Muiz Bukhary – Cheating in Business- The Fastest Way to Lose Everything
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We
begin by praising Allah,
the lord of all worlds, the exalted, the
majestic. We ask him to send his choices
to blessings and salutations
upon the final messenger, our beloved prophet Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa salam, his family
members, his companions, and every single individual
who embraces the prophetic path, the prophetic teachings
with the class with sincerity until the end
of time.
My dear respected elders, brothers, and sisters in
Islam, why sisters? Because perhaps they will listen
to the recording later on. They'll watch the
video later on. I admonish myself and then
all of you all gathered here. I remind
myself and then all of you all gathered
here for salatuljumma'ah
to adopt a life of taqwa and that
is to instill
the remembrance of Allah.
The consciousness of Allah to be aware
that Allah,
his knowledge
knows no bounds.
He's aware of every statement of yours.
He is aware of every action of yours.
He is aware
of every
thought that crosses your mind.
He is aware
of every fleeting
glance of yours.
We must instill this
oh my congregation.
If you wish to attain victory, if you
wish to attain success
in this world as well as the hereafter,
may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us all
from the people of Taqwa and may he
make us from the victorious and successful ones.
Inshallah, for today's khutbah, for today's sermon,
we will explore
an important aspect
of our faith
of our iman,
of our deen
that directly
impacts
our daily lives.
And this is in terms of how
we as believers,
we as Muslims,
we
as
followers of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
how we must conduct ourselves in business and
in trade.
The title for today's sermon
is
cheating
in business,
the fastest way
to lose everything.
The fastest way to lose everything.
I would like to share a hadith of
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam to set
the foundation,
to set the stage for the discussion.
The messenger of allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
is reported to have said,
the truthful
and trustworthy
businessmen,
the truthful
and trustworthy
merchant,
the truthful
and trustworthy
entrepreneur.
He will be
SubhanAllah,
hadith is recorded in the book of Imam
al Tirmidin.
He will be with the prophets.
He will be with the Shuhada.
The marchers.
The ones who gave their lives for Allah.
He will be with the
siddiqeen
like Abu Bakr is siddiq radiallahu
an.
He will be with those who are truthful,
those who are righteous,
who
we are not talking about a martyr here.
We are not talking about a half of
the Quran here. We're not talking about an
imam.
We're not talking about a scholar, a sheikh,
a mufti.
No. Who are we talking about?
A truthful merchant,
a truthful business person, a businessman.
So, today
the bulk of us
the majority of us,
I would say 99 percent of us, we
all businessmen.
Now, you might be thinking oh wait I
am not really involved in business.
You may not be directly involved in business
in the sense, you may not be
buying and selling, but the minute you engage
in any transaction,
you bought a house,
You've sold a
house. You've bought a land. You've sold a
land. You bought a vehicle.
You sold a vehicle. You bought a motorbike.
You sold a motorbike.
Why? You even bought a phone, sold your
phone. You involved in trade.
You involved yourself in transactions
and these transactions
are governed
by the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. So, as believers,
we cannot engage in these transactions the way
we want to engage in them.
The Quran has outlined a way for us
to engage.
The teachings of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam have engaged
in the sense have instructed us clearly
how we are supposed to engage
in in such trade, in such transactions.
Three important principles
that the Quran and the sunnah highlight.
Three principles, my dear brothers and sisters, that
we have to bear in mind.
Number 1.
Al Adil,
fairness,
being just.
The Quran,
our maker, Allah Azzawajal,
and Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam command us
to deal with fairness,
with justice,
with equity in our interactions. This is principle
number 1. Principle number 2,
Amanah,
trustworthiness.
The Quran,
the sunnah
teaches us that we are supposed to be
trustworthy.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, he was
not easily known as Al Amin
Al Amin, the trustworthy
one.
Why? Because he was an extremely trustworthy individual.
He did not breach
his trust.
The trust that people had in him,
he did not breach it. He valued it.
He safeguarded it,
and this is why he was known as
a Amin.
So, this is a principle that we as
his
must uphold.
So, you have
fairness,
you have trustworthiness
and the third principle,
siddiq,
honesty.
