Religiosity in the market scale; Narration of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) about halal business
The economic history of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) shows that faith is not limited to individual worship; Honesty in the transaction, respecting the customer's rights and avoiding taking advantage of people's needs are among the most important criteria of religiosity in the field of economy.
According to the report of the Missionary's Thought and Culture Base, the market is one of the most important fields for measuring human ethics; Where honesty becomes meaningful when telling the truth may reduce the profit of the transaction, trustworthiness is put to the test when there is a possibility of concealment and fairness is revealed when the other party does not know enough about the real price or the defect of the goods.
From this point of view, religiosity is not only limited to rituals and individual worships, but also manifests itself in everyday economic behavior. The biography of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) also emphasizes the same link between faith and social responsibility; A link in which the market is not outside the field of slavery, but an arena for respecting people's rights and adhering to religious values.
Let's measure religiosity with economic behavior
In a narration, Imam Sadiq (a.s.) warns against being deceived by the appearance of people's worship and introduces honesty and trustworthiness as a more important criterion for knowing them:
"Don't be fooled by their prayer and fasting; Because someone may be so used to prayer and fasting that he feels lonely when he leaves it. Rather, test them with honesty and trustworthiness."
This narration is narrated in al-Kafi, in the topics related to truthfulness and faithfulness, and it shifts the audience's attention from the appearance of religious behavior to the moral reality of life. The main question is whether a person tells the truth in sensitive situations and whether the rights of others remain with him.
This criterion has a clear application in today's economy. A seller who changes product specifications, a manufacturer who hides product defects, an employer who delays payment of wages or a customer who does not adhere to his financial commitment cannot separate his economic behavior from his moral and religious identity.
Trust is not only limited to money and property deposited; Customer information, partner capital, labor time, promised quality, and customer trust can all be examples of trust.
One of the well-known reports about the economic life of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) is the business case of Moseeb, one of his relatives and business agents. According to this narration, which is quoted in Shia narrative sources, the imam left a thousand dinars at the disposal of Museeb to trade with.
Coinciding with this capital, he went to Egypt with a group of merchants. On the way, the caravan found that the goods with it were scarce at the destination. The traders agreed with each other not to sell the goods for less than twice the purchase price.
coincidentally, after selling the goods, he returned with two thousand dinars; A thousand dinars of initial capital and a thousand dinars of interest. Imam Sadiq (a.s.) received the principal of the capital and refused to accept the profit after knowing how to earn this profit and the agreement of the merchants to increase the price.
In the same report, a sentence of the imam addressed to Museeb was quoted, which reminds us of the difficulty of earning a halal livelihood:
"What a coincidence! The book of the swords of those who seek the halal
It means: "O coincidence! It is easier to strike a sword in the battlefield than to ask for a halal sustenance.
This narrative is not simply a condemnation of profiteering or business. The imam himself had provided the capital to his broker to trade with it; Therefore, the principle of economic activity and earning money is not opposed. The problem begins where the scarcity of goods becomes a tool to impose prices and increase profits through an agreement between sellers.
The message of this story is that the economic profit, even if it is obtained through transactions and without direct possession of other people's property, should be measured from the moral point of view. Using people's needs to earn unconventional profits is not compatible with the spirit of fairness and religious responsibility.
Every legal transaction is not necessarily fair
In the moral evaluation of a transaction, one should not only ask whether the agreement of the parties is legally valid; Rather, it should be seen under what conditions this agreement was formed. Did the buyer have enough information? Did the seller take advantage of his urgent need? Has the agreement between the suppliers taken away the possibility of choice from the customers?
The incident makes it necessary to pay attention to these questions. Along with legal rules, economic ethics provides a criterion for measuring the fairness and responsibility of individuals towards the society.
This problem has many examples in the contemporary economy. From hoarding essential goods and coordination to raise prices to overselling in crisis situations, advertising services with unrealistic promises and using deceptive methods to sell subscriptions or products.
