Sales and Trade

I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying, "whoever desires an expansion in his sustenance and age, should keep good relations with his Kith and kin."

The Prophet (ﷺ) purchased food grains from a Jew on credit and mortgaged his iron armor to him.

Anas went to the Prophet (ﷺ) with barley bread having some dissolved fat on it. The Prophet (ﷺ) had mortgaged his armor to a Jew in Medina and took from him some barley for his family. Anas heard him saying, "The household of Muhammad did not possess even a single Sa of wheat or food grains for the evening meal, although he has nine wives to look after." (See Hadith No. 685)

When Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was chosen Caliph, he said, "My people know that my profession was not incapable of providing substance to my family. And as I will be busy serving the Muslim nation, my family will eat from the National Treasury of Muslims, and I will practice the profession of serving the Muslims."

The companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to practice manual labor, so their sweat used to smell, and they were advised to take a bath.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one's own hands. The Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah, David used to eat from the earnings of his manual labor."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) David used not to eat except from the earnings of his manual labor."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "No doubt, it isbetter for any one of you to cut a bundle ofwood and carry it over his back rather than toask someone who may or may not givehim."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "One would rather take a rope and cut wood and carry it than ask others).

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "May Allah's mercy be on him who is lenient in his buying, selling, and in demanding back his money."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Before your time the angels received the soul of a man and asked him, 'Did you do any good deeds (in your life)?' He replied, 'I used to order my employees to grant time to the rich person to pay his debts at his convenience.' So Allah said to the angels; "Excuse him." Rabi said that (the dead man said), 'I used to be easy to the rich and grant time to the poor.' Or, in another narration, 'grant time to the well-off and forgive the needy,' or, 'accept from the well-off and forgive the needy.'

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "There was a merchant who used to lend the people, and whenever his debtor was in straitened circumstances, he would say to his employees, 'Forgive him so that Allah may forgive us.' So, Allah forgave him."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The seller and the buyer have the right to keep or return goods as long as they have not parted or till they part; and if both the parties spoke the truth and described the defects and qualities (of the goods), then they would be blessed in their transaction, and if they told lies or hid something, then the blessings of their transaction would be lost."

We used to be given mixed dates (from the booty) and used to sell (barter) two Sas of those dates) for one Sa (of good dates). The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to us), "No (bartering of) two Sas for one Sa nor two Dirhams for one Dirham is permissible", (as that is a kind of usury). (See Hadith No. 405).

An Ansari man, called Abu Shu'aib, came and told his butcher slave, "Prepare meals sufficient for five persons, for I want to invite the Prophet (ﷺ) along with four other persons as I saw signs of hunger on his face." Abu Shu'aib invited them and another person came along with them. The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to Abu Shu'aib), This man followed us, so if you allow him, he will join us, and if you want him to return, he will go back." Abu Shu'aib said, "No, I have allowed him (i.e. he, too, is welcomed to the meal).

The Prophet (ﷺ) aid, "The buyer and the seller have the option to cancel or to confirm the deal, as long as they have not parted or till they part, and if they spoke the truth and told each other the defects of the things, then blessings would be in their deal, and if they hid something and told lies, the blessing of the deal would be lost."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said "Certainly a time will come when people will not bother to know from where they earned the money, by lawful means or unlawful means." (See Hadith no. 2050)

When the last Verses of Surat al- Baqara were revealed, the Prophet (ﷺ) recited them in the mosque and proclaimed the trade of alcohol as illegal.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "This night I dreamt that two men came and took me to a Holy land whence we proceeded on till we reached a river of blood, where a man was standing, and on its bank was standing another man with stones in his hands. The man in the middle of the river tried to come out, but the other threw a stone in his mouth and forced him to go back to his original place. So, whenever he tried to come out, the other man would throw a stone in his mouth and force him to go back to his former place. I asked, 'Who is this?' I was told, 'The person in the river was a Riba-eater."

My father bought a slave who practiced the profession of cupping. (My father broke the slave's instruments of cupping). I asked my father why he had done so. He replied, "The Prophet (ﷺ) forbade the acceptance of the price of a dog or blood, and also forbade the profession of tattooing, getting tattooed and receiving or giving Riba, (usury), and cursed the picture-makers."