal vehicle, during official work hours, to transport people for a fare. When using a personal vehicle for work purposes, employees must adhere to the company's regulations regarding the use of personal transportation. Additionally, they must not use company work hours for personal activities. If an employee uses work hours for personal activities, they must calculate the income earned during those work hours from their total salary and donate it to charity. This is because, even though they did not use the company vehicle, they used company work time for personal gain, which is prohibited. And Allah the Almighty knows best.