It's Cold Outside! (4)

"'Most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct, enshrining rigorous ethical and moral obligations. Is it naive for a Muslim businessman to behave ethically in a globally, competitive environment? The answer is a resounding NO!' the man conitnued. 'In Islam,' says he, 'ethics governs all aspects of life. The conditions for everlasting success, or Falah, in Islam are the same for all Muslims—whether in conducting their business affairs or in carrying out their daily activities. Without specifying any situational context, Allah describes people who attain success as those who are 'inviting to all that is good (khayr), enjoining what is right (ma 'ruj) and forbidding what is wrong (munkar).' So, are there some guidelines that would ensure consistent ethical behavior in a Muslim business? The Qur'an, answers the great questions of philosophy, 'Does God exist?' or 'Why did God create?' or 'Why are we here?' Islamic scholars agree that an appropriate understanding of Qur’anic ethics, can only be obtained in the light of the Prophetic Conduct or Sunnah, by combining Qur’an and the Ḥadith and that the most complete embodiment of Qur’ānic ethics is in the person of the Prophet (ﷺ).

According to a famous Ḥadith, often referred to as Ḥadith Jibril, there are three levels of the Islamic faith called Islam, Iman, and Iḥsan. The highest level of the Islamic faith, is Al-Iḥsan. This level entails the worship of God as if one is seeing God, and knowing that while one is not able to see Him, He truly sees us. The word Iḥsan, literally means excellence or to do things or make things better or beautiful.

Why should one incorporate Iḥsan in one’s life, particularly in the business transactions? Broadly speaking, the two main motivations are: to attract the pleasure of God and to follow his injunctions; and for the human, economic, and social welfare that such an attitude accrues in the development of a civilized society. Shariah, which is based on divine all-encompassing wisdom, provides guidelines for all activity within an Islamic society and these rulings always have underlying beneficial purposes that promote the welfare of people (Maslahah). Imam Al-Shātibi, the great Andalusi scholar of the science of the objectives (Maqāṣid) of Shariah, described this in the following words, 'Shariah stands for justice, mercy, wisdom, and good. Thus, any ruling that replaces justice with injustice, mercy with its opposite, common good with mischief, or wisdom with nonsense, is a ruling that does not belong to the Shariah, even if it is claimed to be so according to some interpretation.' The Shariah was bestowed upon mankind to bring all kinds of worldly and other-worldly benefits to all humanity, with the duty of conveying God’s guidance to them and living with the Qur’ānic ethics. Therefore, we find that attaining spiritual Ihsan, requires that human beings be able to bring benefit to the entire humanity and ward of all kinds of harm.

To become a person of Iḥsan, a Muslim professional should, first, be sincere and have the correct intention. The intention is very important in Islam. In addition to having the right intention (of doing an action for the pleasure of Allah), one should also be sincere to humanity in general and the larger Muslim Ummah. One should strive to excel in the worship of Allah and also consider professional excellence as a religious duty. A Muslim should also prioritize the reward of the Hereafter over worldly gains, and strive for the home of the hereafter, consistent with the divine imperative. We find in Islamic tradition, that the real reward is according to the intention and similar looking action may get very different rewards and an apparently auspicious action may be wholly rejected due to defects in the intention.

Secondly, embrace the character traits of the people of Iḥsan. The people of Iḥsān have beautiful character, they re characterized by properties of patience, preservation, and deliberation, as well as characterized by their total reliance on Allah (Tawakkul). The people of Iḥsān are moderate and eschew extremism in all its forms—Qur’ān describes the Muslim community as the balanced middle community (Ummat AlWasat). They are are people who seek out wisdom and knowledge, have positive thinking (Ḥusn Zann) and interpret everything positively and accept the good and the afflictions from God and do not despair of Allah’s mercy during failures and difficulties. Looking at the positive side allows one to excel despite—and sometimes because of—adverse circumstances. They love Allah more than anything else–more than their family members, more than their wealth, more than dwellings.

Third, have a vision of a meaningful pioneering life. The people of Iḥsan, recognize the life is purposeful and work towards establishing a productive legacy. They also have leadership qualities and

use it to lead people towards praiseworthy matters and desirable ends. They are responsible, trustworthy, and take ownership of what they have been entrusted with. They have leadership qualities and lead the people entrusted to them with integrity and sacrifice. They are people of great fortitude (Ḥimmah Aliyah) and high determination (High Azm). They are amenable to manual work and possess hands on skills and are not wary of manual work. They are proactive, activists, and have a bias for action; have a spirit of enterprise and hasten towards good and the beneficial. They value their time and are not lazy.

Fourth, do justice and excel in one’s professional work. The people of Iḥsan are meticulous in fulfilling the rights of people (of other people and above all of Allah) over them. While it is true that human beings have many different roles, and one is right to prioritize some over the others, Iḥsān entails the need to fulfill the rights of everyone and everything that has a right over them. This entails holding on the highest standards of professional ethics and avoid any apparent or hidden deception and betrayal. In a professional context, this is especially relevant to leaders and people of responsibility. Justice is an also an important component, rather the primary objective, of an Islamic economic system – and its defining characteristic. It is stated in the Qur’ān that the purpose of sending divine messengers to different people is to establish humankind on justice. The people of Iḥsan are also particular about permissible (Halāl) and impermissible (Harām) and have Taqwa of Allah. They recognize that this world is a world of toil and striving and a place for doing actions. They are not lazy as this is a sign of hypocrites (Munāfiqun) and something that the Prophet (ﷺ) sought refuge of Allah. They recognize that one is ethically responsible (Mukallaf) for trying one’s best. They also recognize that excellence is a continuous journey.

