A significant part of human life is spent earning a livelihood and providing the necessities of living. Therefore, having a successful business plays an important role in life. For this reason, the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) have taught us many lessons about work and how to earn lawful sustenance. Undoubtedly, acting upon these teachings can guarantee both our worldly and spiritual prosperity. The eighth shining light of Imamate and guardianship, Imam Rida (AS) has also offered many valuable teachings and guidelines on business and earning a livelihood. In this article, we aim to highlight some of these teachings in the words of Imam Rida (AS).
The Value and Importance of Work and Business
Human beings are bound to work and strive; therefore, they should not neglect it and must continuously exert effort to secure their livelihood. Imam Rida (AS), addressing one of his companions, refers to this fundamental principle and says: “People are inevitably required to strive for their livelihood, so do not abandon the effort to earn wealth”.[1]
Comfort and ease in life are achieved only through effort and hard work. Without a doubt, a person who sits idly and waits for God to send him sustenance is not beloved by God. In the Islamic tradition, religion and worldly life each have their rightful place, and a lover of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) should not abandon work and the pursuit of lawful earnings under the pretext of worship, asceticism, or similar notions.
It has long been rightly said that movement is from us and blessing is from God. Seeking success and divine favor without effort and action is undesirable and blameworthy. Imam Rida (AS) states: “Whoever asks God for success while making no effort has mocked himself”.[2]
A very profound and noteworthy point in Islam is the inseparable connection between worldly life and the hereafter. Business and work in Islam are not merely material or worldly matters; rather, if a person strives with the intention of seeking God’s pleasure and providing comfort and well-being for themselves and their family, they both build their worldly life and benefit from spiritual reward in the hereafter.
In this regard, Imam Rida (AS) says in a radiant narration: “Surely the one who seeks increased sustenance to provide for his family and dependents has a reward greater than that of a warrior in the path of God”.[3]
In this saying, Imam Rida (AS) equates the daily work of a family breadwinner with a major righteous deed such as striving in the path of God, and even ranks it above that. Therefore, with sincere intention and earnest effort, a person can give a divine color to an important part of their worldly life and use it for building their hereafter.
The Etiquette of Successful Business in the Words and Practice of Imam Rida (AS)
Islamic teachings contain many instructions and recommendations that describe the nature of business and the qualities of a successful job and income. The words and conduct of Imam Rida (AS) are rich with such guidance. Below, we refer to some of these teachings:
1. Seeking God’s Assistance in Business
The true Provider is the Almighty God. He delivers sustenance to every creature. Therefore, we must always ask God to bless our work and expand our livelihood. Imam Rida (AS) says to one of his companions: “Ask the Almighty God for ample sustenance and livelihood”.[4]
Imam Rida (AS) also teaches another companion how to ask God for sustenance: “O Lord, truly I ask You for abundant, lawful, and pure sustenance”.[5]
The spiritual effect of this ethical recommendation is that, it preserves a person’s relationship with God and reminds them that they are always in need of their Lord. This guidance also prevents one’s bond of servitude from weakening due to worldly success.
2. Contentment in Business
One of the most important ethical teachings of our religious leaders is practicing contentment in life. Contentment means being satisfied with the sustenance God has allotted and distancing oneself from greed and excessive desire. Contentment has a direct relationship with successful business.
One of Satan’s traps to entice humans toward unlawful or forbidden income is greed. Contentment protects a person from falling into the whirlpool of unlawful earnings and preserves their dignity. Imam Rida (AS) states: “Contentment is a collection of qualities such as self-restraint, valuing oneself, abandoning excessive desire, and freeing oneself from servitude to worldly people”.[6] A content person is always pleased with what God provides through lawful means and does not allow greed to trap them.
3. Managing Income Earned Through Work
Although Islam forbids excess in hoarding and accumulating wealth, neglect and carelessness in managing wealth are also discouraged. A person must plan their life and livelihood according to their income.
Reason dictates that one should ensure the provision of livelihood for themselves and their family for one year. Someone asked Imam Rida (AS) about storing food for a year, and the Imam replied: “I do this myself”.[7] This response shows that planning for one’s livelihood and looking ahead is commendable and part of the Imam’s own practice.
