Trade, Temptation, and Time-Management: Opportunity Costs and Quran Conceptualization

8/8/2019 Trade, Temptation, and Time-Management: Opportunity Costs and Quran Conceptualization

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Trade, Temptation, and Time-Management: Opportunity Costs and Quran

Conceptualization

It is recorded that once the Prophet Muhammad (saws) was giving Friday Khutbah in the masjidof Medina and that suddenly a caravan belonging to Dihyah bin Khilafah (raa) before his Islam

traveled nearby. The caravan was full of merchandise and drums and music accompanied it, so

the people got up and left the Messenger of Allah (saws) standing on the minbar alone. In fact,only twelve of the companions remained so Allah (swt) sent down the Ayah,

!

And when they see some merchandise or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it; Say

(Muhammad, "What is with Allah is better than any entertainment or trade! And Allahis the Best Provider of Provisions."

In this narration we see a vivid example of the challenges humans face every day: that ofchoosing what to do with time and facing the difficult allurements in the dunya from what does

not benefit but provides perhaps an instant and misleading gratification. Indeed when we

contemplate the present situation of the ummah we find the majority losing out in the struggle of

choice. In an age of consumerism, social media, rampant music and entertainment, and thesuspension of the shariah on Earth many spend significant portions of their life distant from what

is of benefit and stuck occupied in the trivial and mundane. Thus one of the most important

identifications a Muslim can make is in conditioning oneself to respond in the most beneficial of

manners when faced with choices about what we should do with our time.

Certainly Allah (swt) has created mankind to worship Him and Allah (swt) correlates our Islamicdeeds to a currency that will buy the believing individual entry into eternal bliss and the Garden.

He says,

Those who rehearse the Book of Allah, establish regular Prayer, and spend out of what We

have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a commerce that will never fail (35:29)

The term used here is tijara, meaning trade or commerce, and it relates to the reality that

ultimately everything we do is a form of trade and commerce as one day our deeds will beweighed and we will be brought to account for them in the marketplace of the Hereafter. It is thesame Arabic word that is in the aforementioned ayah and used to describe one of the things that

tempted those that left the Prophet (saws) standing alone as the caravan passed by his khutbah.

As humans, we are constantly faced with decisions, decisions that are clouded by temptation and

the dazzle of the dunya and it is up to us to become aware of our decisions so that we can be


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people in charge of our actions, consciously choosing a regiment in life that will serve us well in

this world and more importantly in the Hereafter. Allah (swt) also says in His book:

!! !!!!!!!! !!! !! !!! !!!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!! !!!! !!!! !!! !! !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!! !! !!!!!!!!! !!! !! !!!!!!! !! ! !!!!!!!!!! !! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! ! ! !!!!! !!! !!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!

O ye who believe! Shall I lead you to a commerce that will save you from a

grievous Penalty?- That you believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that you

strive (your utmost) in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your persons:

That will be best for you, if ye but knew! (61:10-11)

Today we are faced with a severe dilemma in the common understandings of Islam. Allah (swt)

here informs us, again using the term tijara, that what we do with our time and lives is of

utmost import and that what He (swt) wants from us is that we work in the way of Allah with selfand wealth so that we may be successful. However, as a nation that in many ways is faced with

the multifaceted problems of colonization, both past and present, of imitation of a foreign

civilization, of a sense of inferiority in the face of our oppressors, we refuse to sacrifice with selfand wealth in the way of establishing Allahs word and making it supreme in the land. The

remedy for this can only be in all of us consciously choosing to put away nonsensical

entertainment and worldly pursuits in order to do something with our lives productive, beneficialand pleasing to Allah (aza wa jaaal).

Certainly the sacrifice of time and energy was the preoccupation of generations of previous

Muslims and the commerce and trade of the companions and early generations of Muslims wasto devote everything they did in working to establish Islam even when they entered the

marketplace. One of the miraculous realities of the lives of the companions (raa) was in their

willingness to dedicate their lives to Islam despite the lopsided odds, the obvious persecutionthey would face, and the necessity that they relinquished all of the evil customs and culture of thejahilliyya that preceded them. Many of them were martyred and others went on to see the spread

of Islam from East to West; certainly our fear and lack of dedication and full-fledgedcommitment is the cause of our present humiliation. Today when we are faced with the decisions

of what to do with our time and where to place our interests and efforts we fail miserably, but

simply being aware that we do have a choice in the matter is the beginning of training ourselves

to do more.

