Business is an economic system in which goods & services are exchanged for one another or money, on the basis of their perceived worth. A business (also known as enterprise or firm) is an organization designed to provide goods services or both to consumers. There are many different people in business you have to answer to: customers, share holders and clients. Business ethics are ethics that refer to the moral rules and regulations governing the business world. In other words they are the moral values that guide the way corporations or other business make decisions. Islamic business ethics are a set of guidelines that blend religious principles with economic practices to guide how Muslims conduct business. These ethics are based on the Quran, Hadith, and Sharia law, and emphasize values such as honesty, fairness, and social responsibility. There is a reference to this point in the Qur’an, [For you in the Messenger of Allah is a fine example to follow] (Al-Ahzab 33:21).Some key aspects of Islamic business ethics include:
(a) Justice And Fairplay: Islam insists on absolute justice and fairplay in business dealings.
(b) Charity And Generosity: Muslims are encouraged to be charitable and generous to help those in need and seek the pleasure of God.
(c) Respect And Fairness To Employees: Muslims should treat their employees with respect and fairness, and provide them with fair wages and working conditions.
(d) Confidentiality: Confidential information is a trust and must be honored.
Prohibition of interest: Interest is prohibited.
(e) Limits On Ownership: Islam imposes limits on ownership, possession, and consumption.
(f) Law Of Inheritance: Islam introduces a law of inheritance to diffuse accumulated personal holdings.
It is worthy stressing here that when Muslims stick to ethics in their daily lives, they will become good examples to emulate in today’s world. They will help rectify some aspects of the distorted image about Islam in today’s world and thus they will become worthy ambassadors of their religion.
In holy Quran, Allah Almighty says, [To the Madyan people (We sent) Shu’aib, one of their own brethren: he said: “O my people! Worship Allah: ye have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight: I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the penalty of a day that will compass (you) all round. “And O my people! give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due: commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief. “That which is left you by Allah is best for you, if ye (but) believed! but I am not set over you to keep watch!” They said: “O Shu’aib! does thy (religion of) prayer command thee that we leave off the worship which our fathers practiced, or that we leave off doing what we like with our property? Truly, thou art the one that for bear faults and is right-minded!” He said: “O my people! See ye whether I have A Clear (Sign) from my Lord, and He hath given me sustenance (pure and) good as from Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire (your) betterment to the best of my power; and my success (in my task) can only come from Allah. In Him I Trust and unto Him I look.] (Hud 11:84-88)
Prophet Shu`aib (peace be upon him) was a great prophet of Allah. He was sent to the people of Madyan around the time of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him). Prophet Shu`aib was sent among a people who were very much involved in business. These people were very proud of their business knowledge and success, but they were dishonest. He told them to observe ethics in business. They became very angry with him and told him, “Don’t mix religion with business.” The Qur’an tells us that Allah’s punishment came upon those people and only Prophet Shu`aib and his followers were saved. It is indeed serious that everyone must adhere to ethical standards in business. Business and ethics are not separate, rather they are interconnected. Allah says in the Qur’an, [For you in the Messenger of Allah, there is a fine example to follow] (Al-Ahzab 33:21).Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was an ideal human being in every respect. He was the best teacher, preacher, and guide; the best statesman, lawgiver, judge, diplomat, negotiator of treaties, and military commander; the best family man, a good husband, a compassionate father and grandfather, a good neighbor, and friend of his people. He was also a very honest and successful businessman. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was chosen by God to be His last prophet and messenger at the age of 40. Before that he was very much involved in business. He was born in Makkah, which was a popular trade center in Arabia. Caravans from Syria in the north and Yemen in the south used to pass by Makkah. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would join in these caravans. It is reported that he traveled to Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and many other places in Arabia in these caravans. Some historians have also suggested that he probably traveled to Iraq and Ethiopia. From his early age, he was involved in commerce. He had a good reputation as a hardworking, honest, truthful, and very successful businessman. It was due to this reputation that Khadijah, a wealthy businesswoman, hired him to work for her business. Many people in Makkah had asked for her hand and worked for her, but they either cheated her or she was not satisfied with their work. Finally, she found Muhammad (he was not a prophet at that time) and she asked him to work for her. He made several business trips on behalf of her and was very successful. She was impressed with his work as well as his impressive personality, they later got married. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), after marrying Khadijah (R.A), continued his work and took several business trips throughout parts of Arabia. Ancient Arabia used to have commercial fairs in almost all major towns and regions; it is probable that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) visited some of these commercial fairs. After becoming a prophet, his business activities decreased, although he would occasionally participate in business transactions. His vast business experience helped him in dealing with people with great care. He often used to mention the names of people and tribes whom he met in his journeys. People were often amazed of his knowledge of people and their regions. The Prophet emphasized that honesty and kind dealings with customers are the secrets of success in business. Our beloved Prophet (PBUH) said, “The truthful and honest merchant is associated with the Prophets, the upright and the martyrs” (Al-Tirmidhi ). “God shows mercy to a person who is kindly when he sells, when he buys and when he makes a claim” (Al-Bukhari). Allah permits trade and forbids interest. Allah declares in Quran Tradeis ‘Halal’ and interest is ‘Haram’. Islam gives special importance and stress onlawful and unlawful codes of business affairs. Many Quranic verses strictly prohibit Haram and do not think suitable to take of property wrongfully and is honestly. Allah says:“And eat up not one another’s properly unjustly (in any illegal waye.g. Stealing, robbing, deceiving etc, nor give bribery to the rulers(judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully’’(Holy Quran, 2/188)Here is an incident which further narrates: Abdullah bin Umer said “a person came to prophet (SAW) and told him that he was always betrayed in purchasing. Prophet (PBUH) told him to sayat the time of buying ‘no cheating’. This event emphasizes on the elevated and lofty position of honesty in business. In another place our beloved prophet (PBUH) said: “The buyers and the sellers have the option to cancel or to confirm the deal as long as they have not parted or till they part and if they spoke the truth and told each other the defects of the things, then blessings would be in their deal and if they hid something and told lies, the blessings of the deal would be lost” (Sahi Muslim/Ahmad vol 34-296).
