FAIRNESS AND HONESTY IN DEALINGS
Uprightness and honesty in dealings with people forms a vital part of the fundamental teachings of Islam.
The Holy Quraan as well as the Traditions of the Prophet (Sallallahu
Alaihe Wasallam) are emphatic that a true Muslim is he who is honest
and upright in his business and other formal dealings and affairs,
keeps his word and fulfils his promises, shuns fraud and avoids deceit
and perfidy, encroaches not upon the rights of others nor takes part in
wrongful litigation, does not give false evidence, and abstains from
making dishonest money as from usury and graft. Whoever is not free
from these vices is, according to the Holy Quraan and the Traditions,
not a true believer but a renegade and a worthless transgressor.
We now proceed to examine some of the relevant Quraanic verses and Traditions. A short verse of the Holy Quraan says:
O ye who believe! Eat not up each other's property by unfair and dishonest means. [IV:29]
The verse forbids Muslim against all unclean and corrupt means of making money, such as, dishonest trading, embezzlement, gambling, speculation and bribery. Then there are verses in which these hateful practices are dealt with one by one. For instance, a severe warning is given in the following verse to traders who cheat in weighment:
In
the same way, the under-mentioned verse exhorts Muslims to be very
particular about their trusts and about other peoples rights.
At two places in the Holy Quraan a chief distinguishing feature of Muslims is said to be that they are:
Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants. [XXIII:8]
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) used often to say, in his sermons:
"Remember there is no faith in him who is not trustworthy there is no
place for him in religion who cares not for his pledged word or
promise."
Another Tradition says: "The signs of a hypocrite are
three: when he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he fails; and when he
is trusted, he plays false."
Condemning those who cheat in
business the sacred Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has said, "He
who cheats is not of us. Deceitfulness and fraud are things that lead
one to Hell."
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) of Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) once came upon a heap of corn in the market of
Madinah and thrust his hand into it. His fingers felt damp. On being
asked, the trader replied that rain had fallen upon it. The Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) observed, "Why did you not then keep (the
wet portion of) it above the dry corn, so that men may see. it? He, who
deceives, is not one of us."
Thus, traders who deceive by
showing to customers a false sample or by concealing from them the
defects of the article they offer for sale are not true Muslims in the
judgement of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) and, Allah -
forbid, they are going to end up in Hell. Another Tradition says:
The seller must explain to the buyer the defects if any in the quality
of the article offered for sale. Should this not be done, the seller
will permanently be caught in the wrath of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) according to another narrator the exact words are, "he will
always be cursed by the angels."
In short, all manner of deceit
and dishonesty in business is prohibited in Islam. It has been
proclaimed to be an act worthy of unqualified condemnation. The Holy
Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has expressed his strong dislike
for those who do so. He has said that he will have nothing to do with
them; they do not belong to him.
Likewise, bribery and usury,
although they might be practised by mutual consent and agreement, are
totally disallowed to Muslims and those who are guilty of them have
been condemned squarely in the Traditions. A well-known Tradition on
usury reads:
"The curse of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) rests
on him who offers loan on usurious terms, and on him who receives, and
on those who are witnesses to the transaction, and on the writer who
writes the deed thereof."
As for bribery, the Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has said, in a Tradition, "condemned alike
the giver of bribes and the taker of bribes in deciding cases."
A Tradition goes even to the extent of saying that, "If a person made a
recommendation for anyone in a just matter and the gratified party gave
him something as a gift (in return for it) and he accepted it then he
committed a grave error (meaning that it, too, is a form of bribery)."
Worse still is the usurpation of another's property by force or fraud
or dishonest litigation. We have it on the authority of the Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) that:
"Whoever occupies land
belonging to another unjustly, will be sunk into the ground along with
that plot of land on the Doomsday till he reaches the lowest layer of
the earth."
"He who acquires the property of a Muslim unjustly
by taking a false oath (before an officer) is debarred by Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) from entering paradise and the Fire of Hell is
made inevitable for him". On hearing it a Companion is reported to have
asked, "Even if it be a minor thing?" The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe
Wãsallam) is said to have replied, "Yes, even if it be a twig of pilo"
(a plant which grows wild. Its twigs are used for cleaning the teeth
i.e. miswaak).
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam), again,
is reported to have warned a person who was very fond of entering into
litigation with others in these strong words, "Remember, he who will
obtain the property of another by swearing a false oath will appear as
a leper before Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) (on the Day of Judgement)."
In another tradition, Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) said,
"Whoever laid his claim on a thing that was not his, is not of us. He should reserve a place for himself in the Hell."
It is narrated that one day, after the morning prayers the Holy Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) stood up and said thrice with great
feeling that, "Perjury has been made the equivalent of polytheism."
ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH
Money
or property which is acquired through unfair means, as we have just
indicated, is obviously unclean and unlawful and anyone who makes use
of it and spend it on his needs does himself a great harm. As the
sacred Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has warned, his prayers
will not find acceptance by Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), his
supplications will not be answered, his petitions will not be granted,
and in case he does good deeds they will avail him nothing. In the
Hereafter, there will be no share for him in the special favours and
good graces of the Lord.
A Tradition says: "If a person earns
or acquires anything through dishonest means and then gives away a part
of it in charity, his act of charity will not be accepted, and if he
will spend from it on his needs there will be no auspiciousness or real
prosperity in it, and should he leave it behind to his descendants on
his death it will serve for him as hell's provision. Believe it, Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) does not erase evil with evil (i.e., charity
and almsgiving from ill-gotten gains can never lead to salvation). One
impurity cannot remove another, it cannot make it pure".
And another Traditions is:
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) is pure Himself and He accepts only those offerings that are pure."
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam), at the end of the Tradition
also narrated the story of a man " Who undertakes a long and tedious
journey (to supplicate to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) at a sacred
place) and arrives (at his destination) in such a state that his hair
is dishevelled and his body is covered from head to foot with dust. He
throws up his hands towards the heavens and cries out, "O Lord! O my
preserver! but his sustenance is of the impure and he has been brought
up on what is polluted; how can his prayer be granted when such is the
case?"
The above amply demonstrates that when a person draws
his livelihood from impure means his prayers no longer remain worthy of
being answered. Yet another Tradition of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu
AlaiheWasallam) reads:
"If a person buys a cloth for ten
Dirhams (a currency of olden times) and one of the is tainted it has
been earned dishonestly), none of his Salaah will be accepted by Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) as long as he wears it."
And, here is one more:
"The flesh gathered on one's body by means of unclean earning deserves to be thrown into the Fire."
Brothers! If we have the tiniest spark of faith left in our hearts we
must make up our minds, once for all, after hearing these Traditions,
that whatever poverty and hardship we may have to endure in the world
we will never try to make a single penny from unclean and dishonest
sources and will always content ourselves with what we earn through
honest lawful means.
CLEAN EARNING AND HONEST TRADE
Just
as Islam has condemned all unclean and unlawful means of making money
as wicked and sinful, and denounced all profits derived from them as
filthy and devilish, in the same way it has proclaimed great virtue in
seeking one's livelihood honestly and in engaging oneself cleanly in
trade or profession. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) has said:
To seek a clean earning is also duty next only to the prescribed duties of the faith."
"The cleanest food is that has been earned by the labour of his hand.
Indeed, Prophet David (Alaihis Salaam) used to work with his own hands
for the food he ate."
"The trader who plies his trade cleanly
and honestly will rise in the Hereafter in the company of prophets,
saints and martyrs."
KINDNESS AND COMPASSION IN DEALINGS
Islam
has laid great stress on honesty and truthfulness in trade and other
monetary dealings and described profound virtue and excellency in it.
It has declared it to be a means of gaining nearness unto Allah
(Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa). Islam likewise, enjoins on us to be kind and
avoid harshness and severity in transaction and other dealings, too. It
has promised great spiritual advantage in it also. We will reproduce
two Traditions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam).
Blessings of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) be on him who is mild and
gentle in his transactions and in the realisation of his dues.
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will protect him from the agonies of the
Day of judgement who allows respite to a poor and indigent servant of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) in the payment of his debt or writes off
the debt (altogether or a part of it)". In another Tradition it is said
"Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) will provide him with the shade of his
blessing on the Day of judgement."
These Traditions are meant
for merchants and other wealthy men from whom people borrow money on
the hour of their need. As for the borrowers, the Prophet (Sallallahu
Alaihe Wasallam) used to urge them to do their best to pay back their
debts quickly lest they die in a state of indebtedness, with the claim
of anyone lying unsettled on their heads. How strict the Prophet
(Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) was in this regard can be imagined from
the following Traditions:
"If a person is killed in the path of
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) then all his sins will be forgiven (by
virtue of his martyrdom). But if he owes anyone anything even martyrdom
will not secure his release from it."
"By the Lord in whose
power lies the life of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam), if a
person falls a martyr in the path of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and
returns to life and is killed again in the path of Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) and returns to life only to be killed once more in the
cause of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and there is still a debt
outstanding against him, even then he will not be able to enter
Paradise (if the matter of debt is not resolved)."
These two
Traditions are quite sufficient to show what great importance Islam
attaches to monetary affairs and the rights of fellow human beings. May
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) grant us the wisdom to understand their
delicacy and significance and to make it our constant endeavour to
assure that the claims of no one are left unsatisfied by us.