Allah (swt) differentiates between the nature of trade and commerce that is of benefit and thatwhich is an illusion and distraction in the world, so we too must be people of consciousness, ableto identify this reality and choose wisely how we spend our time and in what avenues we place

our interests. Similarly, in the realm of economics, as income and time is limited and desire and

ambition is unlimited the choices a person makes may be quantified; this is known as utility andin order to weigh it properly one cannot merely count the benefit accrued from the activity they

engage in but must also consider the costs associated with abandoning other possible endeavors.


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This is known as opportunity cost and is a concept that will help us understand how to prevent

falling into a common trap of the Shaytan. Economistmagazine defines opportunity cost as:

The true cost of something is what you give up to get it. This includes not only the money

spent in buying (or doing) the something, but also the economic benefits (UTILTIY) that

you did without because you bought (or did) that particular something and thus can nolonger buy (or do) something else. For example, the opportunity cost of choosing to train

as a lawyer is not merely the tuition fees, price of books, and so on, but also the fact that

you are no longer able to spend your time holding down a salaried job or developing your

skills as a footballer. These lost opportunities may represent a significant loss of utility.

Going for a walk may appear to cost nothing, until you consider the opportunity forgone to

use that time earning money. Everything you do has an opportunity cost.

Thus the Quran has given insight to this contemporary understanding in principle as well. The

difference between Western concepts is in the understanding of mankind; secular-man ishomoeconomicus, rational and predictable in that he will always attempt to maximum pleasure

and minimize pain. He knows no concept of sacrifice unless it ultimately serves his own bestinterests. On the other hand the Quranic ayaat we have pointed to and many others allude to the

reality that there is a commerce that distracts man from what is best for him and that man iscapable of struggling with self to choose what is better for him according to what the Creator

desires. Thus time, action, utility and opportunity costs take on superior definitions when applied

to man, his or her deeds, and in submission to the One in Whose Hand rests our souls.

What we choose to do with our time is of utmost import then. When faced with decisions of

activity we must not only consider what we desire but also take into account what otheropportunities must be sacrificed in order to partake in actions. As Allah (swt) says in Surah Asr:

!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !! ! ! !!!!!!! !!! !!!!!!!! !!!By time! Surely, mankind is in loss!

If we grasp this concept then certain realities should be manifest around us. These companions(raa), by racing to the caravan gave up and sacrificed the ability to listen and learn from the

Prophet (saws) and what a miserable transaction that was. Time is precious and we mustrecognize that every time we occupy ourselves with amusement we are not only engaging in

useless matters with no benefit, but losing an opportunity to fulfill our responsibilities as

Muslims. This is why Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab began his discussion of the ThreeFundamental Principles of Islamby setting forth the basic requirements of all Muslims. He (ra)

said,

In the name of Allah, The Most Merciful the Bestower of Mercy: Know, may Allah have

mercy upon you, that it is obligatory upon you to have knowledge of four matters:

1) Knowledge (al-ilm), which is knowledge and awareness of Allah, and knowledge of his

Prophet, and knowledge of the deen of Islam with the proofs.

2) Acting upon that


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3) Calling to that

4) Patiently persevering and bearing any harm encountered upon that way

And the proof is the saying of Allah, the most High:

By time, surely mankind is in loss, except those who truly believe and worship Allahalone, and do righteous deeds, performing that which is obligatory upon them and

avoiding that which they are forbidden and enjoin one another with patient perseverance

upon obedience to Allah and in facing harm and trials. (Quran 114)

Imam Al-Shaafi (ra) said, Had Allah not sent down a proof to the creation other than

this ayah, it would have been sufficient for them.

So, these four obligatory matters were all derived from one short surah of the Quran. UsingSurah al-Asr and explanation from Imam Shaafi here the deen of Islam is summarized as we

are given a continuum through which we can recognize what we must do with our time.

Ideally we are informed that we should be learning the religion, implementing what we learn,calling to what we come to know, and suffering or preparing to face persecution as a

consequence of trekking down that trying pathway. Many scholars have identified the

humans propensity to engage in activities outside the scope of this preoccupation and man isalways tested by external allurement, Allah (swt) says,

Nay, but you desire the life of this world

And so Allah (swt) tempted the believers as well with two of the temptations of the dunya

when the caravan came riding through the khutbah. And Allah tempted them with the lure oftrade (tijara) and entertainment (lahwa).

But if they see some business or some entertainment, they disperse headlong to it, and leave

you standing.

