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Halaal Vs. Haraam
“Oh People of Imaan!! Eat of the pure things (Halaal) that We have provided for you, and be grateful to
Allah” – (S. 2 V. 172)
One cannot help but reflect on the profound prophecy of our Beloved Messenger, on whom be peace, said that,
“There will come a time upon my Ummat when people will not be concerned over what they take. It will not
matter for them whether it is Haraam or Halaal”. (Bukhari: Nasai).
“It is better for you to consume sand rather than eating anything Haraam” (Ahmed).
It is narrated in another Hadith,
“That flesh which has grown out of Haraam food will not enter Jannah. Hell has more right to it”
(Ahmad, Tirmidhi).
Hadhrat bin Adham (RA) said,
“Whatever lofty spiritual ranks I obtained was by virtue of exercising care in what went into the stomach”.
Our Beloved Prophet of Islam, owbp, said,
‘Abstention from doubtful things is the best of Deen” (Tabraani, Bazzaar).
Virtues of Trade
In many Ahadith, Rasulullah, owbp, has encouraged trade and attributed extraordinary virtues to the trader.
It is narrated in one hadith thus,
“Out of ten portions of livelihood nine are in trade.” (At Targheeb).
In another Hadith, Rasulullah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) said,
“An honest trader will be in the shade of the Arsh (throne) of Allah on the day of Judgement.” (At
Targheeb).
The exceeding virtue of trade may be judged by the fact that a large number of Sahaba (radhiyallahuanhum)earned their living by trade. Among them were Hadhrat Abu Bakr, Hadhrat Umar,Hadhrat Uthmaan, Hadhrat Abdur Rahman Ibn Auf, Hadhrat Zubair, Hadhrat Talhah, and many other Sahaba (radhiyallahu anhum).
A Muslim Businessman’s Oath
To my competitors:
- I will not engage in monopolistic behaviour and preclude others from competing with me.
- I will compete fairly without engaging in un-Islamic tactics.
- I will not be envious or malicious towards my competitors in anyway.
Some Ethics of Business in Islam
Similarly Almighty Allah proclaims,
“O you who believe, when you contract a debt for a fixed time, write it down.” (Surah 2 Aayat 282).
And the Holy Qur’an states,
“Give full measure and be
not of those who diminish. And weigh with a true balance. And wrong not men of
their dues, and act not corruptly on the earth, making mischief.” (Surah 26
Aayat 181-183).
Thus Muslims are asked to record
all their transactions. These precautions are taken to avoid disputes and to
protect and safeguard the rights of individuals. Justice no cheating, accepting
returnable goods no deception, courtesy no backbiting, truthful display of
quality no false demos, balance scales no tipping of the sides or stretching of
the cloth, full-payments no passing the hand underneath, clean business no
dealing with illegal items. Sufiyan Assawri used to say that giving of alms from
unlawful earnings is like washing clothes with urine!
Examples of fraud is setting up
different books for different purposes including selling at one’s own price when
acting as salesperson and taking the difference.
Such fraudulent acts are not
restricted to the employer. Even employees can be guilty of the same offence in
numerous ways. Among them are the following:
-
careless or wanton disregard for the duties that have been delegated to the employee;
-
not fulfilling one’s obligation with regard to time and number of work hours;
-
abuse of employer’s property such as using the employer’s telephone for personal use without the employer’s permission.
Rasulullah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) said,
“Flesh which was nourished
with unlawful earnings will not enter Jannah.” (Baihaqee)
Rasulullah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) said,
“When people cheat in
weighing and measuring they will face drought, famine, hardship and the wrath of
an unjust ruler.” (At Targheeb)
Interest
The taking and giving of
Interest in Banks and in car sales transactions and otherwise is totally
unlawful and it is considered waging war with God!
However, if an intelligent
person has to study this cursed system of banking, he will realise that these
banks are ‘blood banks’ where the ‘blood’ of the entire nation is collected. The
‘blood’ of the entire nation is then transfused into the ‘veins’ of a few
capitalists. In this way the entire nation becomes a target of poverty and want
and a few selected capitalists control the entire nation’s treasure. When one
businessman owns ten thousand but runs a business worth a million, then realise
that besides a few copper coins of interest, he gets the rest of the profit. The
Qur’an wishes to treat both partners fairly. The accrued profit should be
received by both. In the case where there is no profit, none should receive
anything. However, if profit is accrued then it should be fairly distributed in
terms of shares.
Question and Answers
Q. What is the position
of a business going into liquidation known to be owing many people monies, for
stock purchased, and perhaps in a month or later opening another business on
another name? The previous director/s still live the same lifestyle and drive
around in the same luxury cars. By becoming liquidated, are they absolved from
paying their debts?
A. Noble Qur’an states:
“Oh you who believe, Do not eat your wealth among yourselves unjustly, except that it be a transaction with
mutual happiness.” (Sura Nisaa Aayat 29).
The prohibition of unjustly
eating the wealth of others includes dishonouring a debt. * And whosoever does
that (unjustly eats the wealth of others), We will soon burn him in the fire
(Ibid).
* Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Umar (RA) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said every sin of a
Shaheed (martyr) is forgiven but debts. (Mishkaat Pg. 252, Me’raaj).
* Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (RA) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘The soul of a
believer will be suspended (from entering Jannah) due to his debt until paid.’
(Ibid).
