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Month of Love, Sunnahs in Ramadan, Corporate Earnings

Issue 443 » September 14, 2007 - Ramadan 2, 1428

General

Living the Quran

Surah al-Baqarah (The Cow)
Chapter 2: Verse 165 (Partial)

Ramadan – The Month of Love
"those who have faith (i.e. are Muslims) are stronger in their love for Allah."

Concept of Love

The first thing that is needed is to actually conceptualize what love really is. We all know that love has many manifestations, degrees, and types. The way a child loves his or her parents is not the same as the way a woman may love her husband, and likewise, the way a person may love chocolate, per se, is not the same way a person would love his or her Lord (or at least we hope not). However, in all of these types of love there is a common and key theme, that of sacrifice and fulfillment. The more we love something, the more we are willing to sacrifice for it, and the more we will strive to fulfill the every command and wish of our beloved.

Indeed, sacrifice and fulfillment are from amongst the essential components that make up love, along with longing and cherishing. And this is why we should see that love, along with hope and fear, is a pillar of our worship. Our worship will not be complete or acceptable until it encompasses the right amounts of love, hope, and fear.

Association of Love with Ramadan

It is an individual's love for his/her child and family that will make them wake up in the late hours of the night to prepare a nice meal for suhur (the pre-dawn meal). In the same vein, it is an individual’s love for his community that will drive him to take time off of work to ensure his fellow Muslims have sufficient food for iftar (the meal at sunset). And it is our love for Allah, as Muslims, which drives us to sacrifice the two pinnacles of desire, food and marital relations, for no other reason than the pleasure of our very Creator.

Our love for Allah (glorified and praised is He) does not stop here but, rather, merely just begins. One of the key pillars of loving Allah lies in following the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, and an exemplary role model he is.

Source:
“Ramadhân: The Month of Love" - Abu 'Abdir-Rahman Mohammad Navaid Aziz
Understanding the Prophet's Life

Sunnahs to Follow in Ramadan

1. Waking up to have suhûr, even if it is something little. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Eat suhûr for in suhûr there is blessing." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]

2. Not delaying the iftâr. The Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "The people will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten in breaking their fasts" [Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]

3. Supplicating throughout the day and night, especially during iftâr time. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveller." [Narrated by al-Bayhaqi 3/345]

4. Spending the nights in prayer, as well as encouraging the family to do so. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Whoever establishes prayers during the nights of Ramadhân out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, all his past sins will be forgiven." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî]

5. Being generous and feeding the people iftâr. The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever gives iftâr to one who is fasting will have a reward like his, without detracting from the reward of the person fasting." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]

6. Staying away from all immoral acts, especially those of the tongue. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Fasting is not abstaining from eating and drinking alone, but it is also abstaining from vain speech and foul language. If one of you is being cursed or annoyed, he should say: I am fasting, I am fasting." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî and by Muslim]

7. Performing 'umrah. The Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said: "Perform 'umrah when Ramadhân comes, for 'umrah in Ramadhân is equal to hajj (in reward)." [Narrated by al-Bukhârî]

Source:
“Ramadhân: The Month of Love" - Abu 'Abdir-Rahman Mohammad Navaid Aziz
Blindspot!

Unlawful Corporate Earnings

Essentially Lawful

In principle, trading in corporate shares is lawful. A person who purchases shares in a company is merely purchasing a part of a company. When that person sells his shares, he is selling a part of the company. The purpose of trade – whether it be in retail goods or in corporate shares – is to make a profit. This requires selling at a price higher than the purchase price, which is what the purchaser of the shares hopes to do.

A shareholder may also receive a share of the corporate profits commensurate with his ownership of the company in the form of dividends. All of this is lawful provided that the company’s essential business is lawful. A Muslim should not purchase shares in a brewery, for instance, or in an interest-based bank.

The Problem

The problem arises in the fact that the vast majority of companies in the world do not adhere to Islamic Law in their financial transactions. Some of a company’s investment portfolio may be in bonds or in other Islamically unlawful financial instruments. Moreover, the company will through its necessary banking transactions will earn some interest, unintentionally. Unless the company is Islamic (and certainly, Muslim investors should go out of their way to support and develop Islamic companies) these earnings will not be disposed of by the company itself. What this means for the Muslim investor is that for virtually every public company, a small percentage of corporate earnings will inevitably derive from unlawful sources, regardless of the company’s actual line of business.

What must a Muslim shareholder do about these earnings?

The answer is that when the Muslim investor receives dividends, he must dispose of the percentage that equals the percentage of the company’s income, which is unlawful.

Determining what this percentage is quite simple for the investor. It can easily be known from the company’s income statement.

For example, if the company has interest earnings equaling 5% of its total earnings and you receive an annual dividend from those earnings of $100,000, then you should give away $5000 to the poor or to public works.

This money must be given away with the express intention of ridding yourself of your share of the company’s unlawful earnings. The money must not be paid with the intention of giving in charity.

This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah is pure and accepts nothing but what is pure.” [Sahîh Muslim]

A Muslim who rids himself of unlawful wealth can still look forward to a reward from Allah for doing so, since he is doing so out of obedience to Allah. However, it will not be for charitable spending.

Source:
"Unlawful Corporate Earnings & Their Implications for Muslim Shareholders" - Muhammad Muhammad Sâlim `Abd al-Wadûd