Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad
Minaret of Freedom Institute
Plenary address at the Loyola Institute for Ethics and Spirituality in Business
Islam is the only major world religion founded by a businessman, although, in a sense, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all trace their origins to another businessman, Abraham, the ancestor of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Islam has never had any hostility to the profession of the merchant. In the traditions called hadîth (sayings of the Prophet and his companions, distinct from God’s direct revelation to Muhammad, called the Qur’ân), the Prophet is reported to have said, “The truthful and trusty merchant is associated with the prophets, the upright, and the martyrs.” I shall begin with an introduction to the notion of spirituality in Islam using a story of the creation of Adam, a story familiar from the Bible, although the Qur’anic version differs in certain significant details. I shall then turn to the Islamic perspective on commerce, its value, the importance of property rights and contract, the laws that govern commerce, and the place of commerce in man’s spiritual life. Finally I shall offer an observation as to what it will take to sell the concept of free markets to the modern Muslim world and the Third World in general.
Theologically, man requires property in order to fulfill his function as the khalîfah, God’s vicegerent on earth. The word khalîfah is used in Muslim history to refer to the temporal leader of the Muslim community (the “caliph”), but in the Qur’an it refers to every individual man and woman as God’s agent, or steward, on earth. Legally, property has been sanctified in Islamic law. Morally, theft, fraud, and injustice of all kinds have been prohibited by the shari’ah, the Islamic law. Practically speaking, the objective of falâh, prosperity, cannot be achieved without respect for economic realities.
The historical success of Islam in providing the framework for a thriving world economy from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries is a matter of historical record, but it does not answer the question of whether Islam in particular, or religion and spirituality in general, are helpful to or necessary for the ethical conduct of business in the modern world. Modern institutions have allowed for corporate activity on an unprecedented scale, impossible in the era before the development of the modern corporation. I shall conclude by examining the advantages and disadvantages of those institutions, the moral challenges they pose and my opinions as to how religion and spirituality are necessary to deal with them.
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Minaret of Freedom Institute
Plenary address at the Loyola Institute for Ethics and Spirituality in Business
Islam is the only major world religion founded by a businessman, although, in a sense, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all trace their origins to another businessman, Abraham, the ancestor of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Islam has never had any hostility to the profession of the merchant. In the traditions called hadîth (sayings of the Prophet and his companions, distinct from God’s direct revelation to Muhammad, called the Qur’ân), the Prophet is reported to have said, “The truthful and trusty merchant is associated with the prophets, the upright, and the martyrs.” I shall begin with an introduction to the notion of spirituality in Islam using a story of the creation of Adam, a story familiar from the Bible, although the Qur’anic version differs in certain significant details. I shall then turn to the Islamic perspective on commerce, its value, the importance of property rights and contract, the laws that govern commerce, and the place of commerce in man’s spiritual life. Finally I shall offer an observation as to what it will take to sell the concept of free markets to the modern Muslim world and the Third World in general.
Theologically, man requires property in order to fulfill his function as the khalîfah, God’s vicegerent on earth. The word khalîfah is used in Muslim history to refer to the temporal leader of the Muslim community (the “caliph”), but in the Qur’an it refers to every individual man and woman as God’s agent, or steward, on earth. Legally, property has been sanctified in Islamic law. Morally, theft, fraud, and injustice of all kinds have been prohibited by the shari’ah, the Islamic law. Practically speaking, the objective of falâh, prosperity, cannot be achieved without respect for economic realities.
The historical success of Islam in providing the framework for a thriving world economy from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries is a matter of historical record, but it does not answer the question of whether Islam in particular, or religion and spirituality in general, are helpful to or necessary for the ethical conduct of business in the modern world. Modern institutions have allowed for corporate activity on an unprecedented scale, impossible in the era before the development of the modern corporation. I shall conclude by examining the advantages and disadvantages of those institutions, the moral challenges they pose and my opinions as to how religion and spirituality are necessary to deal with them.
download details
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