In an Islamic State it is the
responsibility of the ruler to secure payments of debts. If a debtor has some
wealth, the ruler will imprison him until he sells his belongings – in order to
honour his debts. (Raddul Mukhtar vol. 6 pg. 150 HM Saeed).
If he refuses to sell his
belongings, the ruler will then himself sell all his belongings and distribute
it to the creditors pro-rata their debts. The ruler may leave only one set of
clothing for the debtor to cover his body (Hidaya vol. 3 – chapter of Hajr).
The ruler even has the right to
take all his (debtor’s) cash and pay the creditors without the consent of the
debtor.(Ibid)
From the foregoing, it is clear
that the rules and principles of insolvency in the secular system does not
corroborate with the laws and principles of insolvency in Shariah. It is not
permissible to search and create a loophole in the legal system and declare
oneself insolvent in order to avoid payments to one’s creditors. That will be
regarded as oppression and a major sin. If the debtor still owns a house, cars,
etc., according to Shariah he is not an insolvent person. He should sell his
belongings, car, house etc., and honour his debts. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) also informed us of a creditor being forgiven by Allah Ta’ala
for his sins due to his leniency to his debtors.
As Muslims we should be
conscious of our accountability in the court of Allah Ta’ala and be truthful in
all our dealings.
Q. According to the well
known Hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ƒÆ’layhi Wasallam) has invoked the curse of
Allah upon four categories of people due to their association with interest.
Among them is the one who has written the interest transaction, but what about
the accountant who prepares the financial statements of clients?
A. It is true that
according to a well known Hadith those who invoke the curse of Allah with regard
to a transaction of Riba (interest or usury) include a person ‘who has written
the interest’. However, this Hadith refers to the scribe of the transaction i.e.
a person who has written an agreement or prepared the document to evidence the
transaction. It does not include a person who was not involved in the
transaction itself in any way, but while preparing the accounts of a person, has
come across reference to the Riba transaction and has recorded it as an event
that has already happened without his involvement.
This is how the scholars have
interpreted the Hadith: Al-Ubbi, the famous commentator of Sahih Muslim has
explained the Hadith in the following manner: ‘By the word ‘writer of Riba’ the
Hadith intends the scribe of the document evidencing the transaction of Riba,
and by the word ‘witness’ it means a person who attended the occasion to become
a formal witness in support of the transaction. The Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu ƒÆ’layhi
Wasallam) has held them all as equal in sin because the transaction took place
only with their joint efforts.’ It is evident from these references that it is
the writing of the document of Riba which invokes the curse of Allah and not its
subsequent recording in a statement of the facts that already happened.
Therefore, the case of an Accountant of a firm or a company is different from
the person who is directly responsible for the operation of interests.
So far as the accountant is not
involved in charging interest, claiming it from the debtor or pursuing him for
that matter, merely making entries in the books of account will not make him
liable to fall within the ambit of prohibition stipulated in the Hadith. Unless
the major part (at least 51%) of the company is haram it is not prohibited to
draw salary for permissible services rendered to that company.
A Muslim cannot advise any one
to opt for a financing option based on interest. If most of the activities of a
business are haram, a Muslim should not take up the work for that business. My
advice is to abide by Shariah in every walk of life.
Q. Conditions for Trading in Stocks?
A. Muslims can acquire the shares of a joint stock
company with the following conditions:
-
The main business of the company must be Halaal
(permissible) according to Shariah. So, a Muslim cannot invest in a company
whose main business is Haraam, like the traditional banks, insurance companies, companies dealing in wines, etc.
-
If the main business is Halaal, but it is involved in
borrowing money on Interest or placing its funds in an Interest bearing
account a Muslim share-holder should raise his voice against this practice
in the annual general meeting of the company.
-
When a Muslim share-holder receives a dividend he must
ascertain that proportion of the profit of the company which has accrued on
its interest-bearing accounts. Then a similar proportion from his own
dividend must be given by him to a person or persons entitled to receive Zakaat.
-
If all the assets of a company are in a liquid form
and the company has not yet acquired any fixed assets or any stock for
trade, then the sale and purchase of shares must be on their par value only.
If anyone of these conditions is contravened, the investment in a company is not permissible in the Shari’ah.
Q. Is it permissible for a Muslim to sell non-halal (haram) goat, cow or chicken to non-muslims? What
does the shariah say about income from such a business? Everyone knows that
selling pork or wine is not permissible but how about selling carrion? Please
answer the question in the light of Fiqh. Jazak Allah.
A. The meat from an animal not slaughtered according to the Shari’ah falls in the category of a
carrion (dead animal) and is haram. It is not permissible to sell such meat. The
income from such meat will be haram. And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best.
Q. A friend of mine is in
ATM (Automatic teller machine) business. Actually, he is an independent
contractor. Should he continue working as Independent contractor for such
leasing/sale companies on commission basis or not?
A. The service provided
by the ATM is not Haram. The amount charged from the customer is a service
charge and not an interest. Your friend acts as a Mediator or as a Broker for
the installing company to find out persons who can provide their sites for the
installation of machines, meaning thereby that the installing company hires the
place of these clients and your friend acts as a Broker for this hiring
transaction. It is Halal?
Q. Organ transplant?
A. When a perfectly
healthy person on the advice of an expert physician confirms that the removal of
one kidney will not harm nor cause ill-health whatsoever and considering the
deteriorating health of his sick immediate family member which may cause death
and there is no other alternate or substitute then this will be permissible with
the condition that the kidney be donated and not sold.
Questions and Answers with courtesy of Mufti Taqi and Desai.