Is a craftsman entitled to wages for labor performed without a formal contract or specified compensation?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Leasing

Book 25 · Issue 4 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a person hands over clothing to a tailor or laundryman (Qassar) to sew or clean without a contract, condition, or specified compensation, yet the craftsman is established in that trade and performs the work, they are entitled to the customary wage. The prevailing custom serves as the statement itself, akin to currency, or entering a bathhouse or sitting with a boatman. The circumstances imply compensation.

Supporting text

If the craftsman is not established in that trade, they receive no compensation unless there is a contract, a condition for payment, or a customary valuation, otherwise it is deemed a gratuitous act or work done without the owner's permission.