“It is the dilemma of the Muslim world that it had lost faith & trust in business. They need proper education to ensure the ethics. Islamic ethics present in front of us a vivid and fair picture of dealings in every field of life. We can guess the importance of education with the first word revealed in Quran “Iqra” mean “Read” and seek knowledge. READ! In the name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists)(The Holy Quran, 96/1). These verses declare it a sacred duty to seek knowledge and be educated. It is concluded that we can never be able to comprehend the Islamic ethics without acquiring the knowledge of Islam.”
Among all the religions, Islam is the only religion, which tells us the significant ethics in business and also presents Prophet (saw) as a role model. In many places ‘Trade’ is considered in ‘Ibadat’ if done according to the standards of Islam. Allah strictly prohibits interest and considers it ‘Gunah-e-Kabeera.’ If once we follow Quran and the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); the Muslims can emerge as the driving force of the whole world. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave many teachings on business and economic issues, he covered almost every aspect of business and economics. Here are only a few major principles of fair business dealings according to Islam.
(a). No fraud or deceit, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “When a sale is held, say, “There’s no cheating” (Al-Bukhari).
(b) Sellers must avoid making too many oaths when selling merchandise. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Be careful of excessive oaths in a sale. Though it finds markets, it reduces abundance” (Muslim). (c) Mutual consent is necessary. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “The sale is complete when the two involved depart with mutual consent” (Al-Bukhari).
(d) Be strict in regard to weights and measures. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “When people cheat in weight and measures, their provision is cut off from them” (Al-Muwatta ‘). He told the owners of measures and weights, “You have been entrusted with affairs over which some nations before you were destroyed” (Al-Tirmidhi ).
(e) The Prophet forbade monopolies. “Whoever monopolizes is a sinner” (Abu Dawud ).
(f) Free enterprise, the price of the commodities should not be fixed unless there is a situation of crisis or extreme necessity.
(g) Hoarding merchandise in order to increase the prices is forbidden.
(h) Transaction of haram items, such as intoxicants, are forbidden.
The Prophet’s general advice to all people was, “What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not recognize. He who guards against the doubtful things keep his religion and his honor blameless, but he who falls into doubtful things falls into what is unlawful, just as a shepherd who pastures his flocks round a sanctuary will soon pasture them in it. Every king has a sanctuary, and God’s sanctuary is the things he had declared unlawful” (Al-Bukhari). In the present world, Business people and their corporations need to be reminded about their role and responsibilities. The following issues need special attention today:
(i). Globalization should mean that all people are considered to comprise one family. All human beings should be treated with respect, equality, and fairness. Exploitation of one group by another should stop. There should not be any division among people because of their race, color, nationality, gender, or faith.
(ii). The resources of the Earth are not only for us, we share this biosphere with other species, and so we take care not to waste or destroy them.
(iii) We should use the Earth’s resources with great care and should remember that we have a duty to leave this world in a better condition for the generations to come after us.
(iv) Human beings are one family, although we have our differences. Diversity is natural and beautiful. We should try to understand other people’s religions and cultures and we should be sensitive to their feelings and emotions.
(v) The universal golden rule states, “Love for others what you love for yourself.” We should try to empower others and work to eradicate poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease, and unsanitary conditions in the world in order that all people can live in peace and happiness.
(vi). Businesses should promote ethical and moral behavior in their corporations, as well as in the world at large. People involved in business should always be honest, truthful, and fulfill all promises and commitments. We must eliminate fraud, cheating, and cut-throat competition.
(vii) We should also promote more political freedom, open debates, participatory democracies, and representative governments.
(viii) We must encourage and support an educational system that promotes openness, dialogue and that guard against fanaticism. Our educational system should not teach every view in the absolutist terms. Our children should be taught about the multitude of perspectives and one should be open to other points of view.
Tail Piece: We are forgetting the teachings ofIslamic ethics which our holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) not only taught us but also presented a lot of examples in front of us. He had developed trust through business ethics than presenting faith not only amongst Muslims but also amongst non Muslims. Religion is the basic source of ethics and Islam presents a proper &systematic ethics in form of Quran and Sunnah. It is the dilemma of the Muslim world that it had lost faith & trust in business. They need proper education to ensure the ethics. Islamic ethics present in front of us a vivid and fair picture of dealings in every field of life. We can guess the importance of education with the first word revealed in Quran “Iqra” mean “Read” and seek knowledge. READ! In the name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists)(The Holy Quran, 96/1). These verses declare it a sacred duty to seek knowledge and be educated. It is concluded that we can never be able to comprehend the Islamic ethics without acquiring the knowledge of Islam.
(The authors write regularly on “Islamic Topics” exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
