The Concept of Islamic Business Ethics

Islam is a source of value and ethics in everything human life aspect wholly, including discourse of business. Business and trading including in human activity are very important, and human is creature that needs Friends and group. Business and trading acquired because never somebody can life perfectly, capable to providing everything necessity and demand in their life himself without engaging others. Becase of that human mutually needs, teamwork and can help each other. Islam motivated their umat efforts search rezeki in order to their life to be good and happiness. Allah SWT creates the sky, earth, sea and everything to human interest and benefit. Human must be search permitted rezeki. Firman Allah in surah An-Naba: 10-11:
“And we create night as cloth. And we create a day to lilving.”
In that verse, Allah teaches equilibrium between search for rezeki to their life and leisure. Night for take rest and converging the energy and day to working effusing the energy, business trading to search for rezeki.
In several hadists Rasulullah SAW had given motivated to his umat to search for rezeki by efforts and trading. Rasulullah SAW is a sample of success entrepreneur have international reputation. When still child he was accompany his Uncle Abu Thalib trading to Syam, moreover he set a going business owned by Siti Khadijah to Syam and come back with the big profit. This is ability evidence, believe and his mandate as entrepreneur. Rasulullah SAW utterance:
“Mandated entrepreneur and fair together with syuhada in judgement day late” (HR. Ibnu Majah and al-Hakim)
“Nothing the best food for eat by someone that he/she produced by their hands”. (HR. Bukhari)
Closed friends of Rasul so many to be entrepreneur and a success businessman. That order thing are Abu Bakar, Umar bin Khattab, Ustman bin Affan, Abdurrahman bin Auf, etc.
Business activity is the integral part of economic discourse. Islamic economic system starts from awareness about ethics, whereas other economic system, like capitalism and socialism, tend to ignore the ethics so value aspect is not seem in both building of that economic system. Islam have comprehensive concept about business ethics. Started from based principle, point of damaging in trading, production factors, labor, organization capital, wealth distribution, wages problem, goods and services, qualification in business, until to sosio economic ethics related with possesion and social relationship. *) Rasululah Saw, so many give guidance about business ethics, which order thing, is:
1. Essential principle in business is honesty. In Islamic doctrine, honesty is a fundamental requirement in business activity. Rasulullah very intence suggests honesty in business activity, his utterance: “Unjusticeviably a Muslim sell one the bad goods, except he/she explain about that bad” (H.R. Al-Quzwani). Rasulullah always fair in business. He forbid entrepreneurs placed the bad goods at lower side and new goods at upper side.
2. Awareness about significance social business activity. Businessman according to Islam, not only interest biggest profit, as teached by father of capitalized economic, Adam Smith, but orientation to ta’awun attitude (help each others) as implication in social business activity.
3. Do not prejure. In one hadist narrative by Bukhari, Prophet utterance, “Do prejure, goods maybe sold out, but the result is not blessing”. In hadist narrative by Abu Zar, Rasulullah saw threaten by poignantly punishment to prejurer in business, and Allah do not care with him later in judgement day (H.R. Muslim).
4. Friendly. A Businessman must be friendly in doing their business. Prophet Muhammad Saw utterance, “Allah blassing a friendlyman and tolerant in business” (H.R. Bukhari and Tarmizi).
5. Do not paid fulsome complementsin high price, in order to others atracted to buy with that price. Utterance by Prophet Muhammad, “Do not you do business najsya (particular buyers, teamwork by other seller to increase the price, not by plan to buyers, but in order to atract others for buying).
6. Does not disfiguring others business, in order to buyer buy to him. Prophet Muhammad Saw utterance, “Do not someone among you sell that means to disfigure that selled by others” (H.R. Muttafaq ‘alaih).
7. Do not ihtikar. Ihtikar is (accumulating and saving goods in a particular time, with purpose in order to the price someday to be up and big profit acquired).
8. The truth measrement container. Firman Allah: “Woe to dishonester, that are people that received measure from others, they want fulfilled, and if they measure to others, they decreasing” ( QS. 83: 112).
9. Business cannot disturb relogious activity to Allah. Firman Allah, “businessman that cannot ignore by business because of remeber Allah, and build prayers and paid the tithe. They scare to some that day, heart and vision to be shake”.
