Righteousness in Trade

Righteousness is the key to Ultimate Success. That is why the Holy Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) always encouraged his followers to adopt the way of righteousness in every walk of life. This hadith highlights the importance and significance of righteousness, goodness and truth in business.

While doing trade or business, people generally display purely materialistic mentality so much so that even the person regarded as ‘religious’ fail to deal justly and honestly as required by the religion. They neither care for what is permissible and what is not. Nor do they worry about honesty and truth. They are concerned only about earning money even at the cost of moral and religious bindings. But here the Holy Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) has warned such traders that if they do not adopt the policy of honest-dealing and good moral conduct, they will have to face the fate of wicked people on the Day of Judgement.

In another hadith narrated by Ma’mar bin Abdullah on the authority of Imam Muslim, the Holy Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) said that the person who indulges in hoarding is a sinner. To hoard food grains and other commodities of daily necessity with a view to selling them at a higher price, when their scarcity in the market is causing great hardship to the people, is to take undue advantage of the people’s difficulties. Islam considers this mentality criminal, for it is selfish and contrary to human sympathy, and is a means of adding to the difficulties of the people. Thus the Holy Messenger (may Allah bless and greet him) calls such hoarders sinners.