In another luminous narration, Imam Rida (AS) says: “When a person has prepared the food for one year, his back becomes lighter and he feels at ease”.[8]
4. Diversifying Investment in Business
One of the key principles in trade and business is financial diversification. A person should not invest all their wealth in one venture; rather, by choosing a proper investment mix, they can reduce risk.
Imam Rida (AS) narrates a story from his noble ancestor, Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (AS), in which someone asks the Imam why his investments are spread out. Imam al-Sadiq (AS) replies: “If wealth is invested in only one direction, then if a disaster occurs and it is lost, all the wealth is lost; but if it is invested in multiple areas, one loss will not destroy everything”.[9]
5. Transparency in Business Contracts
One of the important principles in business is the clarity of contracts. When both sides enter into a clear and transparent agreement, disputes disappear and resentment does not arise. In the conduct of Imam Rida (AS), this principle is emphasized.
Sulayman ibn Jafar, one of the Imam’s companions, narrates that one day he entered the Imam’s home with him. They saw that the servants were building an enclosure for the animals, and among them was a dark-skinned laborer preparing clay.
Imam Rida (AS) asked: “Who is this man?” They replied: “He is helping us; we will give him something at the end of the work”. The Imam (AS) asked: “Have you set a specific wage for him?” They said: “No, whatever we give him, he accepts and is satisfied”. Upon hearing this, Imam Rida (AS) became very angry and said: “I have told them many times not to bring a worker like this unless his wage is determined before he starts working”.[10]
6. Entrepreneurial Business
Another important principle in the business culture of Imam Rida (AS) is entrepreneurship. In the Imam’s view, the best and most worthy form of work is one through which others also benefit. A good job is one that, besides supporting the individual, also helps provide livelihood for others.
Imam Rida (AS) describes the person with the best job as one “by whose life the lives of others become good”.[11] He then describes the person lacking this quality as having the worst type of occupation, saying: “The worst of people is the one who withholds his help from others”.[12]
A person should help their fellow believers as much as they can and create employment opportunities for others, thereby solving livelihood problems and contributing to the economic growth of the Muslim community.
7. Avoiding Cooperation With Oppressive Regimes
One method of earning money that is prohibited in Islamic teachings is collaborating with tyrannical rulers and oppressive authorities. When Sulayman Jafari asks Imam Rida (AS) about cooperating with unjust rulers, the Imam (AS) replies: “O Sulayman! Entering their system, helping them, and striving to fulfill their needs is equivalent to disbelief, and intentionally attending to them is among the great sins that will lead to the fire of Hell”.[13]
This narration deems any form of professional cooperation with those who oppress Muslims as forbidden and disgraceful. One manifestation of this in our time is collaborating with Zionist companies. Without doubt, any form of cooperation or business with companies that support the Israeli regime is an unforgivable sin.
Of course, in the conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), there were exceptions, and due to certain interests, the Imams (AS) occasionally permitted trusted companions to work within the Abbasid administration.
In any case, one should avoid any business that strengthens the enemies of Islam and resort to such work only when absolutely necessary.
8. Avoiding Unlawful Business Practices
Imam Rida (AS) mentions some forms of forbidden income and counts them among the major sins. He says: “Avoid major sins such as killing an innocent soul… consuming usurious wealth and unlawful wealth after knowing it is unlawful, gambling, and cheating in weights and measures”.[14]
The Imam (AS) begins by mentioning murder, which indicates that economic sins are placed on a scale comparable to taking a human life.
9. Limiting Profit in Business
According to the teachings of Imam Rida (AS), profit should not be unreasonable or unrealistic; rather, each person should earn profit in proportion to the nature of the transaction. Social conditions and economic fluctuations should not lead to vast, unbalanced, windfall profits for a select few. The Imam says: “[A believer should] earn enough profit to cover daily living and take only a small profit from commercial goods”.[15]
To better understand the Imam’s teaching about “small profit,” we can refer to the words of Imam Ali (AS): “Transactions should be easy and fair, conducted at rates that do not wrong either the buyer or the seller”.[16]
Thus, the criterion for profit is justice and balance between buyer and seller. A transaction in which the seller gains an excessive profit while the buyer struggles to afford the price is not acceptable in the view of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS).
