2-year anniversary today. And not a step further.
This is a powerful reminder in one of the lectures of Nouman Ali Khan about some Ayahs of Al Imran in which the avoidance of Riba is directly equated with Taqwa (staring at minute 2:40).
It's also interesting that the video editor placed an image of Bitcoin at this point. I don't know how he means it, but I am seeing this for the first time in his lectures. Perhaps we are slowly getting the message across to the people, alhamdulillah.
"In pre-Islamic Arabia, the Byzantine gold dinar, Persian silver dirhami, and copper fals (or fels; pl. falus or fulus) were used as coins. The value of both dinar and dirham was determined by their metal content (but not the fals). Coinage was not issued by a government authority, and minting coins was in the hands of private individuals. Disputes regarding weight and quality caused loss of economic efficiency; it did, however, provide competition and thus consumer choice. In the early Islamic Empire, Muslims continued to use Byzantine coins, but over time they outlawed the use of these coins and centralized the production of an Islamic dinar and dirham."
- Islam Economics
Sounds familiar, right?
4 months after the last newsletter, issue #20 was just sent out.
Subscribe here:
Nah, some Nostr clients still showing the old image. Must be a caching issue. But the social media preview cards are also updated to show the cab driver instead.
IM, the free only-Bitcoin based P2P marketplace, following ethical guidelines, has got rid of decorative images depicting women.
Yes, I made this mistake, but better to correct it late then never.
Imam al Ghazali, the great 12th-century theologian, jurist and mystic, differentiates between those who conduct business with justice and those who go beyond that and strive for excellence.
He proposes 6 ways we can sell with ethics and spirituality:
🟣 Don’t praise your product more than it deserves.
This would be misrepresentation and deception. Be honest - although there is no harm in being charming, warm and friendly, that’s part of being good at business.
🟣 Do not conceal any defects in your products
If you have issues with your product, state them and let your customer know that you are working on fixing it.
“Whenever he displays the best side of the cloth or shows it in a dimly lighted place so that it will appear better (than it is), or displays the better of a pair of shoes or stockings, he is a tyrant and a scoundrel.”
🟣 Do not provide less than what you’ve been paid for
We would do well to apply the phrase “underpromise and overdeliver,” in our businesses.
Imam al Ghazali expands on this:
“It was the custom of the forefathers that when they received, they would accept half a grain less and when they gave, they would give half a grain more.
They would say: “The half-grain is a veil between us and hell,” for they feared they could not measure accurately. And they would say: “The person is a fool who would sell Paradise, with a breadth many times greater than the seven heavens and earth, for half a grain!”
🟣 Taking advantage of people’s lack of knowledge of the market
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ prohibited intercepting caravans before they reach the market.
This practice involves a buyer going out to meet a caravan that is bringing goods to the market, and buying those goods at a lower price by concealing the actual market rates in the city. This is deceptive because the seller in the caravan is unaware of the true value of their goods in the city's market.
🟣 Cancel a transaction if one has second thoughts after buying it
Imam al Ghazali says this isn’t obligatory, but it’s a highly ethical thing to do. In today’s terms, this could be creating adequate time for a refund period. The point here is that if someone feels dissatisfied or uncomfortable with their decision, you should not look the other way.
🟣 Selling to the poor on credit
In other words, if someone can’t afford something, give them time to pay. Don’t demand the payment, especially if they are not well-to-do and with little means.
If the debtor dies, forgive the debt.
Imam al Ghazali said that virtuous entrepreneurs don’t even keep a log of transactions where the poor owe them money, and getting payment from them should be considered a bonus.
Source: On Earning a Living and Trade
[via Omar DaCosta-Shahid on LinkedIn]
Why is the Muslim Ummah so powerless although we make up a fifth of the world's population?
We're not on the right track. We don't follow our agenda given by Allah ﷻ to us.
We are content to raise our voices instead of doing the right thing. Which gets us off track.
- Inward development: Gain more taqwa..
- Unify with other Muslims on the agenda
- Calling to good as a unified ummah and with the power to do so.
