Trust in Allah, hand in hand with honesty and integrity, are the key characteristics for conducting business transactions. For Rasulallah SAW states, “Allah is most pleased by those who are easygoing in their business practices, both in selling and buying.” In today’s waaz, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS described those who are easygoing as those that are pious, put their faith in Allah, and remain true to Him and His faith. For when we make Allah our guarantor, all else falls into place.
Business-mindedness runs in the blood of mumineen. Our Awliya Kiraam AS and Hudud Kiraam QS are exemplary models for how to conduct business with honesty and integrity in a world of cutthroat competition, deception, and material gain. They demonstrate that Allah is the only true provider, and when we put our faith in Allah and act in His name, He rewards us with innumerable bounties.
Syedi Luqmanji Saheb’s QS ethical and moral conduct compelled him to warn a prospective buyer of a defect in the shoes he was selling. When the boss found out about this, he reprimanded Syedi Luqmanji, saying that lying and deception form the backbone of business. Disgusted by the dishonesty, he started his own business grounded in piety and trust in Allah: the pursuit of the knowledge of Aale Mohammed AS.
Syedi Hasan bin Nooh al Bharuchi QS, the ‘King of Business,’ had a sprawling, trend-setting business empire stretching from the Far East to Northern Africa. When Syedna Mohammed Izzuddin RA faced opposition from the Zaidi ruler in Yemen, he sacrificed his wealth and pledged his fealty in front of the other elders who were too easily willing to yield to the Zaidis, exclaiming that, “If they come at us with bullets of lead, I will counter with bullets of gold and silver!’ Allah rewarded his fidelity and love for Maula RA by bestowing him with a Dai in his progeny: Syedna Ali Shamsuddin RA.
After selling the orchard cultivated and given to him by Rasulallah SAW and disbursing the full amount to mumineen in need, Maulana Ali AS borrowed 7 dinars from Rasulallah SAW to buy food. As he and Imam Hasan AS walked through the market, they encountered a beggar, and gave him the 7 dinars. Maulana Ali AS was left empty-handed. They subsequently met a man who was selling his camel for 100 dinars. Maulana Ali AS disclosed that he did not have the money to pay for it, but the man was willing to be paid later on. Taking the camel, they came across a prospective buyer who inquired about the price of the camel. Once again, with full disclosure, Maulana Ali AS stated that he had bought the camel for 100 dinars. The man offered Maulana Ali AS 170 dinars. After paying off the 100 dinar debt to the original buyer, Maulana Ali AS presented the remaining 70 dinars to Rasulallah SAW. Rasulullah SAW exclaimed, “O Ali! Virtuous indeed are the seller and the buyer!” The seller of the camel was Jibraeel, and the buyer was Mikaeel. Allah rewarded the integrity with which Maulana Ali AS provided for his mumineen, gave sadaqah, and conducted business, with 10 times that which Rasulallah SAW had lent him.
We all yearn for Allah’s love; and those that Allah loves, he endows with an undying love for Maulana Ali AS. Our love for Maulana Ali AS and his son Imam Husain AS gives us the ability to put aside our business, jobs, college exams, and other duties in the pursuit of the business that is above all others: the remembrance and mourning of Imam Husain AS. Maula TUS exclaimed that in doing so, we are not ‘closed for business.’ In fact, in return for our tears, our maatam, and our noha wal aweel, we gain Allah’s most valuable and eternal rizq: Jannat.
