Peaceful Islam and its Business Doctrine
In Islam business is governed by the rules of shar’iah (شریعة), the path by which all Muslims should
follow. The shar’iah is the divine law that establishes the standards of justice
and human conduct, as well as what is permitted and prohibited in action. The
shar‘iah is based on the Quran, Sunnah and interpretations by Islamic scholars.
Islam also specifies the way business organizations should be operated and
managed۔
World
events and media portrayal of Islam over the last
few decades has projected negative images, which
are based on a total misunderstanding of Islam and the
principles it encompasses.
Islam
through many eyes is seen as a homogenous view of the world. In addition, many
elements of the media have stereotyped Islam as an extreme religion. This
situation has not been assisted by the lack of published academic and
intellectual thoughts by Muslim academics themselves, which could assist in
providing to the public domain more balanced views about what the principles of
Islam stand for in society.
The
focus of most published works on Islamic economics and business has been in the
domains of finance, which leads most to the conclusion that Islam has little to
contribute in the theories of economics and business.
The
first and most comprehensive model of Islamic economy in modern times was published
by Dr. M. Umer Chapra in the early 1990’s. His hypothesis was that existing
economic models of capitalism, Marxism, socialism and the welfare state have
failed to provide full employment, remove poverty, fulfill needs and minimize
inequalities of income distribution. Both the market and centrally planned models
have been weak in providing overall wellbeing, where problems of family
disintegration, conflict and tensions, crime, alcoholism, drug addiction and
mental illness have indicated a lack of happiness and contentment in the life
of individuals.
With
these failings, an alternative system needs to be considered which could optimize
human wellbeing. An Islamic view may have potential to solve common economic
problems due to the overall humanitarian goal of achieving the wellbeing of all
members of society. An Islamic model of economy has never been implemented in
any world economy, only versions of political Islam, laced with tribal customs.
The
message of Islam derives its principles from the Holy Quran, which is believed
to be the direct word of Allah. The Hadiths are documents made up of words of
Holy Prophet (ﷺ) and lessons taken from the life of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)
written down by a number of apostles, which put the knowledge from the Quran in
context in which they were revealed, and assist in developing a general and
universal significance for the information sourced within the Quran.
The
Islamic faith claims that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)
who was born into a trading family and brought up by Abu Talib, who was a trader.
Society in the Prophet's time was almost totally dependent on trade as a means
to earn a living and unlike any other religion, the Qur’an is heavily written
in the metaphor of business and trade.
Within
many parts of the Qur'an life is paralleled to a business venture, where one
earns profits to gain entry into heaven — profits meaning faith and good deeds
and those that accept Allah’s guidance as a bargain to save them from punishment
on judgment day.
Islam
urges individuals to strive their utmost to earn large monetary rewards and
spiritual profits, while at the same time being inspired to be successful and honest.
This is part of the concept of “deen (دین)”,
which makes material and spiritual pursuits inseparable, where one’s whole life
is concerned with the needs of human being here on earth and to secure a
comfortable life in the Hereafter. Consequently, Islam does not prohibit
worldly success, in fact the Quran states that Allah has provided opportunities
for humankind to obtain success and it is certainly the responsibility of the
individual to do so. However involvement in business should also carry with it
benevolent intentions for others while seeking success for oneself.
Islam
espouses a market economy with freedom of the individual to operate a business
with minimal outside interference;
“He
who brings goods to the market is blessed with bounty, he who withholds them is
cursed.” (lbn Majah & Al Hakim)
A
market mechanism is urged with free flowing knowledge without exploitation by
middlemen;
“Do
not chase after those who are going to the market before they reach the place.”
(Al-Bukhari & Muslim)
Islam
also prohibits price manipulation;
“Anyone
who withholds goods until the price rises is a sinner.” (Muslim).
Thus
Islam espouses that free trade is a major factor in the enhancement of living standards
of the general community, subject to some constraints on business in the
interests of the wider community.
Central
to Islam and human existence, which relates to all activities is Tawhid (توحید) “...a man’s commitment to Allah, the
focus of all his reverence and gratitude, the only source of value. What Allah
desires for man becomes value for him, the end of all human endeavor.”
Tawhid
is the Islamic way of life, the fundamental of all Islamic civilization, which
is process, means and end together. Tawhid is both the essence of the
individual and the society. Tawhid is acceptance of one creator and His divine guidance
to humanity. Tawhid implies both the mission and morality of humankind in both
social and spiritual contexts.