10. Paid wage before worker sweat was dry. Prophet Muhammad Saw utterance, “Give wage to employee, before their sweat was dry”.
11. Do not monopoli. Each of one badside system economic capitalized is ligitimation monopoli and oligopoli.
12. Do not business in exist dangerous condition (mudharat) that can make loss and damaging individual and social life. For example, cannot sell permited goods, like grape to produsen alcoholic liquors, because can estimated will be produce to be alcoholic liquors.
13. Business commodity sold is holy goods and permitted. Prophet Muhammad Saw utterance, “In truth Allah abjure of alcoholic business, carcass, pigs and “statutes” (H.R. Jabir).
14. Business doing of one free will, without under pressure. Firman Allah, “men of faith, do not be eaten assets each order by the bad way, except by accepted business way with like each other among you” (QS. 4: 29).
15. Soon paid credit that to be their liability. Rasulullah praised a Muslim that has serious attention in payment their liability. Utterance by Prophet Saw, “the best from you, that the people soon in paymeny their liability” (H.R. Hakim).
16. Given extra time if debitor unable to pay. Utterance Prophet Saw, “Someone that diferal the people that difficult to pay their liability or making free them, Allah will be give him port where Allah port in that day nothing port except Allah port” (H.R. Muslim).
17. Businessman that clean from bersih excessive interest unsure. Firman Allah, “Men of fatith, leave that remains of riba if you faith (QS. Al-Baqarah: 278) businessman and excessive interest consumer valueable by Allah as possessed people (QS. Al-Baqarah: 275).
So those are the part of business ethics in Islamic perspective combined from Islam source, either sourcing from al-Qur’an or Sunnah. Because of that based value, Prophet built system economic Islam yang tercerahkan. Principles business ideally reality cannot do by Prophet and his closed friends. This Reality to be evidence to many people, that economic arrangement justicable, trully happens, althuogh in national scope, Madinah country. Value, spirit and precept that bring by Prophet, usefull to build new arrangement economic, that ending realized in economic world arrangement that justicable. Syed Nawab Haidar Naqvi, in book “Ethics and Economic Science: an Islamic Synthesis”, described fourth axiom economic ethics, that are:
1. Tauhid
Tauhid is teology discourse based everything of human activity, including business activity. Tauhid make aware human as ilahiyah creature, shape of Allah creature. so, human business activity cannot ignore by Allah control, and in order to do Allah titah. (QS. 62:10)
2. Equilibrium
Equilibrium means that business behavior must be equal and fair. Equilibrium that means do not over in search economic profit (QS.7:31).
3. Free will
Free will means that human as individual and collectivity, have full free will to do business activity. In economic, human free implementated Islam norms. Because economic problem, including to mu’amalah aspect, not ibadah, so accepted to them general norm, “All can except that forbidden”.
4. Responsibility
Responsibility means that human as businessman, has moral reponsibility to Allah upon their business behavior. Assets as business commodity in Islam, in mandatory of Allah that must be responsible in faced of Allah.
Eventhough Islam motivated their umat to be entrepreneur, and moreover is fardhu kifayah, not means can do that fully free will of human, like out of control. Courtesy and business ethics in Islam must be respected and submissived. Islamic Umat in their progress search for wealth and do they efforts let there to be Islam as based and blessing of Allah as ending purpose and primerily. Search for profit in doing trading is each of one purpose, but do not be lossing primerily purpose. In Islamic viewpoint business is channel to pray Allah and it is fardlu kifayah, because of that business and trading cannot let from Syari’ah Islamiyah role.
In Al-Quran viewpoint, individual responsibility very important in one business transaction. Every individu responsible to all transaction they are doing. Nothing somebody that have a particular previlage or immunity to collecting consequences to what they are doing. In Al-Quran, That thing is prevent tools to occurence actions that unresponsible, because every people will be requested their responsibility either in the world or in the hereafter.
In order to Muslim able to be spirit devoting tomaking lose themselves interest, so he/she must be remember the guidances as follow:
1. Considering needs and others interest;
2. Give help that not commission and tithing to the neederst;
3. Give supports and teamwork for good things.
*) Drs.Agustianto, MA, “Islamic business ethics.”