Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.
In general, tips are halal for employees to take--there is nothing about them that would go against Shariah principles.
However, one should not be avid for tips in a manner that would be contrary to propriety ordignified conduct, as one of the central virtues of Islam is dignified restrain (`iffa). This restraint is something the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) praised and taught us to ask Allah for in a number of beautiful supplications, including:
"O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, dignified restraint, and freedom from need."
(Allahumma innee as'aluka'l huda, wa't tuqa, wa'l `afaafa, wa'l ghina)
5
رواه مسلم والترمذي وابن ماجه عن ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه
[Related by Muslim, on the authority of Ibn Mas`ud (Allah be pleased with him)]
Giving tips
The one giving a tip would be rewarded for appreciating the service of others. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said told us that it is from thankfulness to Allah to be thankful to people.
And when it is customary to give tips for particular services, then it would be proper to follow such customs--within reasonable limits, and as long as there is nothing obviously reprehensible or blameworthy in such a custom (such as undue expectations). This is because of what Ibn Abidin mentions in his work `Uqud Rasm al-Mufti:
Customs are of consideration in the Shariah,
Which is why rulings may revolve around them.
And Allah alone gives success.
Faraz Rabbani
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