Yet Allah (swt) follows in the same ayah with a command to the Prophet (saws) saying,

Say: "What is with Allah is better than any entertainment or trade! and Allah is the

Best Provider of Provisions."

So the Prophet (saws) was commanded to inform the believers to put Allah first and to trust that

following the Quran and Sunnah leads to the best of provisions. And in wonderment the

conscious reader notices that where Allah (swt) originally described this event placing the


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allurement of trade (tijara) before entertainment (lahwi), He (swt) when commanding the

Messenger (saws) to respond has placed entertainment (lahwi) before trade (tijara), thus

reversing the order. Lahwi is a term that appears in several places of the Quran. For example

Allah says in Sura Luqman: 6,

!!!!!!!!! !!!!! ! ! !!!!! !! !!!!!!! !!! !! !!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! !!!! !!!!! !!!!!!!! !!!!And of mankind is he who purchases entertainment (lahwa) to mislead (men) from the path

of Allah

The companions (raa) and the salaf interpreted the term lahwa to refer to singing or music. Forexample Ibn Abbas (raa) said this means singing and Mujahid (raa) said the term is a reference

to playing the drum. Yet, Imam Al-Saadi (ra) reported in his tafseer that the term, includes all

haram speech, idle talk and falsehood, and all nonsense that encourages kufr and disobedience;the words of those who say things to refute the truth and argue in support of falsehood to defeat

the truth; and backbiting, slander, lies, insults and curses; the singing and musical instruments of

the Shaytan; and musical instruments which are of no spiritual or worldly benefit, so, Allah(swt) commanded His Messenger (saws) to inform the people that what is with Allah (swt) is

better than any of the allurements of this world and He (swt) used the term entertainment (lahwi)

first when correcting the people.

It is reported from amongst the sayings of the salaf that Abu Hayyan said about Ibn Attiya in

regard to this ayah, Look as the term trade (tijara) was introduced before entertainment(lahwi) in the verse and it is because it (trade) is important and was left to follow in the other

section of the verse by preference so that the self was caught up primarily with this clear

realization. And Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqeeti explained this statement in his tafsir that,

saying referring to the wording in the ayah, if they see and his saying, with preference in reference to Say (Muhammad) what is with Allah is better than

entertainment or trade, that which is entertainment (lahwi) is clear in appearance and

apparent, and knowledge is with Allah taala, and He preferred to mention entertainment

first in this place only because entertainment (lahwi) has absolutely no good in it so no

place for comparison, and trade (tijara) is mentioned last so it can be close to the

mentioning of provision (rizq) because they go hand in hand.

This verse is certainly worth contemplation and especially in a day where we witness the

majority of our ummah submerged in music, movies and entertainment, completely lethargic in

the state of an onslaught like the Mongol invasions and Crusades, and preoccupied with unlawful

business transactions all while avoiding completely any sense of sacrifice in the way of Allah(swt).

In reality this is not a new phenomenon, but we must be aware of this tribulation and try to

strategize ways that we can counter this overriding preoccupation with senseless activity. Those

with knowledge attained it because they were able to focus on what was beneficial while at thesame time wisely avoiding the lure of senseless occupation and companionship. This takes


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conscious awareness of this threat and conditioning so that it may be countered. As one example

Ibn al-Jawzi (ra) said:

I seek refuge with Allah from the company of idle people! I have seen many people who

tried me with what is a custom amongst many people in visiting a great deal and they call

these frequent visits a kind of service in the deen; so they want to sit with me and chat aspeople chat about what people are talking about, and what does not concern anyone, and

what may be backbiting.

This is what many people do these days, and the one who is visited may ask for that, or

long for it, and feel lonely when no one visits him, especially when there is a celebration or

on Eid. So you see them going to visit one another, and they dont limit it to offering

greetings and saying salaam, rather they add to that a great deal of what I call wasting

time.

When I realized that time is the noblest thing, and that it should be spent in doing good, I

hated that, and I had two choices with regard to them: if I cursed them it would cause

problems, and if I accepted it from them then I would be wasting time So I began to

avoid meeting people as much as I could, then if I did meet them I would try to keep theconversation brief so that I could leave quickly.

Then I prepared things that I could do to prevent talking to them when they met me, lest

time be wasted. Some of the preparations that I made for meeting them were cutting paper

for writing, sharpening pens and putting papers together to make notebooks, because these

things are essential, but they do not need any thought or focus. So I kept them for the times

of their visits so that none of my time would be wasted.

