All trade in Medina was in the hands of the Jews. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came, there were four markets under the Jews and the Ansar of Madinah dependent on these markets. At the very beginning of the Hijrah, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) created a beautiful combination of these two skills, namely trade and agriculture, under the golden principles of Moakhat(مواخات).
The agriculture of Madinah was full of simplicity and honesty, and the trade of Makkah was free from all forms of exploitation due to the honest principle of Madaraba(مضاربہ).It was under Madaraba that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to travel to Syria and other places for trade with the ware of the wealthy people of Makkah. The investor in this trade believed in only one principal and he provided capital to the trader based on his honesty and dedication to his business. That's why anyone with a reputation for both of these qualities was most likely to be trusted for business.
Such an investment was free from the curse of any kind of interest, pre-determined profit or gambling. The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) was called "Al-Sadiq" and "Al-Amin" throughout Mecca because of these two characteristics.
Once the people of the Syrian market were surprised to see that the wheat and barley crop that had been soaked due to the rain on the way, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was separating wet and dry wheat in the market.
principle and honesty was a main thing that caused Syeda Khadija to entrusted her wealth to the Holy Prophet PBUH so that He (PBUH) could trade with her. The extent of His (PBUH) trade was such that He had a large warehouse of leather goods in Mecca.
When the Muhajirun and the Ansar, who adhered to the principles of honesty and worked hard to cultivate the crop and in trade, came together in Madinah, the "Moakhaat" combined these two skills (trade and agriculture). Abdul Rahman bin Awf (may Allah bless him) narrates that, “The Holy Prophet made me and Saad bin Rabi (may Allah bless him) brothers. Sa'd told me that I am the richest man among the Ansar, I give you half of my wealth and I will divorce any of two wives of mine whichever you like,to marry her with you. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn' Awf said, "I do not need these things. If you have a market here, show me the way." He started going there and one day he became the richest man among the Companions and he got the title of the treasure of Allah ”(Musnad Ahmad).
Both the Muhajireen and the Ansar were skilled in "agriculture and trade", but the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula were economically strong. They migrated and settled here from developed regions such as Syria and Palestine. They were familiar with a number of arts and skills that the Arabs were completely unfamiliar with. Their business relations with the world outside the Arabian Peninsula were very old and strong.
Therefore, they had a complete monopoly on the import of grain and the export of dried dates from Yathrib (old name of Medina) and the northern Hejaz. Businesses such as raising chickens and fishing were also in the hands of the Jews.
They also worked as weavers and made and sold cloth. They had opened liquor shops in all four of their markets and buy high quality liquor from Syria and sale it. The Banu Qainqa 'also worked as goldsmiths and blacksmiths and were skilled in building boats.
Despite all the business capabilities and market control, the biggest Jewish business in the whole of Arabia was to provide capital at interest. They gave these loans to the proud Arab chiefs whose ostentation and boasting were due to the interest-bearing loans of the Jews.
The Jews would lend money to these chiefs at a very high interest rate and then convert it into "compound interest", so that no Arab chief could get rid of this interest for the rest of his life. This Jewish usury made the Arabs economically hollow and their hatred of the Jews was deep in their hearts.
In order to get rid of this worst business environment, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) immediately set up a separate Market for Muslims compared to the four Jewish markets.
This was the second work after the construction of the Prophet's Mosque. Its importance can be gauged from the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said while choosing the place, “This is your market. No one will narrow the market place by buying land or constructing buildings. There will be no tax on this market ”(Ibn Majah).
The principle was applied in this bazaar same as to come to the mosque, that is, the one who comes first will choose his place. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Just as the mosque is common to all, so is the bazaar common to all." Taxes are so forbidden in Islam that the Holy Prophet said, "The tax collector will not enter Paradise" (Abi Dawood, Musnad Ahmad, Al-Darami), another place said, He will be deprived of the cup of Kawthar (The Kawthar کوثر is a spring whose water will be given to the righteous on the Day of Judgment).
(Ibn Majah)
One of the people whose prayers are not accepted is a tax collector. Prophet (PBUH) said, “When the gates of heaven are opened at midnight, then a preacher calls out that is there anyone needy whose supplication is to be accepted, is there any one needy, who is to be granted, is there any anyone who is distressed, who is to be granted openness, so there is no one among the people left, whose supplication will not be accepted by Allah, except the adulteress who calls to people toward her, or the tax collector. ”(Al-Targhib Al-Tarhib).
The tax-free market is considered to be the golden rule of modern economics, one of the few basic concepts of "Ease of doing business". "Tax-free zones" are created around the world to promote businesses and industries. The reason for this idea is that the trader should be given complete ease of doing business so that products can be made available to the people at affordable prices.
In addition to this principle, the Holy Prophet also protected farmers, artisans and manufacturers. He forbade anyone to buy their goods before reaching the market. It is narrated in the hadith, “We used to go to the caravans (before they entered the city) we used to buy grain from them. But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to sell/buy Grain until it doesn't bring to the market. ”(Saheeh Bukhari)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: A person should not sell (بیع) on the sale (بیع) of another and should not go ahead and buy the goods that are coming from outside until the goodd don't come to the market (Bukhari).
Thus, this bazaar of Madinah cut off the roots of the brokers and also blocked the way for hoarding. This was the reason why the farmer and the artisan began to receive full compensation for their labor and they got rid of those who exploited them by buying goods only on the basis of capital without any labor. The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) was so quick to set up this bazaar of Muslims that He set it up in a tent, but this bazaar was so successful that Ka'b ibn Ashraf, the chief of the Jews, cut the ropes of tent one night (due to Jealousy).
To be continued.....
No comments:
Post a Comment