Islam commands
absolute honesty
in all transactions.
And this is why if you look back
at the hadith I shared at the beginning,
what kind of a merchant,
what kind of a businessman will be with
the prophets,
will be with the martyrs?
Any businessman,
any merchant. Today, you can be any businessman
making money.
See, the yardstick is not oh, what is
his net worth?
How much of land does he own? What
is his bank balance? What is the vehicle
he drives? What are the watches that he
wears? This is not the yardstick.
How many companies does he own?
This is not the yardstick to gauge the
successfulness of an individual.
Rather, what did the messenger say?
The truthful merchant.
The honest
merchant.
And today, my dear brothers and sisters in
Islam,
this is a very difficult thing to do.
Making money in a way is easy.
There are
ample avenues to make money.
Ample avenues.
And through falsehood,
it's all the more easy.
But to be an upright merchant,
an upright businessman,
an honest businessman,
keeping to his word,
this is hard.
This is difficult.
Why? We even have people saying, what is
the point of me doing it whilst the
system is corrupt?
Everyone is corrupt.
So why should I be truthful? Why should
I be honest?
This is what is hard and this is
why the reward is so high
that you get to be with the prophets.
You get to be with the.
You get to be with the martyrs who
gave their lives for Allah. Why why do
you think the reward is so lofty?
Because being truthful,
being fair,
being just in today's context, in today's landscape
is not easy.
Today, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
falsehood has become the order of the day.
Lies has become the order of the day.
Today,
most of us cannot be involved in trade
or transaction
without deceiving,
without cheating,
without lying.
So, we have departed
far far away from the teachings of Muhammad
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
We're very particular.
Oh,
what I eat must be halal.
Before going to a restaurant,
we check. Is it halal certified? Only then
I will go and eat.
When the chicken is served,
the immediate question is posed to the waiter.
Where is the chicken from? Or let me
speak to your manager. I need to establish
whether it is halal certified.
Well and good. I'm not undermining this. This
is how you're supposed to be. You must
verify. You must check.
But that same individual
couldn't care less if his check were to
bounce.
He's not bothered.
He couldn't care less
if there are
50
missed calls
from different people
begging and pleading for their money.
Here he is in a fancy restaurant
trying to establish whether the chicken is halal
or not before he eats it, but his
checks are bouncing left, right, and center.
He owes the market money.
He has deceived people.
He has sold
inferior products.
He has sold defective products.
He promised that he would pay on a
debt, but months have gone by and people
are begging and pleading for their payments. He
has the money with him. He's deployed the
money. He's rolling the money, and he's not
willing to settle.
But, here he is trying to establish whether
the chicken is halal or not.
What is the point?
Your source is haram.
You've earned the curses of so many people
and you're trying to establish whether the chicken
is halal or not. You have got your
priorities mixed up. You have
got your priorities mixed up.
We don't hesitate
to say, you know what? In 30 days,
I'll make the payment. In 60 days, I'll
make the payment. But, at the back of
your mind, you know, no way on earth
am I going to pay in 30 days.
No way on earth am I going to
pay in 6 60 days. You already have
your excuses lined up.
How are you being honest?
How are you being truthful?
SubhanAllah.
Your check is a promise,
a binding promise
that you are going to pay. Be it
in Allah. Insha'Allah.
Yes. If something crippling happens,
then yes. You explain your situation. But here
you are. Some of us even have checkbooks
meant for lies, meant for falsehood,
Dummy accounts meant for this purpose. Just to
write checks and give.
Yeah. Now, the banking regulations are becoming stricter
by the day. So perhaps it's becoming more
and more difficult, but people find loopholes
to lie, to cheat, to deceive.
And for what?
To amass wealth. To earn wealth. To feed
who? To feed yourself,
your spouse, and your children. What are you
doing my dear brother? You're feeding yourself fire.
You're feeding your wife fire. You're feeding your
children fire. And tomorrow, if you die,
we all have to die.
You can be the richest person on planet
earth, but you think you can escape death?
You think you can buy your way? You
can't.
You have to die. You have to go
and stand in front of Allah.
