قال الله تبارك وتعالى في محكم كتابه المجيد بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً يَرْجُونَ تِجَارَةً لَّن تَبُورَ
This Aya is Aya number 29 in Surat Faatir. Allah (S.W.T) tells us here about a trade where it is always profitable, no loss, no bankruptcy, no shortcoming will be there. Let us talk about commerce on trade. Of course, it is highly recommended to get involved in commercial activities, to be a trade person. The Prophet was successful in running the business and trade when he was entrusted by Lady Khadija (S.A) taking all the commodities to Sham and that successful work and business led to Lady Khadija (P.B.U.H) to suggest and to ask the hand of the Prophet (S.A.W.W). This is a trade which was successful, full of profit, but it is not always like that. Because definition of trade is based on the risking, because when someone has got the capital and they want to invest, they want to invest in a business or trade or any way of accumulating wealth, so it is not guaranteed that they get the profits all the time. Sometimes you see that the stock market loses millions of dollars or pounds as we are receiving news every day according to this pandemic. Sometimes some other ways will lead to this bankruptcy or the loss. Everybody by nature, when they risk their money, their wealth, they hope to get the maximum of the profit from it. Of course, this does not apply to hoarding. We saw the beginning of this virus that many people were greedy enough to get as much goods and commodities they could have to hoard, to buy in the hope that later on people can’t get it and they have to pay many folds of their price and this is highly condemned by Sharia. Having understood the definition of trade and (تجارة) there are recommendations. First that Imam Sadiq (A.S) said that those who want to get involved in business, let them learn the rulings of Sharia, the Islamic law about the details of this business, otherwise sometimes they fall in the trap of prohibited earning and transactions. There are chapters in the books of Islamic law regarding prohibited transactions and indeed Sheikh Mortadha Al-Ansari wrote a full book about that called “Al-Makasib” which is one of the famous textbooks in the seminaries, in the Hawzas of the Shias. To talk about the details of more than 30 transactions which are prohibited in Islam and many people are not fully aware of them. So, here is about the business and trade with regard to worldly incomes. But, Allah (S.W.T) tells us in this Aya which I started about the trade that no loss will be there, no bankruptcy will follow and that is as Allah (S.W.T) tells us(إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ) first of all, those who recite the book of Allah, reciting the Quran, especially during the Holy month of Ramadhan, reciting 50 Ayat from the Quran is highly recommended in every day, before you start your work. Here, the first act is (إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ) those who recite the book of Allah. Second (وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ) they established the prayers, they maintained the prayers, performed their daily prayers in the most perfect way. The third one (وَأَنفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً) those who spend either in secret or in public from what we have provided them. So these three together, reciting the Quran, establishing the prayer and spending from what Allah (S.W.T) has provided us, of course spending in charity, spending to assist others whether it is made public, you announce it, or you keep it secret, both of them (يَرْجُونَ تِجَارَةً لَّن تَبُورَ) it is done in hope that they get involved in a business that they do not incur any loss in it. This is a trade and business for the hereafter, shall make a comparison between two types of transactions? Two types of trade and business? One is what is dealt with the economy, in accumulating wealth and running business in order to have good income, this is for the worldly trade. But the other one, which is unique in the Quran (فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَارَتُهُمْ) in another Aya that those who are hypocrites, those who think that they are playing games with the principles of faith, these Allah (S.W.T) says that they are losers in their business. But this business is different. This is when you do something here in this life in order to make use of it in the hereafter and what is the capital there? The capital as it is seen in this Aya and many other Ayat, the capital suitable for good business in the hereafter are the good deeds. We read from Imam Ali (A.S) that he said (الأعمال في الدنيا تجارة الآخرة) the deeds in this life are preparing the good and successful business in the hereafter. When you become involved in charitable acts, when you take care of others, when you assist the poor and needy, in this way you are making a deal with Allah (S.W.T) you are entering a business with Allah (S.W.T) that the reward for that, the profit of that will be seen in the hereafter.
Another comparison between the trade and business with this life and the trade and business in the hereafter is seen in the words of the Prophet (S.A.W.W) and that is about the concept of risking. The Prophet said (تاجر الدنيا يخاطر بنفسه وماله) the businessman, the tradesman in this life is risking both his wealth and his life. In the past it was risking their lives when people would travel far away using ships which were not safe and sometimes, they were attacked by pirates and many other losses. So, they were risking their lives, risking their health, risking the capital. But (وتاجر الآخرة غانمٌ رابح) whilst the one who gets involved in the trade which belongs to the hereafter will always be successful. He is always facing and getting the profit without loss. What about our existence, our personality, our soul? The hadith from the Prophet (S.A.W.W) says that, look you have a price, you have to be compensated for what you spend but indeed the efforts and deeds that you spend them and you offer them to others. In order to get the price for that and that price is nothing but paradise. The Prophet (S.A.W.W) said that your soul and your psyches have a price, do not sell price cheap. Do not exchange it with cheap return. Because if you do it for anything less than paradise you are cheated, you are not getting the best of results. In this understanding we see that if people want to get a trade and business that is always profitable, they have to make the maximum effort to obey Allah (S.W.T), to comply with His guidelines, to do what is in benefit for other people, the public interest, rescuing the life of others, assisting the poor and needy. All these in reality are nothing but trade that will be successful and profitable all the time.