In our previous article, we established the need to approach business (and work in general) from an inherently moral perspective.
Rather than zeroing in on the bottom line, we need to take a step back and assess how each line of the P&L affects everyone - from people to the planet and everything in between.
In short, business is not a neutral activity. As Muslims, each and every one of us is mukallaf, or legally and morally responsible, to deliver benefits, avoid harm, and uphold the welfare of all stakeholders in our business activities.
As Muslims, we have the benefit of looking up to the example of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for guidance and inspiration.
According to a hadith narrated by the second caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (PBUH) said that whoever, whether they be the seller or the buyer, before entering the market, recited a prayer declaring Allah's oneness and greatness, “God will record for him a million good deeds, obliterate from him a million evil deeds, raise him a million degrees, and build him a house in paradise.”
The recitation of this prayer is set to induce a particular state of consciousness when people enter a marketplace. It’s meant to put people in a ‘zone’. The reward promised is for whoever recites this prayer, with no additional conditions mentioned. In the Prophet’s Madinah, over 1,400 years ago, when the whole community was built around the concept of helping each other, entering and staying in the ‘zone’ was simple as there was already a natural environment that enjoined good and forbade evil in commerce and in all aspects of life.
The “market” today
Things have changed over the past 1,400 years, and markets don't conform to physical boundaries. Consequently, the limits of the zone, too, need to be shelved or expanded in accordance with the market which surrounds us today.
Smartphones have, unwittingly and perhaps unwillingly, become the major conduit for most, if not all, our dealings and purchases. We are no longer zoned in consciously or by design. We function in a constant state.
This all-encompassing condition exponentially compounds the difficulties Muslim entrepreneurs and businesspeople face today.
The dhimmah (ذمة) we all have to our stakeholders becomes that much more difficult to fulfill. Dhimmah, responsibility in plain English, is a much more nuanced concept in Islam, consisting of several layers, including responsibility, inviolability, conscience, and security.
Responsibility in our tradition
Dhimmah is the connective tissue between legal conditions of a valid sale or exchange. It operates at a deeper, moral layer as a receptacle of obligation.
Classical jurists often define it like this:
الذمة وصف شرعي يصير به الإنسان أهلاً للإلزام والالتزام
This definition reads, “Dhimmah is a legal-moral attribute by which a person becomes fit to incur and undertake obligations.”
In other words, while a contract does not create dhimmah, dhimmah allows a contract to generate a binding obligation.
The idea of dhimmah is relevant in wide contexts, including:
- Contracts and obligations (e.g., commercial debt, delivery, partnerships)
- Protection (e.g., ahl al-dhimmah under Muslim governance)
- Moral liability - where breaking one’s promise incurs not just social, but divine consequence
Related terms in the Holy Qur’an are Ahd, Mīthāq, and Amānah.
The market as the locus of Dhimmah
In a hadith in the collection of Al-Tirmidhi, narrated by Isma'il bin 'Ubaid bin Rifa'ah: From his father, from his grandfather, that he went with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to the Musalla, and he saw the people doing business so he said: 'O people of trade!' and they replied to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) turning their necks and their gazes towards him, and he said: Indeed the merchants will be resurrected on the Day of judgement with the wicked, except the one who has Taqwa of Allah, who acts righteously and is truthful.'"
This hadith is important for us to reflect on, especially for those selling a commodity, be it a product or a service. Let’s recall that the Prophet’s instructions when entering the market are for everyone - buyer and seller. But in this hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) addressed sellers directly, placing the burden of disclosure, honesty, delivery, and quality on them. This is dhimmah.
Reviving the spirit of covenant today
Since today’s market is everywhere, our dhimmah stays with us wherever we go. If you’re operating in e-commerce, every click means you are serving this dhimmah.
If you’re running a shop, every time someone checks out, you are accountable for this dhimmah. Each handshake to align on a B2B deal is a dhimmah. Serving our dhimmah means we are aware that every agreement is witnessed by God, whether these be supplier contracts, fairness of compensation of employees, serving as fiduciary with investors, and tech and data companies honoring agreements of consent, usage, and data privacy.
And this is not restricted to individuals. Institutions and corporations are also morally accountable for fulfilling promises in marketing, not creating dependencies (e.g., addictive apps, exploitative lending), and honoring commitments to the environment and community. When one sells or hires, they enter into a covenant that includes fairness (ʿadl), goodwill (iḥsān), truthfulness (ṣidq), and transparency (bayān).
From contracts to covenant
Our current milieu, contractual capitalism, divides interests rather than unifying them. Our worldview demands covenantal ethics. In other words, we have transitioned from a transactional mindset towards transformative relationships.
When Muslims revive dhimmah in commerce, we stand to achieve deeper trust in markets, institutions with moral credibility, and a revival of God-consciousness (taqwā) in business dealings. We must reaffirm that the believer does not escape responsibility by “hiding behind legalese.”
The reality is that every invoice, every sale, every agreement and handshake is an entry in our book of deeds. The Prophet (s) said, “The truthful and trustworthy merchant will be with the Prophets, the truthful, and the martyrs.” (Tirmidhī)
The one who fails to honor their dhimmah becomes worthy of dhamm. That is the moral architecture built into our sacred language.
Sajjad Chowdhry is an entrepreneur and C-level executive with over two decades of global experience across venture building, strategy, investment, and strategic finance. A Columbia and Hartford Seminary graduate, he is also a co-founder of DinarStandard
Sajjad Chowdhry