Repositioning rights in Islamic commerce

In our May article, we explored the importance of accountability as a foundational pillar of moral agency in commerce.

We explored the foundational role of accountability in authentic Islamic business ethics - not simply as a bureaucratic measure, but as a sacred trust (amanah). It’s about quality over quantity. 

True enterprise requires not just strategy and scale, but sincerity and stewardship. Without a moral compass, businesses focus on numbers, potentially justifying, or at least ignoring, the unjustifiable. With it, it becomes a path of integrity and community.

Accountable to what?, you may ask. The answer to this very simple question is: divine rights and that of our fellow human beings, irrespective of faith or persuasion. 

In the Islamic worldview, economic transactions are expressions of these sacred trusts and must be conducted with full ethical consciousness. Huqūq (rights) shape human activity, helping to define the moral terrain in which enterprise operates, ensuring justice and ethical action. 

Every business activity - from employment, to pricing, advertising, contracts, etc. - activates rights.

Customers are owed truth in marketing and fair pricing, employees/workers are owed timely wages, suppliers should be apprised of demand projections. For Muslims, business is not a morally neutral space - it is a constant moral field governed by ḥuqūq.

Typically, scholars delineated 1) the rights owed to God (Ḥuqūq Allāh) encompassing obligations such as sincerity in worship, honesty, and adherence to divine commands and 2) the rights owed to human beings (Ḥuqūq al-ʿIbād) which include justice, fairness, truthfulness, and compassion in dealings with others. Importantly, the two are interconnected. 

Violations of human rights in commerce - such as deceit, exploitation, or breach of contract - are simultaneously violations of our sacred trust. Beyond these, the vicegerency entrusted to human beings means that caring for all of creation is part of our sacred trust. 

Recall the example of the Caliph Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) and his concern for the welfare of the sheep that dwelled in the dominion he was responsible for. 

As we read in the Qur’an, “Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and to judge with justice.” [4:58] 

And we all know well the clear instructions given by the Prophet ﷺ, who said, “Give the worker his wages before his sweat dries.” (Ibn Mājah)

Rights and trust
Upholding the rights of others establishes trust. When trust is established, we witness growth and advancement.

Think about this through the lens of the Hadith Qudsi in which God Almighty tells us - 

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:

"My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. - (Related by al-Bukhari.)

God tells us that fulfilling his rights enhances the trust between Him and his servant to such a degree that God loves that servant and grants him whatever he asks of his Lord. 

Isn’t it similar when a seller builds trust with a buyer? Pricing, delivery, quality, fair dealings - all of these are components of building trust in a sales transaction. What about between an employer and an employee?

Fair wages, benefits, professional development, upward mobility, timely feedback and reviews - because the employee’s rights are respected, trust leads to loyalty, dedication, and more. But if rights are violated, trust is eroded.

Huqooq in commerce translates into spiritual elevation
Our deen rejects the notion that business, commerce and trade are secular or profane endeavors.

Every employment agreement, sales transaction, and service provision constitutes a moral event.

The Prophet (ﷺ) highlighted the ethical stakes of business when he stated: "The truthful and trustworthy merchant will be with the Prophets, the truthful, and the martyrs" (Tirmidhi, 1209). 

Trustworthiness and honesty in commerce are not simply admirable traits; they are pathways to spiritual distinction.

Practical implications
Achieving demonstrable change can begin by taking some real steps as we build and operate businesses.

To start, businesses and their owners/managers should map out a clear charter where any rights may be implicated - in hiring, selling, contracting, delivering, etc at a divine, peer and social level. 

This mapping should be about more than typical compliance exercises, ensuring that it considers the ethical and spiritual. 

It’s a clear ask, “Whose rights am I accountable for at every stage of my value chain?” The tragedy hints towards a general widespread approach of extracting value from a chain that was originally meant to deliver it.

Recognizing and upholding huqooq transforms business from a purely transactional enterprise where typically one side tries to ‘one up’ the other into a field of moral striving where all parties benefit and no one is harmed - even silent stakeholders.

It demands a conscious reorientation:

•  Before evaluating the profitability of a venture, assess its compliance with the rights of others.
• Before entering into contractual partnerships, examine whether mutual obligations are honored in the spirit of fairness.
• Before pursuing organizational growth, consider whether employees, customers, suppliers, and communities are treated justly.

Business, in this light, becomes a site for fulfilling obligations both vertical (toward God) and horizontal (toward humanity).

Rights as our ethical compass
Don’t we know all of this? If we’re making sure we’re following the letter of the law, shouldn’t we be thriving morally?

In the abridged version of his seminal book, The Revival of the Religious Disciplines, Imam Muhammad Al-Ghazali writes, “The correctness of transactions may be judged by jurists, but may contain elements of injustice which expose the perpetrator to the Wrath of God.” 

Such is the fundamental importance of upholding rights in transactions, exchanges and business relationships. Isn’t it ironic that in many markets we have consumer bills of rights but don’t necessarily have stated rights for others?

Maybe some of these bills of rights are tools to bait consumers through a false trust? Only businesses interested in unfair dealings or exploitation use such tactics. Rights are not barriers to enterprise; they are its moral foundation.

This reflection on huqooq prepares the ground for more detailed inquiry. 

Each axis - divine and human - carries profound implications for how organizations are structured, how leadership is exercised, and how true success is ultimately defined.

By restoring huqooq to the center of commercial consciousness, we move beyond narrow metrics of success.

We reconnect business to its highest moral aspiration: fulfilling the sacred trust between humanity, society, and the Creator.

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