And here we have the reality that one must recognize that time is precious and also combat the

many struggles, trials and tribulations that accompany this awareness. As those listening to thekhutbah of the Prophet (saws) were so easily distracted so too we must recognize that theshaytan lures us by alluding to our interests with what is mundane and unimportant. It is

therefore of utmost importance that we occupy our time with things that Allah (swt) hasconfirmed are good for us. Allah (swt) has sent down a religion that, if practiced, should raise

these realizations inside ourselves. The ayaat that precede the verse of leaving what is of benefitfor trade and entertainment includes the command to attend the jumuah khutbah on Fridays. In

them Allah (swt) says,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! !! !!!!!!! !!

!! !!!! !!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!! ! ! !!!!!

!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! !!!! !!!!!!!!!!!! !!! !!!!!!!!!!O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the

Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business: That is best for you if you but knew! And

when the Prayer is finished, then may you may disperse through the land, and seek of the

Bounty of Allah and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that ye may

prosper.


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Here the believer is told to hasten to the remembrance of Allah, given a regiment of commanded

departure from trade, but is then given permission to disperse through the land and seek the

Bounty of Allah (swt) afterwards. It is in this respect that contemporary academics compare andcontrast the spirit of the Islamic message juxtaposed against the spirit of other religions. While

the Christian West is given credit for its Protestant work ethic and subsequent ability to promote

and allegedly birth capitalism, closer scholarship now documents that the spirit of the Quranicmessage birthed a society that expanded largely due to its trade where strict adherence to what

became the Bible after the Roman Empires adoption of Christianity and its selective adherence

to the doctrine of Paul birthed a civilization of feudalism, where poverty was considered pious

and where taxes burdened a peasantry in order to pay for religious wars. In reality, today we callthis the Dark Ages, and finally study history realizing that the Dark Ages were not so dark at all

in the Muslim world.

Today we look at the verses of trade in the Quran and the way they were interpreted and

implemented throughout the centuries of Islamic rule and we recognize the reality that Islam is areligion that promotes worldly success. However, as it says after prayer we should seek the

bounty of Allah it also includes a reminder to remember Allah much while doing so. The tafsirof Ibn Kathir states, Allah's statement, and remember Allah much, that you may be successful

means, while you are buying and selling, giving and taking, remember Allah much and do not letthis life busy you from what benefits you in the Hereafter. And there is a hadith that states,

!! !!!!!!!! !!!!! !!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!! !! !!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! !! !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! !!!!!!!!! !! !!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!! !!! !!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!! !! !!! !!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!! !!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! !! !!! !!

Whoever enters a marketplace and says, "La ilaha illallah, He is alone without partners, His is

the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Able to do all things.'' Then Allah will record a

thousand-thousand (a million) good deeds for him and will erase a million.

From this we understand that seeking trade and commerce can be worship and it would be wrong

to imitate the spiritual gurus and monks of other religions in denouncing all of what is worldly.Indeed Islam is a moderate religion and the ummah of Muhammad (saws) is a balanced nation.

We are told however to give Allah (swt) His rights first and especially with regard to the prayers.

It was recorded in Maliks Muwatta that Umar ibn al-Khattab (raa) wrote to his governors,saying, "The most important of your affairs in my view is the prayer. Whoever protects it and

observes it carefully is protecting his deen, while whoever is negligent about it will be even more

negligent about other things." So we must prioritize the salawaat, but we cannot isolate the

prayers from the everyday affairs. Indeed while a major problem in the ummah today isnegligence and absence ofsalat, those that pray can more often than not be found in between the

prayers preferring entertainment and amusement over beneficial leisurely activity and engaging

in a very narrow understanding oftijarah, working in endeavors and with manners that are not ofbenefit to Islam. Thus we must be conscious of our utilization of time as an ummah.

The Prophet (saws) also said: Make the most of five things before five others: life before death,health before sickness, free time before becoming busy, youth before old age, and wealth before

poverty. However, today we tend to waste our time with video games, music, senseless


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conversation, jokes and games and then wonder why the ummah is disgraced with onslaught,

lack of dignity, and inability to establish Islam in the land.

Because we fear poverty and want success as defined by the dominant societies crafting our

realities, barraging us with the religion of hedonism, the corporate shirk of the marketing

industry from Brittney Spears to Brand Obama we oftentimes forget that the real trade andcommerce we will exchange is our deeds on the Day of Judgment and there is no better

utilization of time than in working in the way of Allah (swt). Ibn Al-Qayyim reported in his

collection of wise sayings in his chapter on The Reward of Being Busy in the Service of Allah

that, If the servant of Allah begins the day and the evening, without having any other concern

except Allah, the Almighty, He will fulfill all his needs and relieve all his worries. He will

empty the servants heart for the sake of His Love, his tongue will constantly remember

Him and he will have the strength to perform religious duties for His sake.

