Question Summary:
I am working for a conglomerate company and a CEO for a SBU. We are into paper and paper boards trading, this business in SL is dominated by individuals (bora Muslims) for decades … Question Detail:
I am working for a conglomerate company and a CEO for a SBU. We are into paper and paper boards trading, this business in SL is dominated by individuals (bora Muslims) for decades , who are into various malpractices, such as under invoicing, sales without Value Added Invoices (VAT) , non payment of tax (avoidance of taxes) , bribing (for the purpose of misdeclaration) etc.
We don’t do any of these scruples practices, but over and again when come for evaluation of performance of company, I have told the top management that we are not competitive enough as we don’t do the said practices, and ending up at high prices, and much less return compared with our competitors.
As long as I know not only in my trade in all most all the businesses in SL whether carried out by corporate or individuals they do all sorts of things to get maximum profit.
When we think about this I don’t think we can do business in SL,
My questions are :
1. How do we look at it, in a Islamic perspective?
2. Can we justify by paying zakath and copy the same things which are done by others?
3. If not what do we do for survival?
Answer :
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-ZA
X-NONE
AR-SA
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
mso-bidi-language:TH;}
In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalāmu ῾alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi Wabarakātuh
Indeed, corruption and unethical business practices are prevalent in many countries across all different sectors and industries. It is a great challenge for a noble and ethical person to conduct his/her business with high moral values and avoiding bribery, misrepresentation of financial data, deceiving stockholders, etc. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم alluded to such a situation when he warned,
حدثنا إسمعيل بن موسى الفزاري ابن بنت السدي الكوفي حدثنا عمر بن شاكر عن أنس بن مالك قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يأتي على الناس زمان الصابر فيهم على دينه كالقابض على الجمر (سنن الترمذي، كتاب الفتن: 4/526؛ إحياء التراث)
A time will come upon the people such that the patient one upon his religion will be like the one holding hot coal (Tirmidhī)
It is of the utmost importance for Muslims to set and stand by a certain high standard and invite others to those standards, as opposed to lowering themselves down to the corrupt ways of others. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave a clear warning to the businessmen, saying,
أخبرنا أبو نعيم ثنا سفيان عن عبد الله هو بن عثمان بن خثيم عن إسماعيل بن رفاعة عن أبيه عن جده قال : خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم إلى البقيع فقال يا معشر التجار حتى إذا اشرأبوا قال التجار يحشرون يوم القيامة فجارا إلا من اتقى الله وبر وصدق (سنن الدارمي، كتاب البيوع، باب في التجار: 2/322؛ الكتب العربي)
The merchants will be raised as sinners on the Day of Judgment, except the ones who fear Allāh, do righteous deeds, and speak the truth (Dāramī)
One cannot expect barakah (blessing) from Allāh Ta’ālā in his sustenance by employing impermissible means in attaining it. Rather, one should expect barakah by obeying the commands of Allāh Ta’ālā and conducting his business in an upright manner. One’s primary concern should not be the total profit of the business. Instead, it should be how much barakah will be in whatever little or large money that he/she makes. Furthermore, the person’s goal should be to conduct the business in such a manner that he/she falls within the ambit of the following hadīth:
حدثنا هناد حدثنا قبيصة عن سفيان عن أبي حمزة عن الحسن عن أبي سعيد : عن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال التاجر الصدوق الأمين مع النبيين والصديقين والشهداء (سنن الترمذي، كتاب البيوع، باب التجار وتسمية النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إياهم: 3/515؛ إحياء التراث)
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “The trustful, trustworthy merchant will be with the prophets, the siddīqīn (very truthful), and the martyrs (Tirmidhī)
We suggest you consult with lawyers and other experts in the appropriate fields to see if you quality for tax benefits/cuts, to analyze ways to cut expenses and maximize profits, etc. However, at the end of the day, your goal should be the pleasure of Allāh Ta’ālā through earning a halāl income in the most upright manner. InshāAllāh, through this, you will notice that even if your business does not generate the most revenue, it will have the most barakah in it.
Lastly, we leave you with the following words of the poet:
لا تخضعن لمخلوق على طمع ** فإن ذلك وهن منك في الدين
Do not submit to the creation in greed, for that is a weakness in your religion
واسترزق الله مما في خزانته ** فإنما الأمر بين الكاف والنون
And ask Allāh for sustenance from His treasure, for the matter is between Kāf and Nūn (i.e. the command “be”)
إن الذي أنت ترجوه وتأمله ** من البرية مسكين ابن مسكين
Verily, the creation in which you hope and wish for is poor, the son of a poor
ما أحسن الجود في الدنيا وفي الدين ** وأقبح البخل فيمن صيغ من طين
How beautiful is generosity in the worldly and religious sense, and how ugly is stinginess in he who has been created from clay
ما أحسن الدين والدنيا إذا اجتمعا ** لا بارك الله في دنيا بلا دين
And how great is when the religious and worldly affairs come together, for Allāh does not bless the worldly affairs without religiosity
لو كان باللب يزداد اللبيب غنى ** لكان كل لبيب مثل قارون
Had it been such that the intelligent person becomes richer through his intelligence, then every intelligent person would have been like Qārūn
لكنما الرزق بالميزان من حكم ** يعطي اللبيب ويعطي كل مأفون
However, sustenance is ordained from Allāh. He gives it to the intelligent and He gives it to the imbecile
And Allāh Ta῾āla Knows Best
Wassalāmu ῾alaykum
Mufti Abrar Mirza, (Chicago, US)
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Dārul Iftā, Madrasah In῾āmiyyah
|
