Islamic teachings on business transactions

Allah has created so many means of livelihoods for humans so that they can survive on the earth. And He has made business a lawful means of earning for us. If we do business with honesty, it will benefit other people and will be regarded as an act of worship of Allah. Abu Sa’eed (RA) narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said, “The truthful, trustworthy merchant is with the Prophets, the truthful and the martyrs.” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1209). Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) went on several trade missions and did business. According to the account transmitted by Ibn Ishaq, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (RA) was a wealthy merchant who hired Muhammad (PBUH) to take her goods to Syria. Many of his close companions were also businessmen. Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), who were among the closest companions of the Prophet (PBUH), were also reportedly merchants and used to deal in clothes.
Earlier, Prophet (PBUH) elevated the honour of the traders and gave them better names. It was narrated that Qais bin Abu Gharazah said, “At the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), we used to be called brokers, but the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed by us and called by a name that was better than that. He said, ‘O merchants, selling involves (false) oaths and idle talk, so mix some charity with it.’” (Sunan Ibn Majah 2145).
Nowadays, it is quite a common scenario in marketplaces that buyers and sellers often engage in quarrels over their transactions. Sometimes, the sellers complain, “Why should a buyer not purchase when he has asked the prices?” On the other hand, in many cases, a customer also comes back to return goods he has purchased from him while the shopkeeper is unwilling to take them back. Our holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has taught his followers the best way to resolve such issues in a peaceful manner and avoid discord. Hakim ibn Hizam (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “The buyer and the seller have the option to cancel or confirm the bargain as long as they have not parted. If they both speak the truth and make clear the defects, their transaction will be blessed. But if they conceal and tell lies, the blessing of their transaction will be eliminated.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2079). If people follow these rules, they can avoid injustice and quarrel. It is because the sellers cannot complain even if the buyer cancels a transaction as long as he is standing at the shop, while a buyer cannot complain even if a seller refuses to take back a sold item after the buyer has left the shop with the product. 

The Prophet (PBUH) also emphasised the necessity of being lenient in one’s dealings, when one buys or sells or tries to recover his money. Jabir ibn Abdullah (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, “May Allah have mercy on a man who is lenient when he sells, when he buys, and when he demands his money back.”
There is a wrong perception among some people that if traders want to make a profit in business, they will frequently need to tell lies. However, the Prophet’s (PBUH) teachings really show us the opposite thing: the right way to conduct trades. He strictly prohibited cheating in business. He has taught that people should do business with honesty and leniency and avoid swearing much and cheating and add charity.
It is wrong for a trader to hide the faults of his goods when they sell a product. If he wants to sell such goods, he must make mention of the faults to the customers. Then, if they wish, the customer will purchase, and if he does not, he may cancel the transaction. Abu Hurairah (RA) reported, “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) once passed by a heap of food (grain). He put his hand inside it and found that its inner portion was wet. He asked the seller, ‘What is this?’ The seller replied, ‘Rain had fallen on it, O Messenger of Allah.’ He (PBUH) said, ‘Why did you not put the wet portion on top of the food so that people could see it? Whoever deceives us is not one of us.’” (Sahih Muslim 102).
Meanwhile, a buyer must also avoid purchasing something which he has not been allowed to see or check. Abu Hurairah (RA) reported, “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) prohibited the sale involving uncertainty (Bay' al-Gharar) and the sale involving (what is determined by throwing) pebbles (Bay' al-Hasah).” (Sahih Muslim 1513).
Moreover, our Prophet has also prohibited meeting a seller in this way to go to the market to purchase from him goods. Rather, one should meet the seller at the marketplace and purchase goods after they have arrived there. Abdullah Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated, “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, ‘Do not go to meet the caravans on the way (for buying their goods before they reach the market), and a town-dweller should not sell the goods of a desert-dweller on behalf of the latter.’ I asked Ibn Abbas (RA), ‘What does he mean by a town-dweller not selling the goods of a desert-dweller?’ He replied, ‘He should not become his broker.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2158).
Sometimes people take some wrong paths to multiply profits. Whoever takes those paths to earn money, it will be a sinful act for him and harmful for society. For example, people often hoard goods to make profits, but it creates an artificial crisis in the market and raises prices of goods and causes people hardship. This is strictly prohibited in Islam.  Ma'mar ibn Abdullah (RA) reported, “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, ‘No one hoards but the sinner.’” (Sahih Muslim 1605).
After that, some people in our society tend to consider no difference between interest-based dealings and trades. They engage in dealing with riba (interests). In fact, those who engage in such dealings earn the wrath of Allah. It has been clearly mentioned in the Holy Quran, “Allah has permitted trading and forbidden interest.” Surah Al-Baqarah (2:275). Jabir said, “Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) cursed the accepter of interest and its payer, and one who records it, and the two witnesses, and he said, 'They are all equal.” (Sahih Muslim 1598).
It is a duty upon every Muslim person to seek livelihood through lawful means. It is one of the most important conditions of one’s supplication to be accepted by Allah. Businessmen must do business with lawful goods and in a lawful manner and follow the Islamic guidelines.  

The writer is a member of editorial team at the Daily Sun