10. Condemnation of Hoarding and Financial Monopoly
Another important teaching of Imam Rida (AS) about business is discouraging hoarding and monopoly. In a radiant saying, the Imam mentions that one of the reasons for the prohibition of usury is people’s excessive desire for profit.[17] This indicates that unjust and extreme profit-seeking should not become common in society.
Based on the Imam’s teachings, accumulating wealth excessively and hoarding profits is blameworthy. In another narration, the Imam attributes excessive wealth accumulation to five moral vices: “Wealth is not accumulated except through five traits: abundant miserliness, long-term ambitions, excessive greed, cutting off relatives, and preferring the world over the hereafter”.[18]
Each of these traits alone can distance a person from the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) and lead to ruin. Therefore, one must be extremely careful to avoid unjust hoarding and excessive capital accumulation.
One negative dimension of hoarding is istithar (monopolistic self-appropriation). Istithar means that a person keeps wealth or goods desired and needed by others exclusively for themselves, preventing others from access.[19]
When Ma’mun asked Imam Rida (AS) about a summary of Islam, one of the items the Imam (AS) mentioned was: “Disavowal of those who engage in monopolistic appropriation”.[20]
Istithar and monopoly are destructive effects of capitalism. Oppressive capitalists monopolize wealth, resources, and public assets, reserving them for themselves and their associates, and depriving others of them. A person must not only avoid becoming part of such groups but also avoid forming business partnerships with them.
Conclusion
Work and effort to earn a livelihood are praiseworthy in the teachings of Imam Rida (AS). However, if we neglect the conditions and recommendations of the Imams (AS), we may fall into major sins such as usury, hoarding, greed, and other destructive practices.
Notes
[1] . Hurr Amili, Wasail al-Shiah, vol.17, p.32.
[2] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.75, p.356.
[3] . Ibn Shubah, Tuhaf al-Uqul, vol.1, p.445.
[4] . Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol.2, p.553.
[5] . Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol.2, p.552.
[6] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.75, p.347.
[7] . Hurr Amili, Wasail al-Shiah, vol.17, p.434.
[8] . Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol.5, p.89.
[9] . Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol.5, p.91.
[10] . Kulayni, Al-Kafi, vol.5, p.288.
[11] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.75, p.341.
[12] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.75, p.341.
[13] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.72, p.374.
[14] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.10, p.366.
[15] . Ali ibn Musa, Fiqh al-Reza, p.251.
[16] . Ibn Shubah, Tuhaf al-Uqul, p.140.
[17] . Ibn Babawayh, Ilal al-Sharai, vol.2, p.483.
[18] . Ibn Babawayh, al-Khisal, vol.1, p.282.
[19] . Muhammad Hakimi, Imam Reza (AS): Life and Economics, p.101.
[20] . Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol.10, p.358.
References
- Ali ibn Musa (AS), the Eighth Imam, The Jurisprudence Attributed to Imam al-Reza (AS), Known as Fiqh al-Reza, Qom, Al al-Bayt (AS) Institute for the Revival of Heritage, 1st edition, 1406 AH.
- Hakimi, Muhammad, Imam Reza (AS): Life and Economics, no place, no publisher, n.d.
- Hurr al-Amili, Muhammad ibn Hasan, Tafsil Wasail al-Shia ila Tahsil Masail al-Sharia, Qom, Al al-Bayt (AS) Institute for the Revival of Heritage, 1416 AH.
- Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali, Al-Khisaal, Qom, The Society of Teachers in the Seminary of Qom, Islamic Publishing Institute, 1st edition, 1416 AH.
- Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ilal al-Sharai, Qom, Maktabat al-Dawari, n.d.
- Ibn Shuba, Hasan ibn Ali, Tuhaf al-Uqul, The Society of Teachers in the Seminary of Qom, Islamic Publishing Institute, Qom, 1404 AH.
- Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Yaqub, Al-Kafi, Tehran, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 1st edition, 1363 SH.
- Majlisi, Muhammad-Baqir, Bihar al-Anwar: The Comprehensive Collection of the Pearls of the Reports of the Pure Imams, Beirut, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, 2nd edition, 1403 AH.