About the inward development:
Observe taqwa and come to Islam completely. Meaning applying the book of Allah in our personal lifes.
And a huge chunk of the Qur'an is about financial regulations (mahr, child support, zakat, giving loans back, staying away from riba etc.). So the first easy litmus test is to check our money matters.
We need to observe taqwa in our financial dealings.
When we don't abide by Allah's laws we will be humiliated, powerless and receive the rage from Allah.
So we need to start at step 1 at least. To get our financial dealings right. Bitcoin can play a fundamental role here. Not just saving wealth in Bitcoin but also using it as a currency (medium of exchange, MoE) in daily life. And keeping as little fiat money as possible.
We must try everything to not get involved in riba and the modern banking system. No riba loans, not using fiat currencies, not leaving money on our checking accounts and thus enabling and supporting this system.
The second step would be observing the hudud of Allah in family life.
So are we living taqwa in our financial matters and in our family matters?
Watch the full khutba as it provides a better and more complex solution than just the "raise your voice!" you hear from everywhere. ⬇️
What Sets Islamic Marketplace Apart From All Other Muslim Online Stores or Marketplaces?
Not sure. According to his Wikipedia page, he accepts Qur'an and Sunnah as the only valid Islamic sources.
Btw, Islamic Marketplace is not only Bitcoin-only, it's also Nostr-only.
This is our only social media account. No Twitter, no Insta, no Facebook.
We keep our business clean and self-sovereign in every way.
Fiqh of Social Media - 40 Ahadith about Social Media
Based on Omar Usman's "Fiqh of Social Media"
"The inheritance law of Islam ensures that the wealth of the deceased is distributed equitably. The general ownership of wealth is significantly diluted by this formula, as only one-third of one’s inheritance can be distributed at will. Two-thirds is distributed to one’s legal heirs, from the nears and dears of family members. The state cannot inherit anything from this wealth, and hence any kind of inheritance or death tax is out of bounds in Islam."
- Islam & Economics
"The institutional tenets of the Islamic economic framework
are evidently pro-wealth creation, which is in sheer contrast to the laws and values generally practiced in most of the Muslim-
majority countries today."
- Islam & Economics
S. M. Yusuf believes that Islam considers nature as largely a freely available resource to all without any proprietary rights to any individual. In fact, when it comes to nature and its manifestations, there is almost a consensus among Muslim scholars on the matter of ownership. Islam considers nature and natural resources as divinely owned and freely available to humankind.
This is mentioned in several passages in the Qur’an, but the following verses capture it clearly:
"It was God who created the heavens and the earth. He has sent down water from the sky with which He brings forth fruits for your sustenance. He has subdued the ships which by His leave sail the ocean in your service. He has subdued the rivers for your benefit, and subdued for you the sun and the moon, which steadfastly pursue their courses. And He has subdued for you the night and the day." (14:32–34)
All jurists would likewise agree with Yusuf that natural resources are freely available to all humankind. They draw inspiration from a hadith that declares:
"Muslims have common share in three (things): grass, water and fire." - (Sunan Abi Dawud, Book of Wages, hadith no. 3477)
- S. M. Yusuf, Economic Justice in Islam
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi's five fundamental elements in his model of Islamic economy directly derived from the Qur’an:
private property rights, national control over natural assets, control over usurpation, documentation and evidence, and distribution of inheritance.
"The Islamic economic framework should not be understood as a prelude to a new academic discipline or to a new economics, for that matter. This framework can be understood as a combination of moral principles and practical rules for a just, inclusive, and dynamic economic organization of society. At best, it can be understood as a doctrine, though without any claims of sacredness."
Islam & Economics.
The tenets of Islamic economy are price freedom, free trade, market regulations, sound currency, riba-free banking, low and flat taxes, reliance on voluntary contributions, and strict inheritance distribution.
"Lot of talk about hard money this, soundest money that. Perfect savings technology and NgU (number go up). Blah, blah, blah…
Don't see a lot of talk about building the economy."
https://livingonbitcoin.substack.com/p/the-parallel-economy-how-to-build
Online store owners, if you accept Bitcoin payments, show it. Here are a few graphics for that.