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Opening verse
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Meaning: When the Jumu'ah prayer is over, spread out in the land and seek the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah much so that you may succeed. (62 Al-Jumu'ah: 10)
Prayer and work – Islam is both together.
1️⃣ Basic ideas
- Islam is a complete way of life; it is wrong to ignore one part and follow another.
- Applying Islamic economics on its own in a society without Islam is a challenge; forcing it to fit modern economic thinking is also wrong.
- The full benefit of its economic principles comes only in a society where the other parts of Islam are also practised.
- A human being = soul + body; true prosperity comes only through balance between the two.
- Earning a living is only one means of reaching life's goal; meeting bodily needs alone is not the goal of life.
- Wealth must not harm iman – Islam does not allow money and goods to be worshipped as gods (shirk).
2️⃣ A warning about traders
| Hadith (meaning) | Source |
|---|---|
| Traders will be raised on the Day of Judgement as wrongdoers, except those who fear Allah, speak the truth and do good | Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban |
| O traders! I warn you about lying | at-Tabarani |
3️⃣ What to avoid in work
(1) Cheating (fraud in measuring and weighing)
| Source | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 7 Al-A'raf: 85 | Give full measure when you measure; weigh with a true balance |
| 83 Al-Mutaffifin: 1–6 | Woe to those who cheat in measure and weight; when they take they take in full, and when they give they give less; they will stand before the Lord of the worlds on a mighty Day |
| Bukhari, Tirmidhi | May Allah have mercy on a man who is generous when he sells, when he buys and when he claims what is due to him! (the Prophet's ﷺ prayer) |
Give-and-take, honesty, gentleness – the three qualities of trade.
(2) False oaths
- They lessen the greatness of Allah, and deceive the customer and the public.
| Hadith (meaning) | Source |
|---|---|
| A (false) oath may create demand for goods, but it destroys the barakah | Bukhari |
| Swearing makes the goods sell, but destroys the profit | Muslim, Nasa'i, Ahmad, Abu Dawud |
| One of the three whom Allah will not look at or purify on the Day of Judgement – the one who swears that his goods have a quality they do not have | Bukhari |
| Whoever takes another Muslim's property by a false oath will meet Allah while He is angry with him | Bukhari, Muslim |
| "The traders are the wrongdoers." – Has Allah not made trade lawful? – "Yes; but they swear and so sin, and they tell lies." | Ahmad |
- Quran: Do not consume one another's wealth unjustly. (2 Al-Baqarah: 188)
(3) Hoarding (الاحتكار – ihtikar)
- Hoarding goods in expectation of a price rise in the market is haram.
- Reasons: greed, and no concern for others → great hardship for people.
| Hadith (meaning) | Source |
|---|---|
| The one who brings needed goods to market at the right time is blessed; the one who hoards is cursed | Ibn Majah |
| How evil is the hoarder! If prices fall he is sad; if they rise he is glad | Bayhaqi |
| The one who hoards is a sinner | Muslim, Abu Dawud |
| Whoever hoards food for forty days has cut himself off from Allah, and Allah has cut Himself off from him | Ahmad, al-Hakim |
| The worst of servants is the hoarder | Razin |
Note: Of these hadiths, "the hoarder is a sinner" (Muslim) is authentic. Hadith scholars have criticised the chains of several of the others (for example the "forty days" report). Learn the references as the textbook gives them, and confirm gradings with your teacher.
(4) Interest (الربا – riba)
- Definition: Interest is any amount taken over and above the principal sum of money.
- It is one of the major sins listed by Islam; both taking and giving it are condemned.
| Source | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 2 Al-Baqarah: 279 | If you repent, you may have your principal |
| 2 Al-Baqarah: 278–279 | O you who believe! Give up what remains of interest; if you do not, then war has been declared by Allah and His Messenger |
| 4 An-Nisa': 161 | A painful punishment for those who took interest though they had been forbidden it, and consumed people's wealth wrongfully |
- The textbook gives the verse "give up what remains of interest … war" as (2:279); this meaning is in verses 2:278–279 – confirm with your teacher.
The seven destructive major sins (Bukhari)
- Associating partners with Allah (shirk)
- Sorcery (magic)
- Killing a life that Allah has made sacred, without right
- Consuming interest
- Consuming the wealth of orphans
- Fleeing from the battlefield
- Slandering chaste, innocent believing women
The dream of the river of blood (Bukhari)
- In a dream the Prophet ﷺ saw a man in a river of blood; whenever he tried to come out, a man standing on the bank threw a stone into his mouth and drove him back.
- The explanation: "The one you saw in the river is the one who consumes interest."
(5) Buying and selling haram goods
- Buying or selling property obtained unjustly is haram.
| Source | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 38 Sad: 24 | Many partners wrong one another, except those who believe and do good deeds |
| Bayhaqi | Whoever buys something knowing it was stolen shares in its sin and crime |
| Abu Dawud | Allah is the third partner of two partners, as long as neither cheats the other |
Note: Scholars have discussed the chain of the "third partner" hadith (some grade it weak). The textbook cites Abu Dawud.
4️⃣ Observing halal and haram in trade
| Hadith (meaning) | Source |
|---|---|
| Allah made fat haram for the Jews; they sold it and consumed its price. When Allah makes something haram to eat, He also makes its price haram | Abu Dawud |
| Flesh that grew from haram deserves only the Fire | at-Tabarani |
| A time will come when people will not care whether what they earn is halal or haram | Bukhari |
When even halal goods must not be sold
- Selling grapes to those who buy them to make alcohol.
- Selling weapons to trouble-makers and evil-doers.
- Rule: selling even halal goods to those who will use them for haram acts is forbidden.
Memory tip – the 5 things to avoid
"C–O–H–I–H" → Cheating, false Oaths, Hoarding, Interest, trade in Haram goods.
Quick revision
- 62:10 – when the prayer is over, spread out in the land and seek Allah's bounty.
- Balance of soul and body is prosperity; wealth must not harm iman.
- Fraud in measure and weight: 7:85, 83:1–6.
- A false oath destroys barakah (Bukhari).
- Hoarding – haram; hoarding food for 40 days (Ahmad, Hakim).
- Interest = anything over the principal; one of the seven major sins; war with Allah.
- Allah is the third partner – as long as there is no cheating (Abu Dawud).
- The price of a haram thing is also haram.