OUR PROPHET was a messenger who set an example for people in all areas of life. He also did shopping and borrowed money. He occasionally went to the market to check the commercial life, gave advice to people on issues such as justice, fairness, and law; he warned them not to deceive one another or not to commit perjury... Let us share some of the memories related to how the Prophet (pbuh) acted in commercial issues:
He Gave More to the Creditor
When the Prophet borrowed something, he would give more to the creditor at the time of payment. He once borrowed a camel from somebody. Then, he gave that person a better camel instead. He said,
“People who pay their debts better and more perfectly are virtuous people.”
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When He Granted Someone Something…
When the Prophet wanted to grant something to someone, he would use commerce as a means. He would try that way to win the heart of a person and ensure that he would not feel obliged.
Once, the Prophet made such a favor to Jabir bin Abdullah. Jabir narrates it as follows:
“I was with the Messenger of Allah in a war. On the way, he said to me, ‘May Allah forgive you! Would you sell me this camel for one dinar?’
“I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! When we reach Medina, this camel will be yours.’
“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘May Allah forgive you! would you sell it for two dinars?’
“He increased the price of the camel by one dinar until it reached twenty dinars. When I arrived in Madinah, I held my camel’s head and took it to the presence of the Messenger of Allah.
“When the Messenger of Allah saw me, he said to Bilal: ‘O Bilal! Give Jabir twenty dinars from the booty. He did me a favor. He said, ‘Take your camel. Take it home. Let it be yours’.”
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Trade is the Best Way of Profit and Sustenance
The Prophet (pbuh) spent the first forty years of his life by being engaged in trade. He grazed sheep/goats when he was a child and did business in his youth.
In one of his hadiths, he encouraged people to trade by saying “Nine-tenths of sustenance are in trade”.
According to what Umm Hani (May Allah be pleased with her) said, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to a Companion, “Get sheep and goats because there is blessing in them.” Thus, he advised people to do animal husbandry. In fact, the Prophet (pbuh) states the following in a hadith narrated by Ibn Umar (ra): “Sheep and goats are animals of Paradise.”
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Those Who Trade Should Leave Each Other in a Pleased Way
Shopping, buying and selling things are a necessity and a requirement of life. However, mutual consent and satisfaction, complacency and behavior fitting a believer are necessary in trade.
Abu Hurayra (ra) narrates:
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Let those who buy and sell leave each other in a pleased way.” That is, trade should be done by mutual consent.
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It Is Necessary To Start All Kinds Of Work Early
The Prophet (pbuh) advised people to start work early in the morning and to send a military unit to a place early in the morning; he prayed for those who started their day early.
Sakhr al-Ghamidi (ra) narrates:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
“O Allah! Bless the deeds of my ummah done in the first hours of the day.
Sakhr states the following: “When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was to send a military unit and an army to war, he would send them in the first and early hours of the morning.”
The Prophet (pbuh) advised his relatives to start day early because sustenance is divided early in the day and his advice reminds us to witness that division.
One morning, he awakened Hz. Fatima (ra), his daughter, who was sleeping, and said:
“O my daughter! Get up and witness the distribution of sustenance by your Lord. Do not be one of the heedless people! Allah divides sustenance between dawn and sunrise.”
