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Ethics in Islam

This document discusses the concept of business ethics in Islam and compares it to western business ethics. It notes that while western business ethics are secular in nature, Islamic business ethics are derived from the Quran and Sunnah. The key differences are that violations of Islamic business ethics result in divine displeasure and sin, while violations of western ethics do not. The document argues that many Muslim businesspeople do not properly follow Islamic business ethics in their practices, prioritizing profits over ethical obligations to employees, customers, and society.

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ALI ASGHAR MUSTAFA
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56 views3 pages

Ethics in Islam

This document discusses the concept of business ethics in Islam and compares it to western business ethics. It notes that while western business ethics are secular in nature, Islamic business ethics are derived from the Quran and Sunnah. The key differences are that violations of Islamic business ethics result in divine displeasure and sin, while violations of western ethics do not. The document argues that many Muslim businesspeople do not properly follow Islamic business ethics in their practices, prioritizing profits over ethical obligations to employees, customers, and society.

Uploaded by

ALI ASGHAR MUSTAFA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THE term ‘business ethics’ refers to the behaviour that a business

organisation is supposed to adhere to in its interaction with


society, transactions with customers and in its internal affairs. The
concept of business ethics is as old as business itself.

Initially, different cultures and regions had different ethics of business. With
increasing globalisation, the various sets of business ethics are continuously
acquiring common values and forms. Islam has given guiding principles for all
human activities and also prescribes and explains the ethics of business.

However, the Quran is not the only divine text that lays down such
instructions and Muslim thinkers were not the first to conceive this idea. The
Bible, for instance, also has many notions that can be and have been applied to
commercial activities.

Hammurabi, in his famous code, addressed various commercial issues. Plato


discussed justice in The Republic, and Aristotle explicitly discussed economic
relations, trade and commerce in his Politics. Many Muslims are unaware that
Aristotle too condemned usury. Also, he gave the classic definition of justice as
giving each his due, treating equals equally and trading equals for equals.

These issues were also analysed by Christian scholars. For instance, Thomas
Aquinas discussed business in the context of justice and honesty, and
condemned usury. Luther, Calvin and John Wesley, among other personalities
of the Reformation, discussed trade and commerce, and led the development
of the Protestant work ethic. However, in the modern West, economic activity
has been divorced from religion just as politics has been separated from the
church.

Still, if we compare Islamic business ethics with present-day western business


ethics, we find numerous similarities. For instance, workplace harassment,
discrimination in hiring and promotion, employment benefits, layoffs, conflict
of interest, quality control, misuse of business assets, environmental pollution,
etc., are matters on which Islamic and western approaches are more or less
similar.

In fact, regarding such matters of common approach, Islam often lays down
more benevolent provisions and puts more stress on their observance. For
example, about employee-employer relationship, Islam very clearly declares
that both enjoy the same dignity socially and legally. As a general rule,
Muslims are instructed to choose for their fellow men what they choose for
themselves. The Prophet (PBUH), in his farewell sermon, instructed Muslims
not only to feed and clothe their slaves just like themselves, but also not to
treat them harshly even if they committed a fault. Applying this to employees,
one can imagine the standard of the working environment and employment
benefits that Islam entails.

Just as there are differences between other aspects of Islamic and western
practices, Islamic and western business ethics too have certain differences.
The most important discerning features are their sources and nature. While
western business ethics are secular, Islamic business ethics originate from
revelation and the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH), the Quran and Sunnah.

A breach of western business ethics never results in the violator incurring a


sin. In the case of Islamic business ethics, a breach always causes divine
displeasure. Consequently, Muslims must abide by these instructions not only
for the betterment of society, but also to secure their afterlife.

This also means that even if there is no supervisory authority, a Muslim is still
bound to comply with the norms of fair business practices. For instance, Islam
does not allow an entity to deal in alcohol, drugs, gambling, gharar, pork,
pornography, prostitution and riba. In jurisdictions where all or some of these
are allowed, Muslims there must avoid them because Islam has prohibited
these trades.

In other words, Islamic business ethics must be observed by the believers in


Muslim and non-Muslim jurisdictions alike.

Thus, a true Muslim must never neglect the welfare of employees,


performance of business covenants, quality standards, the environment, social
responsibilities of the enterprise, etc., whether he is running a venture in
Pakistan or in the US.

Unfortunately, present-day Muslims mostly just talk about the Islamic way of
life without actually practising it. Ask a Muslim entrepreneur about Islamic
business ethics and he will gladly give a lengthy sermon on the instructions
given in the Quran and Sunnah on the topic and will accurately narrate
numerous examples set by early Muslim businessmen regarding honesty in
trade and employee welfare. However, his real conduct will be the opposite.
Unfortunately, this is the general rule.

No wonder, in a report recently published in Financial Times, some Islamic


financial experts openly criticised Islamic financial institutions for resorting to
“juristic engineering” to bypass Islamic restrictions in order to maximise
profits. Thus, Islamic financial products and services, in most of the cases, are
Islamic only in form, not substance.

Does this mean that Islam makes hypocrites or that the provisions given in the
Quran and Sunnah are no more practical? Not at all. Can we say that
Christianity makes thieves just because there are thieves who happen to be
Christian? Does the Quran not say that revelation is valid for all times?

The fault lies with corrupt and selfish Muslim businessmen who disregard
Islamic injunctions for worldly enrichment. By growing a beard, praying five
times a day and fasting in Ramazan, they believe it is enough to fulfil their
obligations to God.

Can the beard, prayers and fasting really absolve them from ignoring their
duties to their employees, clients, competitors, consumers and society as a
whole? Is it possible to deceive God?

The writer is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the director of the Centre
for Law and Policy, University of Management and Technology, Lahore.

syed.asad@umt.edu.pk

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