The form of these behaviors may be different than in the past, but the main question remains: Is earning based on providing real value or based on exploiting the ignorance, emergency and vulnerability of others?
Of course, it is not possible to derive a fixed percentage for the profit of all goods from the coincidence. Production cost, supply conditions, risk level and type of economic activity are different. What is highlighted in this narrative is avoiding unfair profiteering and turning public scarcity and need into an opportunity to impose prices.
From hiding flaws to deception in advertising
In a narration narrated by Sheikh Sadouq in Al-Khasal book, five cases are mentioned as harms of entering into buying and selling: usury, swearing, concealing the defect of the goods, exaggerating the definition when selling and slandering the goods when buying.
These are not the only ethical recommendations for traditional markets; They also pay attention to the psychological and informational mechanisms of transactions. The seller may present his product as perfect and exceptional to increase the price, and the buyer may ignore the real value of the other party's product to decrease the price. In both cases, information and language can become tools to disrupt the fairness of the transaction.
Today, hiding a defect is not limited to hiding a defect in a car, house, or physical product. Omitting important information about a product's limitations, not disclosing additional costs, using misleading images, publishing fake reviews, removing valid reviews, and hiding important contract terms can reproduce the same logic.
The criterion of economic integrity is that the customer has access to effective and necessary information before making a decision; Information knowing which may change his choice or decision.
lawful acquisition; Fight against profitable justifications
Imam Sadiq's emphasis on the difficulty of obtaining a halal livelihood can be seen as a reminder of an internal struggle; A struggle in which the temptation of greater profits may blur the line between economic opportunism and injustice.
Sometimes greed appears under the guise of economic intelligence, concealment is called trade secret, and abuse of market conditions is called opportunity recognition. In such a situation, a person may invoke market custom or profitability to justify his behavior, without paying attention to the moral consequences of his decision.
The economic life of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) should not be seen as a call to poverty or opposition to wealth creation. The main issue is the distinction between earning legitimate income and violating the rights of others. Economic activity can be profitable and at the same time help to produce value, meet the needs of society and increase public trust; But not every income can be morally accepted just because it is profitable.
Sometimes a behavior may be done within the apparent framework of the contract, but it is far from fairness and social responsibility. Therefore, in addition to legal rules, economic ethics needs a measure to evaluate the quality of human relations in the market.
the market; The field of revealing social faith
From a religious point of view, the market is not the only place to exchange goods and services; It is a field in which one's commitment to moral values is revealed in dealing with the rights of others. A seller who honestly states the defect of the goods, a partner who keeps the accounts transparent, an employer who pays the wages of the labor on time, and a business owner who does not use the difficult conditions of the people to make an unusual profit, give meaning to religious values in social life.
In this framework, individual worship and economic ethics are not opposed to each other; Rather, values such as piety, honesty and trustworthiness are expected to be effective in everyday behavior. If religious belief cannot play a role in financial decisions, pricing method, contract setting and observance of human rights, there is a gap between belief and practice.
In order to strengthen public trust, the society needs businesses that adhere to their commitments along with economic activity and profitability; Don't hide the defect of the product, keep clear accounts and don't prefer short-term benefits over people's rights in difficult days.
The economic history of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) is a reminder of the fact that religiosity in social life is not measured by individual rituals alone. Worship also shows its effect in economic relationships when it makes a person resistant to lies, underselling, hoarding, deception and violating the rights of others.
"Bazaar floor religiosity" means faith at the moment of the transaction should also be a decision criterion; When it is possible to hide the defect, when the price increase can bring more profit and when the other party does not have enough information.
Based on this, the fair market is not formed only by regulation and supervision; It also requires an active moral conscience, the responsibility of business owners and practical respect for the rights of customers. This is one of the lasting messages of Imam Sadiq's life for today's economy: business is compatible with religion when profitability is placed alongside honesty, fairness and respect for human rights.
- Kilini, Muhammad Ibn Yaqub, Al-Kafi, Volume II, Kitab Al-Ayman and Al-Kufr, Chapter Al-Saqq and Performance of Trust.