Mankind’s
responsibilities under Tawhid fall into two categories, fard’ain which is an
individual's obligation to perform one‘s religious duties and fard kifayah, which
is an obligation for man to serve the entire community, through services to
each other, necessary for the community to live safely and comfortably. Thus
the obligation to improve the Muslim Ummah (community) falls under fard
kifayah, where undertaking business is the principle method of improving the economy
and community;
“Be
involved in business as nine out of ten sources of income lie in business” (lhya)
The
principles of Tawhid
The
building blocks of Tawhid are the concepts of al-iman (ایمان), al-ilm (علم) and al-amal
(عمل). Al-iman is the belief in the existence
of one God and Creator, with a commitment to His teachings and revelations,
revealed through the Quran, and Prophets, through the Hadiths and Sunnah, i.e.,
What the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, did, agreed or disagreed to. Faith
in Allah must be reflected in daily behavior, influenced by our moral system
formed and contained within us. It is our inner self; “Faith is not
expectations and not outward ornamentations, but implanted in the heart and
realized through actions.” (lbn Najjar & Dailami)
lmaan
is deepened by ilm, which is the responsibility of all Muslims to seek in order
to fulfill and perform amal. Knowledge (spiritual, wisdom and scientific) is
the foundation of all acts of al-amal which would be futile and unproductive
without the search for further knowledge to enhance the wellbeing of society.
Islam places great importance on scientific discovery, knowledge and wisdom to
develop civilization. Al-iman and al-ilm manifested through al-amal is the
basis of the advancement of civilization for the benefit of mankind and the
Ummah (Muslim community), in particular. This is undertaken under the principle
of ad-din (relating humans to Allah through spiritual acts), which is referred
to as ibadah.
In
Islam devotion of a faithful, pious and knowledgeable person is manifested in efforts
and acts adhering to the philosophy of Tawhid. In addition he uses reason and
experience and adheres to the teachings of the Quran and Prophets is a person
of Taqwa. He or she is fulfilling the purpose on Earth to perform ibada to God,
through obedience (اطاعت), which conforms to
his or her true and essential nature (فطرت)
of humanity. This relates a person to God through everything an individual
does, including spiritual duties, thoughts, actions, and deeds to other people.
As
humans operate in a social environment, Islam prescribes a number of forms of
business organization, through which obligations can be fulfilled. A musharakah
(organization) can take a number of forms. Such business organizations are
founded and operated on the principle of al-ta’awun (mutual assistance and
cooperation) among members of a society for both their mutual benefit and that
of a society as a whole.
Islamic
business is governed by the rules of shar’iah (شریعة),
the path by which all
Muslims
should follow. The shar’iah is the divine law that establishes the standards of
justice and human conduct, as well as what is permitted and prohibited in
action. The shar’iah is based on the Quran, Sunnah and interpretations by
Islamic scholars. Some Muslim scholars have stated that these standards are
beyond human and are a goal or path of guidance, where others see these utopian
ideals as mandatory for advancement of the community.
Central
to the shar’iah are the concepts of Halal (حلال)
and Tayyab (طیّب), which govern all
the economic activities of man in wealth production and consumption of wealth,
where certain means of gaining a livelihood are declared unlawful. Halal means
lawful or permitted for Muslims, a concept that is much wider than just issues
of food, concerning as to whether things are undertaken according to the shar’iah.
Tayyab is a much wider concept meaning good, clean, wholesome, and ethical in
the Islamic concept. In nutrition, Tayyab is much wider than halal, as food
must also be clean, safe, nutritious, healthy and balanced. Tayyab would also
mean that agriculture must be undertaken within sustainable practices, and in
business all things must be undertaken with good intentions.
In
Islam, the individual‘s vision, mission and objectives in business is to
achieve both success in this world and the hereafter. This is falah (فلاح) means success. Islam puts very little
restriction upon the scale of worldly success, except specifying, it must be
reasonable, provides the comforts of worldly life, with consideration to the
poor and suffering, and within the balance of worldly and spiritual life. Human
success must also serve the legitimate needs of the ummah.
Allah equipped
humans with the faculties of understanding right and wrong, so they may obtain
a bright destiny. Humans have a free choice in what they choose. Opposition and
straying from true nature (fitrah – فطرة) will bring discord to the individual
where negative attributes will distort his or her true nature, which could lead
him into doing evil deeds.
The
individual has his al-iman and al-ilm to keep him from this path of
self-destruction (al-fasad), which would manifest itself through nepotism, favoritism,
envy, greed, corruption, injustice and ignorance. This in Islam is the
influence of satan, manifested in many different ways to mankind to lure one
away from God’s chosen path. Humans can become unfocused through ignorance and
lack of knowledge.