Fifth, have a mastery orientation and a professional outlook: prefering quality over quantity. In the Islamic worldview, the concept of Iḥsan is autotelic–and one must continue to do the actions without being satisfied by doing good. They love meticulous/ professional action/ completion of a job and taking honor in one’s work. They are regular in their actions. The people of Ihsan complete and continue their actions that they start and do not become dabblers in matters in which they start an affair and then lose steam and leave the action. are committed to excellence and are not complacent. In the works of Stephen Covey, one must periodically renew one’s self, remain vigilant, and 'sharpen the saw' to maintain peak productivity. They prioritize quality over quantity, but it is not that quantity does not matter, it only counts when accompanied by quality.

Sixth, someone or something that has a purpose in, and not apart from, itself, be social useful and beneficial for people. Islam places a lot of importance on being socially useful and to bring benefit to people. The famous Islamic theologian, Al-Ghazali, recognized the broader concept of Maṣlahah as furthering the ultimate purposes of Shariah, which are to safeguard the following five things: (1) their faith; (2) their life; (3) their intellect; (4) their posterity; (5) and their wealth. The foremost duty for a person of Iḥsān in this regard is to avoid harm and avoid reciprocating harm, and in particular, Muslim professionals should avoid all forms of cheating, deception, short-charging, and fraud. People of Iḥsan are people who cooperate and facilitate and bring ease to people. They do community service and bring benefit to mankind and to all creations of Allah.

Seventh, live a productive life that attracts the Barakah. If spiritual excellence is named Iḥsan, then spiritual productivity is Barakah. In Islam, Barakah (translated as blessing) is the endowment of blessings in something by God such that all kinds of benefits are accrued from little. How does one attract Barakah? From the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah, there are numerous ways to attract Barakah. An important way to attract Barakah is to fulfill the rights of others, of one’s family, and to perform charity. Another source of attracting Barakah is to do good actions consistently and regularly the farmer regularly gave out one-third of his harvest as charity—and of moderation—the farmer was not reinvesting all of the harvest, or giving away all the harvest in charity, or consuming all the harvest, instead the farmer was moderate in spending in all the due places.

Another way to attract Barakah and attain spiritual excellence is to focus on important things related to one and to avoid idle matters or things unrelated to a person and thereby fully utilize one’s time.

Another rich source of Barakah is to avoid all Haram and to have God consciousness (Taqwa), which means guarding oneself from Allah’s displeasure. There are many benefits of Taqwa including Barakah and the expansion of sustenance (Rizq), which refers to all aspects of a person’s subsistence and livelihood, including but not restricted to, wealth, status, business and children. Another rich source of Barakah is establishing good relationships with one’s close relatives and with the whole Muslim community.

People of Iḥsan can make monumental achievements that astound people and make them wonder how some people are able to achieve so much in so little time. One major reason for this is that they value their time and have a system for managing their time and making in productive. They also leverage times at which their energies are at their peak. We find in the Prophetic tradition an encouragement to start work early in the morning and to sleep after the night prayer (Isha). They are masters at prioritizing and focusing on the most important and relevant tasks for the moment. So, the people of Iḥsan are people that are thankful and grateful, ' the man ended his explanation.'

And gently, his wife whispered, 'Darling, will you plese close the window; it’s cold outside!'

Slowly, he slide out of bed, shuffled to the window, and carefully closed down the open lower half. Smiling at his wife he said, 'Sonow it’s warm outside?' His wife tilted her head as if thinking, then put on a happy expression."

Before she took her leave, Laluna said, "Islam is the divine religion that offers a complete code of ethics that can guide humanity towards greater wellbeing, effectiveness, and productivity. In particular, the spirit of Iḥsan, in all its multifaceted manifestations, can bring upon a system of justice, beauty, excellence, magnanimity, and egalitarianism in which human beings will live in great harmony and attain joy in this world while attaining ultimate felicity and the pleasure of Allah in the hereafter. By adopting the Islamic concept of spiritual excellence, Muslims will be able to become the standard bearer of Qur’ānic morality and a witness to the truth before mankind (Shuhadah ‘alan-Naas). Furthermore, adoption of Iḥsan, leads to human development, felicity, spiritual productivity (Barakah) both in this world and in the hereafter. And Allah knows best.'

Citations & References:
- Simon Blackburn, Ethics : A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press
- Abbas Mirakhor and Idris Samawi Hamid (Ed.), Handbook of Ethics of Islamic Economics and Finance, De Gruyter
- Rasik Issa Beekun, Islamic Business Ethics, International Institute ofIslamic Thought
- Bernard Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Routledge
- Brian Boone, Ethics 101, Brian Media
- Harold Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society, Routledge

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