Trade has been a portion of Islam since the beginning of it. From pre-Islamic ages, the Holy City of Mecca has been the center of business movements. It was admittedly the annual trading center of Mecca that provided Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the forum for preaching Islam.
The first Muslims involved in the trade and traveled to farther lands for trading. Islam reached East and West Africa, East Asia through the business. Islam supports work in general, and commerce and trade inappropriate. The messenger Muhammad (PBUH) was himself involved in this field before he became a prophet. He was an influential businessman. Known for honesty, he bore the honorific title, the Trustworthy. The Quran says: “God has made business lawful for you.”
Also, the Quran contains rules not only for morals, hygienic, marriage, and divorce. But it also lays down specific rules for commerce and politics, interest and debts, and industry and finance. Islam has permitted and encouraged business. Islam lays out the basic principles of our economic behavior as consumers, producers, and owners of wealth.
The Islamic policy in business depends on individual enterprise and correspondingly individuals reward. It is essentially Depends on serving humanity while keeping the instructions of God. In trade relationships, Islam forbids any discrimination between people Depends on their religion, sex, or gender. There is no essential conflict between good trade practice and profit-making in Islam. Islam looks at a profit as a secondary way to measure effectiveness.
Business Ethics in Islam
- Trust: God created the entire world, then he set human over it all with delegated. So Muslims understand that they are trustees for God’s world, and they do not owe anything in this world. That sort of belief goes along with the understanding that God sees all that you do. This belief makes you work under continuous surveillance and keeps your behavior at its best while following God’s defined conduct.
And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that
is in the heavens and on earth: behold, in that are Signs indeed
for those who reflect. (Quran 45-13)
- Honesty and Justice: Justice described as just conduct, fairness performance of power in support of the right, and fair dealing with each other. Honesty combines the action of truthfulness and reliability and includes all features of relationships in human life through word and action. It is more than just accuracy; it is an attitude with sincerity.
O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it is (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.(Quran 4:135)
- Reciprocal respect: The third belief is reciprocal respect, and consideration for others is too essential in the ethical education of Islam. This indicates that self-interest has a place in society as much as the interests of others. So an individual or organization cannot under self-benefit measures takes an action or start a business that will harm the community or environment more than providing good to it.
Mohammad (PBUH) said, “you will not attain righteousness unless you give of that which you love.” Also said ” God loves kindness when you deal with any matter,”
Is E-commerce permissible or forbidden?
For E-commerce which is not free of the prohibited transactions or prohibited items, except in very rare cases. This is forbidden because the possibility of deception and ignorance is very high, in addition to the other prohibitions of Sharia, which include:
- It mostly includes usury, and God Almighty said: And God permitted the sale and forbidden usury. {The Cow: 275}.
- That the seller in it – often – sells what he does not own. The Prophet, peace upon him, forbade that and said: It is not permissible to sell in advance, and there are no two conditions in selling, no profit that is not guaranteed, or selling what you do not have. Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others, and al-Tirmidhi said: A Right and authentic hadith.
- That the purchaser – often – sells what he bought to another before taking possession of it, and this was forbidden when Ahmed brought it up on the authority of Hakim bin Hizam, who said: I said: O Messenger of God, I bought sales, so what is permissible for me from it, and what is forbidden for me? He said: If you buy a sale, do not sell it until you receive it. And when Abu Dawood said that the Messenger of God forbade the sale of goods where they are bought until the merchants possess them on their travels.
Although it should be noted that if it is assumed that a certain deal was signed via the Internet, and it is complete with valid conditions and free of restrictions, then it is permissible. However, this is very rare.
