“MAKING HONESTY AND COMPASSION REGULATE THE BUSINESS”
Honorable Muslims!
Our supreme religion, Islam, which provides the roadmap for a peaceful and just life, determines the basic principles and guidelines of our business and commercial life. Islam enjoins us to be sensitive to halal and haram in trade, as in any business, and to adopt honesty, integrity and compassion as our guiding principles. It forbids greed and avarice, lies and deceit, fraud and injustice, and all kinds of unlawful and immoral behavior. In the verse I have recited at the beginning of the khutbah, our Almighty Lord (swt) states, “O believers! Do not devour one another’s wealth illegally, but rather trade by mutual consent. And do not kill each other or yourselves. Surely Allah is ever Merciful to you.”1
Dear Believers!
Believers do not only take into account the worldly profit of the trade, but also the reckoning of the Hereafter. They refrain from unjust gains, black markets, opportunism, and the violation of the rights of other people and the public. They know that in our faith and tradition, not all means of earning money are permissible. Believers cannot be violators of human dignity in order to earn more. People in difficult situations should not be the subject of exploitation. A person cannot be harmed or deceived by abusing their lack of knowledge.
Dear Muslims!
Halal and haram sensitivities in trade are diminishing by the day. Virtues like truthfulness and honesty are becoming weaker. Moral values and principles of law are being disregarded in favor of the pursuit of higher earnings. Excessive consumption, luxuriousness and wastefulness are increasing day by day. What falls upon us in this situation is to strive to attain the good news of our beloved Prophet who says, “The truthful and trustworthy merchant will be with the Prophets, the truthful, and the martyrs on the Day of Resurrection.”2 We should not forget that on the Day of Resurrection we will have to give an account of what we have earned and what we have spent.
[1] Nisa, 4/29.
[2] Tirmidhi, Buyu’, 4.
FRIDAY KHUTBA OF TOKYO CAMII “MAKING HONESTY AND COMPASSION REGULATE THE BUSINESS”(PDF)