How are you going to answer him? Number
1. Number 2. Do you think that this
money that you earn, this wealth that you
have amassed, that it is going to last?
You think it's going to last? You think
your children are going to be happy?
Some of us have usurped wealth.
We've taken money.
We've cheated people.
We've given false promises,
false returns.
Am I living happy lives?
Thinking that, oh, you know, I have outwitted
that individual. I have outsmarted that individual, but
no. In reality, you fooled yourself.
You have dug a pit of fire for
yourself.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is recorded
as I've said.
Hadith is recorded in the book of Imam
al Bukhari, rahimahullah.
The delay
in payment
by a person who has the means
is
is
oppression.
For the sake of business,
for the sake of
convenience, you may for example, obtain a loan.
You may let us say ask your friend,
look
I need x amount of money
and I will pay it within 30 days.
I'll pay it within 60 days. Why? Because,
perhaps, your money is tied up elsewhere.
You have a commitment to meet or there's
an opportunity that you see and you know
for a fact that you are expecting some
payments. You have money.
Now, what happens?
Your friend I'm just using a friend for
this example. He gives you the
money. You take the money and you use
it. Alhamdulillah. It's all halal.
Now, your deadline
approaches
30 days, 60 days. You must pay him
now.
Now, what happens? Another opportunity presents itself.
The prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam tells us
the son of Adam is greedy
greedy.
Even if he were to the the narration
goes along the lines of these words. Even
if he were to have one
river of gold,
he would not be satisfied.
He would look for the next river of
gold.
Greedy.
So, you know now you have to settle
the loan,
But now
another palatable opportunity presents itself and you're greedy.
You go and deploy the money in that
opportunity.
And now your friend comes on the appointed
debt asking for the money. And now you
make excuses.
Oh, you know, this happened. I was expecting
a payment. This story, that story.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says, the
delay in payment by someone who is capable
to pay is is
oppression. These are not my words.
Allah says in the Quran, In Allah,
Indeed, Allah does not like the oppressors. You
have earned the anger of Allah.
So, oh, believer, are you are you not
afraid of that?
Or have you become so arrogant
that you don't care about the anger of
Allah?
And then why are you surprised
after that when the test of Allah come
your way? Why are you surprised?
When you angered Allah, what else are you
expecting?
Are you expecting everything to be given to
you on a silver platter?
No. You have angered Allah.
So when you have the capability
to settle, do not prolong.
Do not
delay. Dear brothers and sisters in Islam, obviously,
time does not permit and I have to
conclude,
but there are many action items taught to
us by the messenger of allah salallahu alayhi
wa sallam. The importance of honoring agreements.
The importance of keeping to your word.
Allah says
in the Quran,
Oh, you who have believed, fulfill all contracts.
Fulfill your agreements.
The fair treatment of your employees.
Today, your employee has worked hard for you,
but you delay the payment
of their wages, of their salaries,
the timely payment of wages. The prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, his reporter have said, give
your employee
his his salary, his wages before his sweat
dries. This hadith underscores the importance of timely
payment and fair compensation
for work done. Fair compensation is another important
thing when it comes to those who work
under you. Good working conditions. Some of us
slave drive our employees
without fearing Allah.
We think, oh, I am paying
25,000
rupees. I need to milk him dry.
I need to get every ounce of work
as possible. You tell him one set of
work, but you literally
slave drive him.
Haram.
Dhulm,
oppression.
Don't you fear Allah?
Hakukul Ibad, the rights of the servants of
Allah,
The creation of Allah.
So be mindful, oh, my congregation.
Be mindful of all of this, my dear
brothers and sisters in Islam. As Muslims, we
must lead by example
in terms of how we treat those who
work for us. We must ensure
that their rights are protected. We must ensure
that they are treated with love, with care,
with respect.
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, be
transparent in your transactions.
Full disclosure.
Always provide complete and honest information about the
products,
about the services that you are offering. If
there are defects,
talk about the defects. Do not hide them.
If there are limitations, talk about the limitations.
Do not hide them. This should be disclosed
to the buyer. Honest pricing.
