20 Principles from the Sunnah Concerning Business and Wealth Management
Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds that last, are better with your Lord for rewards and better in respect of hope— Qur’an 18[Al-Kahf]:46
Many aspire to be wealthy but don’t know how to achieve it. About seven years ago, I wrote this article about basic Islamic principles that guaranteed business success. It’s one of my most widely read pieces on Medium. It’s well-referenced to the point someone told me her professor recommended it to them in class as part of their literature reviews. Two years after the publication, a reader also commented that he started his business and those principles worked out for him. I am glad at least people found it beneficial. To Allah be all praise and thanks.
I know how scanty reliable works are, concerning practical guides for Muslims when it comes to business. For this reason, I intended to do more learning, start a business, and implement the teachings. So during the pandemic, I started a business of my own. Having tasted the sweetness of flexibility that comes with business ownership, I officially quit my 9 to 5 and became an Entrepreneur — Alhamdulillah. This was the same year I published another article sighting lessons from successful Muslim entrepreneurs.
My quest towards learning more about Islamic finance led me to the works of Sheikh Joe Bradford, may Allah preserve him and us. His work on the epistemology of bitcoins and the Sharia compliance made me fall in love with him. Since then, I’ve followed him across social media and subscribed to his weekly newsletter. Recently, I bought one of his books: 40 Hadith on Wealth and Earning. It’s a simple compilation of 90 pages which I finished in about an hour before heading to bed the day I received it.
Upon completing the book, I recalled how inspired I was to write more about business and finance a few years back. This is an area in which a lot of Muslims are interested, but we don’t have many real-life practical scenarios that people could benefit from. From this book, I’ve chosen 20 referenced Hadith which I broke down into principles that can help navigate through business and wealth management. I ask Allah to make it beneficial and accept. Let’s delve into this…
- Be objective with your intention: Whatever you want to do, it’s important that you set out with the right intention. Know what you’re getting into, what you want to achieve, and how to do it. This is because people will often get what they intend. Here’s a hadith that supports this:
On the authority of Amir al-Mu’minin, Abu Hafs ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say:
“Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for.” — Bukhari & Muslim
2. Make wealth a means to a greater end: When Allah blesses you with wealth, ensure you use it in His servitude and not being extravagant. By virtue of your wealth, you can earn His pleasure, and end up in the garden of bliss. Also, vices like greed and miserliness could lead to your punishment and ending up in hell.
On the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say:
“Two unsatiated that are never satisfied: one unsatiated in knowledge, he is never satisfied; and one unsatiated in duniya, he is never satisfied.” — Mustadrak Al Hakim
3. Wealth is in the heart: We often think about wealth as having a lot of money and worldly possessions. However, that isn’t the case. True wealth lies in contentment within the heart. Let’s examine how Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) defined it for us:
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O Abu Dharr, do you say an abundance of possessions is wealth?” I said yes. The Prophet said, “Do you say a lack of possessions is poverty?” I said yes. The Prophet repeated this three times, then he said, “Wealth is in the heart and poverty is in the heart. Whoever is wealthy in his heart will not be harmed no matter what happens in the world. Whoever is impoverished in his heart will not be satisfied no matter how much he has in the world. Verily, he will only be harmed by the greed of his own soul.” — An NAsai’ & Ibn Hibban
4. Rely upon Allah wholeheartedly: There are three categories of people regarding tawakul — reliance upon Allah. The first are the ones who solely rely upon Allah without putting effort into achieving their goals. Second, are those who solely believe in their efforts without Allah’s aid. The third and the best are those who put in the effort and solely rely upon Allah for a successful outcome.
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), related from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):
“If you all depend on Allah with due reliance, He would certainly give you provision as He gives it to birds who go forth hungry in the morning and return with full belly at dusk.” — Trimidhi
5. Be moderate in your pursuit: Create a balance in your pursuit of wealth and don’t be concerned only with the worldly life while neglecting the afterlife.
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever is concerned about the Hereafter, Allah will place richness in his heart, bring his affairs together, and the world will inevitably come to him. Whoever is concerned about the world, Allah will place poverty between his eyes, disorder his affairs, and he will get nothing of the world but what is decreed for him.” — Sunan At-Tirmidhī
6. Ask Allah for abundant resources: Wealth is a lawful thing, in as much as it doesn’t lead you to do unlawful things. So, there is nothing wrong with acquiring it or even praying unto Allah to bless you with abundant wealth.
Abdullah reported from the Prophet that he Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam used to say:
“Oh Lord! I ask of you: guidance, piety, righteousness, and wealth.” — Muslim
7. It’s okay to enjoy life: Some people think as believers in Allah, we’re meant to live a wretched life. While life is not meant to be flamboyant, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying what Allah has blessed you with.
Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Four things are part of happiness: a righteous spouse, a spacious dwelling, a righteous neighbor, and a comfortable mount. Four things are part of misery: a bad neighbor, a bad spouse, a restrictive dwelling, and a bad mount.” — Ibn Hibban
8. Hustle for your daily bread by yourself: It’s ideal to work with your own hands for you to earn a living. It’s one of the most profound ways to generate income.
Narrated Al-Miqdam: The Prophet peace be upon him said: “Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one’s own hands. The Prophet of Allah, Dawud — David used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor.” — Bukhari
9. Give more in charity: There’s nothing you spend in the cause of Allah, except that He replenishes it for you in manifolds.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah who reported from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him: “Charity does not in any way decrease wealth, no one forgives another except that Allah increases his honor, and no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah raises his status.” — Muslim
10. Do not devour nor deceive: Allah forbids us as Muslims to devour the wealth of others by utilizing deceit or any other means. Sadly, this has become a rampant practice in today’s world.
