Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterPermissibility of working the second or third shifts
Question
Are there any prohibitions against working late for second (4pm-11pm) or third (11pm-6am) work?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
We do not know any religious obstacle that prohibits working late at night if the work is permissible, unless working late causes missing an obligation like the prayer, as in such a case it is forbidden. However, in general, most of the people who work late at night sleep during the day and this leads them to miss the prayers, which is one of the great major sins. Allaah says (which means): {Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up the prayers to be lost, either (by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their fixed times) and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell.}[Quran 19:59].
Ibn 'Abbaas 
interpreted the expression 'will be thrown in Hell' as a deep well in Hellfire whose taste is very bad.
Allaah further says (which means): {So woe unto those performers of prayers (hypocrites), those who delay their prayer from their stated fixed times}[Quran 107:4-5].
If what is meant from the question is working from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. then a continuous work during all this period leads in general to failing to perform the prayers at their prescribed fixed time during the day. In addition to this, working for these long hours, for two shifts, makes a person exhausted and feels a hardship in performing acts of worship and fulfilling obligations. The Prophet 
said: "O people! Fear Allaah and seek your sustenance in a good and permissible way without any extremely exhaustive work, greediness and craving after it [avoid rushing into forbidden things]. Know that no soul would die until it has consumed all its provision, even if it (i.e. provision) is delayed, so fear Allaah, and seek it in a good and permissible way. Take only what is lawful and shun that which is forbidden." [Ibn Maajah]
To conclude, there is no harm in doing this type of work if it is permissible in itself and does not result in abandoning an obligation like the prayer, otherwise it is forbidden.
Allaah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
