The Arabic word “sa'y” is mentioned in the Quran in the sense of “making efforts”. Literally the word means to work and to try. In Holy Quran the importance of making efforts, working hard is stressed and it is stated that everybody will face only with the return of his own deeds. Allah The Most High explains this point in His holy verses and mentions that a person can find his place in society and in universe only by making efforts. This commandment encourages man to work not only for his personal and family needs but also trying to provide social production and welfare. Working is a task which has many aspects.
None of the religions and economic system did not given place to working as Islam did. In our religion making efforts is a duty for everybody and it is the greatest worship. In the Noble Quran, 360 verses indicate working and deed and 190 holy verses indicate action. The Noble Quran declares that:
“Say: "Shall I seek for (my) Cherisher other than Allah when He is the Cherisher of all things (that exist)?" Every soul draws the meed of its acts on none but itself: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is toward Allah: He will tell you the truth of the things wherein ye disputed.” (1)
Our religion commands us making efforts. The person, who does not work by thinking that Allah gives the sustenance of a born servant, finally goes without food. The ones, who do not protect themselves by saying that Allah protects us, fall into danger. Working brings a person life, sustenance, comfort, happiness, honor and esteem. Laziness drags man always to distress and a person who doesn't work becomes deprived of everything. If we try for fulfilling the requirements and for the management of the duty that we are responsible for, in time we become the expert of it, rise to a high degree. Then our honor increases day by day and we can be at ease in world life. A person should not say to himself about his job: “What is the harm of abandoning of it, does it bring me money, honor and comfort”. A hard working person is dear and respectable both before Allah The Most High and in the eyes of crowd and also he progresses day by day, attains all his aims, he doesn't suffer trouble and difficulty and he lives happily and at ease . On the contrary lazy ones can not attain any desires and aims. As their thought remains weak and they lack of endeavor also they remain ignorant and are insulted among people as a parasite.
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(1) Chapter En'am, 6/164.
Laziness may result in bad moral qualities. Satan plays games on the people who wander without occupation and incites them to immoralities, sins and bad behaviors. Such people sustain their lives always with difficulty and troubles, and they become vindictive and angry towards others. So working is necessary. For a society it is not possible to attain wealth without making efforts but by using the ways like robbery, bribe or despising.
Allah The Most High declares in the Noble Quran that:
“Say: "Shall I seek for (my) Cherisher other than Allah when He is the Cherisher of all things (that exist)?" Every soul draws the meed of its acts on none but itself: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is toward Allah: He will tell you the truth of the things wherein ye disputed.”
From the verse above it is understood that whether it is material or spiritual; gain and loss are always the result of our own deeds. Our pleasures, pains our fall and rise are all the natural consequences of our own acts. We are responsible of them. Allah gives us the things that we work for.
When we consider the beings in nature we see a motion and action everywhere. Moon, sun, skies with stars, earth with the living beings on it are all moving. Wind, seas and soil all join to this action.
Man can not give up action, he has to work. The needs of the body urge him to this direction. Unless the balance is provided in the life of man he can not free himself from going to excess or from deficiency by remaining behind. It is not possible to be healthy by working out of balance.
Islam is the religion of making efforts. Hadrat Prophet-peace be upon him- didn't like lazy people at all. One of the sacred prayers of Our Prophet was that: “O! My Allah I take refuge with you from weakness and laziness”
When Our Master, The Apostle of Allah honored the city of Medina by arriving there he declared the inhabitants of Medina and the people from Mecca who migrated to this city as brothers, he also encouraged them to work in agriculture and do trade in the time other than ritual worship. Hadrat Ali told the people who attempted to blame him when they saw him while drawing water from the well of Jewish people: “It is not a shame to earn with the sweat of one's brow but it is a shame to beg for alms”
Not to make oneself and his family dependent on others and earn their needs by religiously allowed ways is one of the deeds that are accepted as jihad-holy war- in our religion. It is superior to supererogatory worship. Someday Our Master Hadrat Prophet was sitting together with His Companions. In the early morning a young man passed by quickly and went to his shop. The Companions of The Prophet said: What a pity I wish he would occupy himself with religious matters in the early morning. Then The Apostle of Allah-May Allah commend and salute him- “Do not speak like that. If he is going for not to be dependent on others or not to make his parents and children dependent on others, he is on the way of Allah. If he is going for boasting or for demonstration and becoming rich then he is on the way of Satan. In the day of the last judgment the faces of the people who are not dependent on others and earn their life from allowed ways and who do favors to his neighbors and relatives will be like the full moon. Occupy yourselves with trade because the nine tenth of man's sustenance is in doing trade. To the people who open ten doors of begging for alms to them, Allah opens the seventy doors of poverty and their needs and poverty increases.
Hadrat Omar said in one of his sermon: man shouldn't withdraw into his corner and wait lazily by saying “O My Allah gives my sustenance”. As all of you are well aware that the skies do not pour gold and silver.” So each Muslim should work and hang on to the causes of working. Allah and the born servants like hard working people. Our Prophet-peace be upon him- declared: The ones who work and earn from honest ways are the beloved born servants of Allah. Allah The Most High likes the people who work and earn.”
For man there is nothing to rely on other than his own labor. As a result of his working and struggle man attains valued and good things. Those who do not make effort become a burden for others. There is no use in their deeds for anybody. . The people who give them a job are not pleased and curse such people.
The Apostle of Allah declared: “To ask -earn- lawfully brings merit like a holy war fought for The Truth. Nobody has eaten a food sweeter and better than the one which is a result of his own work. Prophet David also was eating from his own labor.”
Someday a few people came near to Our Dear Prophet-peace be upon him- and said: “O! The Apostle of Allah! There is a man that lives with us. He is fasting everyday and he occupies himself with worship and by praising Allah at nights. Our Prophet asked them: “Then who provides his sustenance” They said: “We do this for him” Then The Apostle of Allah said: That means all of you are more virtuous than him”.