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever takes the money of the people with the intention of repaying it, Allah will repay it on his behalf, and whoever takes it in order to spoil it, then Allah will spoil him.” — Bukhari
11. Eschew Riba’: Any transaction that involves Riba’ — usury is devoid of the blessing of Allah. Allah categorically warns the believers to shun Riba’ in its entirety.
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah has cursed the one who consumes usury, its client, its witness, and its recorder. Usury and adultery do not become widespread among people but that they will become vulnerable to the punishment of Allah Almighty.” — Ahmad
12. Avoid exploitation: It is not permissible to exploit others or trick them during transactions. This can be done in several ways like concealing some faults so that the buyer doesn’t notice until the sale is finalized.
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger ﷺ employed someone as a governor at Khaibar. When the man came to Medina, he brought some high-quality dates. The Prophet ﷺ asked him, “Are all the dates of Khaibar of this kind?” The man replied, “No, we exchange two Sa’s of bad dates for one Sa of this kind of dates (i.e. Janib), or exchange three Sa’s for two.” On that, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Don’t do so, as it is a kind of usury but sell the dates of inferior quality for money, and then buy Janib with the money”. — Bukhari
13. Beware of the unlawful — haram: You must be mindful of your source of wealth because you will be questioned about how you acquired it and what you spent it on. Allah’s Apostle ﷺ also warned us that any part of the body that is sustained illicitly has a right to be consumed by the fire.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever accumulates unlawful wealth and then gives it in charity, he will never be rewarded and the burden of sin will be upon him.” — Ibn Hibban
14. Cheating is not a cheat code: We live in a time where almost everything is rebranded to look good. This is called the ‘Art of Packaging. There’s nothing wrong with this if it does not involve deceit. However, when you deceive people and think that you have outsmarted them, that will be considered cheating which is highly prohibited.
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ happened to pass by a heap of wheat. He thrust his hand in that (heap) and his fingers were moistened. He said to the owner of that heap of wheat: What is this? He replied: Messenger of Allah, these have been drenched by rainfall. He ﷺ remarked: Why did you not place this (the drenched part of the heap) over others so that the people could see it? He who deceives is not of me (is not my follower). — Muslim
15. Truthfulness is a blessing: Upholding the virtue of truthfulness is a great value that enhances your transactions. No one is truthful in their business except that it turns out successful.
It was narrated that Hakim bin Hizam said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The two parties to a transaction have the choice so long as they have not separated. If they are honest and open, their transaction will be blessed, but if they tell lies and conceal anything, the blessing of their transaction will be lost.” — Sunan An-Nasai’
16. Time is of the essence: In anything you want to do, the timing is important. Ensure you do not delay executing your plans, just do it anyway. Don’t wait for the perfect time, be proactive!
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “If the Final Hour comes while you have a shoot of a plant in your hands and it is possible to plant it before the Hour comes, you should plant it.” — Bukhari
17. Preserve your capital: One beautiful lesson for preserving your wealth in business is reinvesting your capital. Quite a lot of people make this mistake of deepening their hands into the capital thereby losing both capital and profits in the long run. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ advised thus:
Sa‘eed ibn Hurayth (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever sells a house or piece of land then does not put its price into something similar deserves not to be blessed therein.” — Ahmad
18. Budgeting and saving is ideal: Budgeting is a key ingredient in financial intelligence and wealth management. Don’t be surprised that there are Muslims who don’t know that saving and budgeting is from the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
Abu Hurairah may Allah be pleased with him reported: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “If I had gold equal to Mount Uhud (in weight), it would not please me to pass three nights and I have a thing of it left with me, except what I retain for repayment of a debt”. — Bukhari and Muslim.
19. Pay up your debt: It is important to utilize every means necessary to pay up one's debt. Indebtedness is said to be one of the causes of discomfort for the dead in the grave. Here’s a supplication taught by the prophet in attaining debt relief as depicted below.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, entered the mosque one day while a man from the Ansar named Abu Umamah was there. The Prophet said, “O Abu Umamah, what is the matter that I see you sitting in the mosque while it is not time for prayer?” He said, “O Messenger of Allah, I am compelled by anxiety and debts.” The Prophet said, “Shall I not teach you a word to say by which Allah Almighty will relive your worry and complete your debt?” He said, “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Say in the morning and evening: O Allah, I seek refuge in you from worry and sadness. I seek refuge in you from weakness and laziness. I seek refuge in you from cowardice and miserliness. And I seek refuge in you from being overwhelmed by debt and the tyranny of men.” — Sunan Abī Dāwūd
20. Prepare your will: It is highly encouraged to write your will testament and update it as frequently as possible. This is because death beacons on everyone and no one knows when the appointed time will be.
Abdullah Ibn Umar may Allah be pleased with him and his father. He reported Allah’s Messenger may peace be upon him as saying: It is the duty of a Muslim who has something which is to be given as a bequest not to have it for two nights without having his will written down regarding it. — Bukhari
PS: Success comes only by the will of Allah! If you find this piece beneficial, it’s by Allah’s Grace. It’s no scholarly work and we accept our mistakes. Suggestions are welcomed in making this effort better as well. You are free to share by any means for enlightenment purposes. Kindly give a “click-clap” to enable other readers on Medium to see this post. We ask Allah to keep us guided and steadfast upon the right path. Do subscribe to Jum’ah Nugget to get our subsequent publication in sha Allah!
Yaumul Jumah 20th Shabaan 1445H // Friday 1st March 2024
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