Achieving
al-falah means that a human has lived up to God’s trust placed upon him or her,
through performing ibadah, while obeying all the laws of the shar’iah. This is
where mankind can overcome their general weaknesses in the service of Allah
through righteous deeds (amal), in the obligation of fard kifayah (فرض کفایہ). A human has reached the state of amanah,
fulfilling the trust God has put in him or her.
Islam
also specifies the way organizations should be operated and managed. An
organization must base all its work on al-amal and ibadah with the overall
management objective of achieving al-falah for the organization as a whole and
complete society.
This
is based upon a foundation of al-iman and al-ilm, within a civilization based
upon a tawhid philosophy, so that employees have the opportunity to achieve
taqwa and avoid straying towards the state of al-fasad. Central to achieving
this are the concepts of shura (participation in decision making and community
learning) and adab (justice and rights).
Shura
is total organizational community participation in decision making to ensure an
organization gets the best views. It is creative, to develop employees
understanding of decisions made, to achieve better implementation of decisions
and strengthen the Islamic fraternity. Shura can also be seen as an organizational
control mechanism to prevent management and individuals within the organization
from straying down the path of ignorance, greed and oppression, so that the
organization can continue to serve its members and the wider community and thus
sustain itself. Shura creates a positive learning environment within an
organization, similar to the concepts of learning organization proposed by the management
guru Peter Senge in the 1990s. The Quran states that the concept of shura is
mandatory upon an organization.
An
organization should build its foundations upon the basic principles of human
rights in its administration based on the concept of adab. Adab is based on the
existence and recognition of Allah and recognition of his commands and laws
(shar’iah). Within an organizational context, adab persuades a person to do good
and avoid evil (al-fasad), in accordance with the nature of man (fitrah) and
nature of his action (al-amal).
Adab (ادب) comprises four major responsibilities,
1.
Responsibility to Allah,
2.
Responsibility to oneself,
3.
Responsibility to society and other human beings, and
4.
Responsibility to the universe and other creatures.
Over
the last few decades Western management ideas and ethics have moved closer to
Islamic principles and ethics. Stephen Covey, a devout practicing member of The
Church of Latter-Day Saints, evangelistically preaches personal development, fulfilment
and spirituality within the context of the organization.
There
are similarities with Peter Drucker, Dale Carnegie, David Allen, and Peter Senge
in the approach. Dale Carnegie’s work is also on the rise again in popularity
and consequently, corporations are taking notice of the importance of employee
personal growth within the corporate environment.
Western
management scientists have taken the initiative on similar principles that were
laid down in the Quran and Hadiths, more than 1500 years ago.
Islam
somehow lost the intellectual initiative and needs to regain its place and
dignity in the world.
There
are three main reasons for the need to develop this ethical framework to bring
Muslims back to Islam;
Firstly,
is the nature of man himself:
Man
has both the potential to rise to great spiritual heights or to disintegrate into
total immorality. Man’s ability to act rightly or wrongly is a matter of moral choice.
Under the Islamic viewpoint, man's purpose on earth to carry out ibadah
(relates man to Allah through spiritual acts) and follow God’s will with total
devotion, according to his natural disposition (fitrah); where everything fits into
the divine pattern under the laws of Allah. Submission to the laws of Allah brings
harmony to man, however man was created with many weaknesses, forgetfulness,
greed for material comforts and power, is capable of oppressiveness and
ignorance, is rash and impatient, stringy and miserably ungrateful,
quarrelsome, ruthless, and full of self-interest, which can easily lead him
astray.
Secondly
is the unethical society we live in today:
General
society has become amoral and lapsed in faith, believing that truth and reality
is based on what can be touched, smelled, seen, heard and tasted. This has led
to a society that has become materialistic and less spiritual. This absence of spirituality
is leading business into immoral activities such as stealing, lying, fraud and
deceit, making people believe that they cannot succeed without pursuing the
same practices.
Finally
and most importantly, the underdevelopment of Islamic societies:
Approximately
80% of the World’s Muslims live in poverty, as cultural minorities in other
countries, with high incidences of unemployment and low productivity. Countries
with majority Muslim populations, are declining in their knowledge generation,
research, innovation and educational standards, have a generally a lower life
expectancy, higher illiteracy rates, lower GDP per capita rates with the
majority of people living in fragile and non-arable lands, poorer
infrastructure and water supplies and a larger number of dependents than the
non-Islamic World. lslamic GDP as a percentage of total World GDP is estimated
to be only 45% of what it should be, in order to be on par with the rest of the
world.
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