FINANCE
ALWASAT ¿ Issue 85 ¿ Rabih II 1439 ¿ December 2017 / January 2018 ‫ ﻛﺎﻧﻮﻥ ﺍﻟﺜﺎﻧﻲ‬/ 2017 ‫ ﻫـ ¿ ﻛﺎﻧﻮﻥ ﺍﻷﻭﻝ‬1439 ‫ ¿ ﺭﺑﻴﻊ ﺍﻟﺜﺎﻧﻲ‬85 ‫ﺍﻟﻮﺳﻂ ¿ ﺍﻟﻌﺪﺩ‬
Almir Colan Melbourne
When the early
Muslims migrated
from Makkah to
Madina they did so
because they were faced with
a social and economic boycott.
Isolated and with a very
uncertain future the Muslim
community, had to make a
move. Upon their arrival to
Madina, it was obvious that if
they were to survive they had
to build a strong community
that is able to take care of
itself. The Prophet (may peace
and blessings of Allah be upon
Him) after building a mosque,
focused on building a market
in Madina which became a
commercial centre for the new
Islamic economy.
Imam Bukhari in the chapter on
business transactions included
a migration story of Abd al-
Rahman ibn ‘Awf (RA). In this
story, we learn an important
lesson about the attitude of a
business leader who refused to
trade independence for charity
by famously asking “Show me
the Market”. In this narration,
Imam Bukhari shows us the
mindset of a business leader
who chooses to work with
his own hands and ultimately
preserves his dignity and
honour. Prophet (SAWS) built
the system and together with
entrepreneurs like Abd al-
Rahman ibn ‘Awf (RA) made
it a source of strength for the
whole community and state.
We often hear stories of
companions like Uthman (RA)
who donated entire caravans
loaded with goods and food,
but we rarely ask how did
Uthman (RA) actually manage
to earn such massive amounts
of wealth? How was he able
to consistently donate such
a large amount of money for
different causes? At one point
after he donated camels,
horses and gold for the army
the Prophet (SAWS) was so
impressed that He (SAWS)
said that from today nothing
will harm Uthman (RA). While
these are amazing stories of
giving and show a true mastery
over money, one has to wonder
at what level was Uthman
(RA) conducting his business
dealings to be able to earn this
amount of wealth? Can you
58
Islamic Business
leadership
imagine Uthman (RA) having
this level of success without
careful planning? Without
very high and ambitious goals?
Do we think he randomly and
consistently made this amount
of wealth without seriously
understanding what he was
doing? No. Business leadership
is a system and it has its rules.
Prophet (SAWS) inspired
entrepreneurs and business
masters like Abd al-Rahman
ibn ‘Awf (RA) and Uthman Ibn
Affan (RA) to engage and find
solutions for the most difficult
challenges of their time. Today,
we also have a choice to make.
Either we let our community
end up in the situation like we
once were in Makkah when we
were lower hand and at the
mercy of others, or, we build
a strong community, like that
in Madinah, that is able to take
care of itself and can contribute
to society by becoming giving,
upper hand!
Most of the Muslims in
Australia understand that
Islam is not a theory but a
practical implementation. For
this reason, Islam is referred
to as a ‘Deen’ or a way of
living life. When we think
about things we need from
entertainment, spirituality,
health, business, education,
banking and so on, we want
everything to be consistent
with Islamic values. If the best
of us do not find solutions then
someone else will do it and we
might not like what they find.
Islamic leadership comes
from a sense of purpose and
direction that stems from
the root of our beliefs. It is a
trust (Amanah) that is centred
around Taqwa or consciousness
of Allah (SWT). This vision is
connected with the Islamic
values that are engraved in
every aspect of our life. The
fruit of this work is to be the
most beneficial to other people.
To take care of weak and lead
the strong amongst us. But to
ensure this idea lives on in our
community we must encourage
a spirit of entrepreneurship.
It is not good enough that all
members of our community are
simply working as employees.
We must have business
owners who will start their
own business and become
employers. My personal goal is
to see at least 5% of our people
start a business that employs
at least 5 people or more. As
we build business and develop
our skills we grow confidence
and take on even bigger
challenges in our society. For
this reason, I am starting a new
project which is called “Islamic
StartUp” in order to partner
with successful entrepreneurs
in our community with the aim
of training a new generation of
entrepreneurs to start, run and
grow their own business.
You can visit the website
www.IslamicStartUp.com to
subscribe and get an email
when this program starts in
February 2018, insha’Allah. If
you are interested in partnering
or sponsoring please email me
at almir@auscif.com for more
info.
Almir Colan is a Director of
Australian Centre for Islamic
Finance (AUSCIF), Director
at Awqaf Australia and Board
member at Garden College.
Almir is also an adviser to a
number of institutions that
provide Islamic finance and
member of a working group at
AAOIFI.