Islam has not permitted producing, selling and purchasing of goods, which are prohibited in Islamic law. Alcohol, Drugs.. The Prophet of Islam has said: "When God prohibits a thing He prohibits (giving and receiving) the price of it as well."
Islam has also prohibited any kind of transaction involving uncertainty, as this could lead to quarrel or litigation. The Prophet of Islam has forbidden transaction involving unspecified quantity, acceptance of money for fish in the river or bird in the air as there is element of uncertainty. Similarly the Prophet of Islam has prohibited sale of fruit till they are ripened. However; if the element of uncertainty is very small, the transactions are permissible.
Islam condemns hoarding to make high profit at the cost of public interest (when it is needed or so it will become needed). Islam, however; allows normal trade - buying and selling of goods again and again at a reasonable profit.
Islam prohibits fraud in business dealings. The Prophet has said: "Sell the good and bad separately. He who deceives is not of us" The sin of fraud is greater if the seller supports it by swearing falsely. The Prophet has said, "Swearing produces ready sale but blots out blessing".
Islam prohibits buying or selling what�s legal if we know that it will be used for illegal use: weapons, abortion drugs, drugs for meth making, and so on.
INTEREST: Muslims are not allowed to pay or receive interest. This is a shared value in all religions. The Quran is explicit about it and says, "God- has permitted for you trade and prohibited interest" (2 : 275). The Bible says: �and lend, never despairing; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High� Luke 6:35.
Depositors in an Islamic bank would be treated like shareholders, would receive dividends when the bank makes a profit, and would lose capital when it suffers a loss.
The prohibition or fixed interest flows from Islam's concern for social justice Interest is said to reinforce a tendency for wealth to accumulate in a few hands
So how would you by buy a house for example? A new trend has recently started that work as follows: An Islamic financing company buys the house. The house then is leased back to you for a fixed period of time. You pay the finance group the rent value plus an additional amount for the house purchase. The value or the lease home will be reassessed every year, and the rent will be adjusted accordingly. In Closing
To close let me reassure that it is the responsibility of every Muslim to be ethical in their daily business practices and to act responsibly toward the community in which it serves. To review its business practices and remove from its organization any unlawful activities and devote themselves to productive and lawful activities that benefit mankind.
It is everyone�s responsibility to take a long and serious look at their organization and implement policies and procedures that are conducive.
As a general guide to Muslims in business we should adopt the following overriding principals:
� Love God and his commands more than your trade or business
� Be honest and truthful
� Keep one�s word
� Be humble in how you conduct your life
� Do not deal in fraud
� Do not bribe
� Deal justly
Abdoulrahman Kattih
The Islamic Education And Services Institute
The son of Adam exclaims: ‘My wealth, My wealth!’, but what wealth do you really own except that which you had eaten and finished, or worn and rendered old, or given in charity and sent forth to the hereafter. (Mishkaat)
No one has eaten anything better than that which he has earned with his own two hands. (Bukhari)
BUSINESS IN ISLAM
Since the development of man’s earthly life, business in the form of exchanging or bartering essential commodities has been an integral aspect of the daily lives of human beings.
Their very subsistence depended upon this form of trade and exchange. Almighty Allah, the Creator and Provider of man’s needs, established the principle of interdependence in man’s life. The basic, essential needs of man are food, drink, clothing and shelter. These primary needs, which are crucial to man’s survival on earth as well as to the improvement of his living conditions, are only obtainable through the institution of business and trade.
It is virtually impossible for one person to satisfy all these needs alone by producing them or manufacturing them himself. Man is, therefore, forced to purchase these items of need from the various individuals or companies who produce them, and this results in the practice of buying and selling on a very expansive scale. Islam has, therefore, attached great importance to trade and commerce as the relevant citations appearing further on shall conclusively indicate.
Had there been no means of buying items essential to one’s existence, people would then have been compelled out of desperation to acquire these through force and violence, thus leading to murder and bloodshed. In this manner the entire world order as set up by Almighty Allah would have been severely disrupted.
Establishing a system of trade is one thing, ensuring that it runs smoothly and efficiently is another. Over the passing of time man’s needs increased tremendously. This meant an escalation in the volume and rate of business. Initially man concentrated on needs only. Then came the wants or secondary needs.
As the means of acquiring needs and wants became more simplified and convenient, man began yearning for luxuries and comforts. Moreover, as mankind produced and reproduced, populations increased rapidly. All this meant more needs, higher standards of living, and, needless to say, greatly increased business activity.
Furthermore, Almighty Allah has incorporated into man’s spiritual being both good and bad qualities, as the Holy Quran clearly states:
“So He introduced into it (the soul) its good and evil.”
(Surah Shams)
As society became more affluent, spiritual and moral degradation generally increased. Man’s high standard of worldly life began eroding his Rooh or spiritual self. From a mere means of fulfilling needs and wants, business, and more accurately, the accumulation of wealth and riches, now became an end in itself. And all this violently conflicts with what Islam taught and desired for its followers. As far as Islam is concerned business fulfilled a need, and had to be kept as such.
In view of increased business activity and an on-going decline in man’s spiritual life and morality there were bound to be problems. To encounter and overcome these problems Islam, through the Holy Quran and Hadeeth, had devised an elaborate set of laws governing trade and commerce. These laws were to fulfil a variety of objectives:
· To counter man’s greed and consequent abuse of the rights of others;
· To ensure that the earnings of man are halaal and pure;
· To create a harmonious atmosphere among people, something which can be utterly destroyed by man’s desire for wealth and position.
Among these, the second factor is vitally important to the Muslim individual, since the acceptance of all man’s ibadat and service is largely dependent upon the consumption of Halaal food and the utilisation of Halaal goods and products.
There is definitely an integral link between man’s earnings, which entail business dealings, and his ibadat unto Allah Ta’ala. This one factor alone underscores in no uncertain terms the significance and emphasis Islam has laid on correct and valid business dealings.
