It is a terrifying thing to have Allah Himself as your opponent. In this hadith He names three people against whom He will be the adversary on the Day of Resurrection: one who gives his word in Allah's name and then betrays it, one who sells a free person and consumes the price, and one who hires a worker, takes the work in full, and does not pay his wage.
Where this hadith comes from
This is a hadith qudsi, a sacred saying in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) conveys the very words of Allah, words that are not part of the Qur'an. It is narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra) and recorded by al-Bukhari, and it is graded sahih (authentic). In it Allah names three people, saying, 'I shall be their adversary on the Day of Resurrection.'
Its concern is character and creed: that Allah Himself takes the side of the wronged, becoming the personal opponent of the one who betrays a trust, enslaves the free, or robs a worker of his wage. The lesson is the gravity of the rights of people, not the detailed law of contracts or employment, which is left to the scholars.
The key words
What it means, line by line
Allah names three against whom He Himself will stand. The first 'gave his word by Me, then betrayed it': he made a pledge invoking Allah's name and then broke it. The second 'sold a free person and consumed the price': he enslaved one who was free and devoured the proceeds of that theft of a human being. The third 'hired a worker, took his labour in full, and did not give him his wage': he profited from another's effort and denied him his due.
What binds the three is that each tramples a right Allah guards with special severity, a broken trust, a stolen freedom, an unpaid wage. To have Allah as one's khasm is the most fearful loss imaginable, for there is no opponent above Him and no court beyond His. The first wrong, betraying a pledge made in His name, is exactly what the verse below forbids.
The rights of people are heavy
Notice what these three crimes share: each is a violation of another human being's right, a broken trust, a stolen freedom, an unpaid wage. Allah takes the side of the wronged so completely that He becomes the personal adversary of the wrongdoer. We may think of sin mainly as a private matter between us and Allah, but the rights of people are a category He guards with special severity.
The unpaid worker
The third case is piercingly relevant: a person who takes the full labour of a worker and then withholds his pay. In a world of underpaid, exploited, and ignored labour, this hadith puts Allah squarely on the side of the worker. Pay people what they are owed, on time and in full; honour your contracts; never profit from another's powerlessness. To do otherwise is to pick a fight with the Lord of the worlds.
Carry this with you
Guard the rights of people; Allah Himself defends them.
Allah defends the wronged.
He becomes the personal adversary of the one who violates another's right. Do not be on the other side.
Keep covenants made in His name.
To give your word in Allah's name and betray it is to invite Him as your opponent.
Never exploit the powerless.
Selling a free person, or profiting from another's helplessness, is among the gravest wrongs.
Pay the worker, in full and on time.
To take someone's labour and withhold their wage puts Allah squarely against you.
A du'a to carry
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ قَوَّٰمِينَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ
Kunu qawwamina bil-qisti shuhada'a lillah
Be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves. (An-Nisa 4:135)
A du'a for justice
There is no opponent to fear like Allah, and this hadith names three sure ways to make Him one: break a trust, enslave the free, or rob a worker of his wage. The believer flees from all three.
O Allah, make us just in our dealings and faithful to our word. Let us never wrong a worker, a partner, or the weak, and never make You our adversary. Make us stand firm in justice, as witnesses for You. Ameen.
The hadith qudsi is from sunnah.com: 'Three whose adversary I shall be on the Day of Resurrection...' narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra), recorded by al-Bukhari, graded sahih. The supporting Qur'an (4:135) is in Uthmani script verified via quran.ai (ar-uthmani-minimal) with the Saheeh International translation. Per the editorial policy this stays with the character lesson (justice and the rights of people), not the detailed fiqh of contracts. FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW before publication.