Set fair prices that reflect the value of
the product or the service that you are
offering.
Avoid exploiting market conditions to overcharge your clients,
to overcharge your customers.
Agreements.
Have them documented,
my dear brothers and sisters, as much as
you can.
Whenever possible, wherever possible,
have all of your documents in writing.
Detail the terms and conditions
very clearly
because this prevents
disputes later on. Today, we are hearing
of people
going through character assassination,
smear campaigns,
tarnishing the names of others.
Why?
Because the the agreement was not written.
So, even if someone were to come into
mediate,
if someone were to come into arbitrate, it's
very difficult.
Why? No agreement. One party will claim. He
said this. The other party will claim. He
said this.
And then at the end of the day,
when things go sour,
however great the partnership may be, however great
the relationship may be between the,
employer and employee
or
or the owner and the client, when things
go sour,
everything goes bad.
People start talking bad about one another, smearing
one another, backbiting about one another, gossiping about
one another. It becomes very very ugly.
On the other hand, if you have it
written down,
you have all the terms clearly laid out.
There's no room even if there is a
dispute. I'm not saying that it is completely
full proof. But even if there is a
dispute,
resolving the dispute becomes easy. Why? Because it
has been documented. And this is why the
messenger emphasized so much on this. Sometimes between
siblings,
between family members,
between great friends, people think people take offense.
Oh,
you want to write an agreement between us?
You don't trust me?
People take offense
when someone when one party suggests, let's have
an agreement. The other party takes offense.
Why don't you trust me? Look. So and
so is dealing in the millions with me.
And and people, subhanallah, it's it's absurd.
People take pride over the fact People actually
say this. So and so has done transactions
with me in the millions
and up till date, not even a single
piece of paper. We have not even written
a single agreement.
Allah protect.
May Allah protect you.
You have gone against the teachings of the
prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. Whatever it is,
try and write as much as you can.
This is the instructions of the prophet
And you don't need to go far to
see the logic. Look around you. You can
see families breaking apart. You can see siblings
not talking to one another. Brothers not talking
to brothers. Brothers not talking to sisters.
Friends, friendships have broken. Why?
Because of disputes. Shaitan comes in between. There
is a dispute. There's no way to resolve
the dispute.
And at the end of the day, sometimes
it's difficult to tell who is right and
who is wrong also.
Therefore, try to document all of this as
much as you can. These are a list
of quick action items in terms of
of, you know, adhering to high
financial ethics in Islam. And lastly, I conclude
my dear brothers and sisters
with emphasizing on regular self reflection,
accountability.
Just as you have an accountant who goes
through your books, an auditor who goes through
your books, you
yourself,
audit yourself.
Audit your own actions.
Audit your intentions.
Audit your statements.
Audit how you conduct your trade.
Ask yourself,
am I being the businessman that Muhammad salallahu
alayhi wa salam wants me to be?
Ask yourself, if I were to do business
with Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa salam,
how would I do business?
How would I do business?
If you were to sell a product to
Muhammad,
how would you sell that product?
If you were to deal with Muhammad,
how would you deal?
Oh, believer. Ask yourself
and set that as the standard with whoever
you're dealing with. Insha'Allah,
you will aspire for a high standard. You
will always aspire for fairness. You will aspire
for equity. You will aspire for justice and
honesty.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
help each and every one of us to
be transparent with our transactions. May Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala help us to become truthful businessmen,
truthful merchants who will be raised with an
Nabiyeen,
siddiqeen,
Ashuhada, and As Salihun.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to
stay away from falsehood. May Allah help us
to stay away from deception. May Allah help
us to become examples in the business world.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala help us to
become shining examples in the corporate world. May
Allah help us to become role models when
it comes to business and transactions.
Right now, the Muslim community, our name has
gone to the dogs.
The dogs in any industry. May Allah help
us to regain our name. May Allah help
us to cleanse our names. May Allah help
us to remove the tarnish from our names.
Ameen. Ameen. Just as how he united us
here in this Masjid. May he unite us
in the gardens of Jannah, in the companionship
of our beloved prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi
wa Salam. Ameen Ameen