And if he begins the day and the evening, without having any other concern except the life

of this world, Allah, the Almighty will cast worry and grief into his heart. He, the Almighty

leave him to himself, and keep his heart busy with things other than His Love. His tongue

will not remember Allah but will only be concerned with the creation. He will use all his

strength in things other than the sake of Allah, and he will remain busy in the service of the

creation. He will work very hard in the service of others. Just like a bellows that pumps

itself up and then squeezes itself to the utmost in the service of others. Therefore, whoever

refuses to submit to Allah, to obey and love Him, will be affected with the servitude, love

and service of the creation.

Our intention in all action must be to please Allah (swt) and all of the allurements of this world

are to take us away from focus on worship via acts Allah (swt) has declared pleasing to Him.One of the unfortunate realities we should all recognize living in non-Islamic societies is the

effect the external realm has on behavior. The Prophet (saws) stated that we are born on fitrahbut that it is our parents that make us Jews, Christians or Fire-worshippers; this is an allusion to

the fact of environmental effects on the behaviors of individuals. Societies shaped according toIslam encourage and entice the individual to do good. In reality, it was a caravan of disbelief that

intruded into the Muslim society and distracted the believers with trade and entertainment. It was

not an indigenous threat but one that came from without. Therefore there is perhaps no moreimportant matter at hand than in giving our time, our wealth and our concentration in

reestablishing the shariah on Earth. As Syed Qutb (raa) emphasized in Milestones:

Islam cannot fulfill its role except by taking concrete form in a society, rather, in a nation;

for man does not listen, especially in this age, to an abstract theory which is not seen

materialized in a living society. From this point of view, we can say that the Muslimcommunity has been extinct for a few centuries, for this Muslim community does not denote

the name of a land in which Islam resides, nor is it a people whose forefathers lived under

the Islamic system at some earlier time. It is the name of a group of people whose manners,

ideas and concepts, rules and regulations, values and criteria, are all derived from the

Islamic source. The Muslim community with these characteristics vanished at the moment

the laws of God became suspended on earth. If Islam is again to play the role of the leader


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of mankind, then it is necessary that the Muslim community be restored to its original

form.

Today we are a plagued and defeated nation, preoccupied with commerce and entertainment.

Recently one of the most popular Islamic scholars Yusef Qaradawi praised Qatars winning bid

to host the World Cup in 2022, explaining that it was a victory over America. It is thisshortsightedness and lack of insight that leads to destruction. The enemy we face as an ummah

today is not one of nation state versus nation state, it is one of ideological variety, a capitalist-

secularism that promotes vice and shuns virtue. By promoting the lure of soccer, games,entertainments and consumerist attitudes, individuals can be lured away from any effort at

understanding the satanic system that has infested each and every land. This system will enhance

an already all too present mentality in the Muslim world that entertainment ( lahwi) andcommerce (tijara) are the most important things in life. Along with the World Cup will come

alcohol, dancing girls, commercials, corporate brand names and a caravan of entertainment and

commerce the likes of which have never been seen. Along with the depletion and destruction ofthe American consumer, spiritually dead, politically unaware, overweight and uninsured will

come the boost of investment and efforts to stimulate demand in the lands that once belonged toDarussalam. It is only in understanding the reality of these temptations and in training ourselves

to give our time in the pursuit of what Allah (swt) has encouraged that we may lift thishumiliation and establish a society that is conducive to Islam. Elsewhere in the Quran Allah

(swt) asks,

What is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the Cause of Allah, you

cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the

comfort of this life, as compared to the Hereafter. (al-Tauba: 38)

When confronted with the contemporary caravans of lusts, desires and senseless pleasures we

must contemplate what is best, train ourselves to do what is of benefit and strategize means bywhich we can shun the ignorant and protect ourselves and family. As much as the majority of theummah has slipped into nonsensical engagement, large segments of the ummah are also engaged

in establishing outlets for consumption of time that are conducive to Islam and that work to

establish Islam in its entirety. Therefore we should involve ourselves with enhancing theseinstitutions and outlets and all do our part to combat the temptation of worldly allurement by

understanding this religion in essence and embodying that essence in all that we do.

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Trade, Temptation, and Time-Management: Opportunity Costs and Quran Conceptualization