The Prophet ﷺ was a merchant before becoming a prophet, and he was called « the trustworthy one ». Khadija, his wife, ran a business; 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Awf arrived in Medina with nothing and asked: « Show me the market. » Entrepreneurship is part of the history of this community.
The principle: consent and truthfulness
« O believers! Do not consume your wealth among yourselves unjustly, but let there be trade by mutual consent. » (meaning of the verse, An-Nisa 4:29)
Consent exists only if the buyer knows what he is buying. Hence the rule of the Prophet ﷺ: « The seller and the buyer have the option as long as they have not separated. If they are truthful and clear, their sale is blessed; if they conceal and lie, the blessing of their sale is erased » (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2079; Sahih Muslim, no. 1532).
What destroys blessing
- Concealing a defect : « He who cheats is not one of us » (Sahih Muslim, no. 102).
- Falsifying the measure : the weight, the meter, the liter, the quantity announced (83:1-3).
- Swearing to sell "Oaths move the goods, but they erase the blessing" (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2087; Sahih Muslim, no. 1606).
- Fake reviews and fake promotions : it's the lie of the market, online.
What attracts it
"May Allah have mercy on a man who is accommodating when he sells, when he buys, and when he asks for his due" (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2076). Flexibility is not weakness: a well-treated customer comes back, and brings others.
It is reported that the honest and trustworthy merchant will be with the prophets, the truthful and the martyrs (Jami' at-Tirmidhi, no. 1209).
Keeping one's commitments, writing down one's debts
"O you who believe! Fulfill your obligations." (meaning of the verse, Al-Ma'ida 5:1)
The longest verse of the Quran (2:282) asks you towrite down the debt and its due date, before witnesses. Most disputes between partners, between brothers and between friends come from an agreement left verbal.
| To be fixed in writing | Why |
|---|---|
| Who brings what (money, work, local presence) | To know what each partner is entitled to. |
| Sharing profits, as a percentage | A guaranteed fixed share for one partner looks like an interest-bearing loan. |
| Who bears the losses | The one who provides the capital bears the loss of capital; the one who works loses their effort. |
| The duration and how to part ways | Parting ways is easier when it was planned. |
| Customer and supplier debts | With the date and the signature. |
Starting without riba
Interest-based credit is not the only door: savings, a partnership sharing profits and losses (musharaka, mudaraba), buying equipment with a known markup (murabaha) from an Islamic financial institution, an interest-free loan from a relative, written and dated. See the article « Riba: why Islam forbids usury ».
The rights of others
Pay your employees on time, your suppliers when due, and your taxes and zakat on stock and cash: a business does not thrive sustainably on other people's money.
Before signing a partnership or financing contract, show it to your imam or to a specialist in Islamic finance.