Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir- Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Opening
Friends who are blessed by Allah,
In this fast-paced modern world, many people sacrifice their worship time to chase revenue targets and business deals. The classic excuse we often hear is, “Sorry, I’m busy, I have a big meeting, I’m chasing a client.” They think that to become rich, they must momentarily forget matters of the Hereafter.But do you know that the Qur’an actually gives the highest praise to tough, great businesspeople and giant traders? They are people who are super busy, yet all their trading activities and transactions worth millions or even billions of rupiah are completely unable to distract them from remembering Allah, establishing prayer on time, and paying zakat. For them, the biggest revenue is the pleasure of Allah SWT.Psychologically and scientifically, entrepreneurs who include Allah in every transaction have a far lower stress level [high resilience]. They do not panic easily when the market fluctuates, because they realize that provision is already decreed and the market is under the control of Allah SWT. When the call to prayer resounds, they dare to close their shop or pause their meeting, because they know who the true “Chief Executive” really is.Allah SWT praises the character of these resilient businesspeople in the Qur’an:
رِجَالٌ لَّا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ
“Men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah, from establishing prayer, and from giving zakat.”[QS. An-Nūr: 37]
Honest traders who prioritize Allah will not only succeed in this world, but will also have a most noble station in the Hereafter. Rasulullah ﷺ affirmed this in his saying:
اَلتَّاجِرُ الصَّدُوقُ الْأَمِينُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ
“The truthful, trustworthy merchant will be with the prophets, the truthful ones, and the martyrs.”[HR. Tirmidhī]
2. Lessons and Message
Let us look at a true story from the world of trade. There was an elderly cloth merchant in a market. One day, while his shop was extremely crowded with buyers and money was flowing fast into the cash drawer, the call to Ẓuhr prayer echoed from the mosque’s loudspeaker. Without hesitation, the old man took a large cloth cover, spread it across the front of his shop as a sign he was temporarily closed, and invited his buyers, “Excuse me, everyone, let’s take a break. Let us answer the call of Allah. ”A hurried buyer got angry and said, “Sir, I’m buying a lot! If you leave for the mosque, I’ll move to the shop next door!” With gentle but tearful eyes holding back emotion, the old man smiled and replied softly, “Go ahead, son. The shop next door also belongs to my Muslim brother. My provision won’t get swapped over there, but if I’m late for prayer, I fear Allah will strip the blessing from the provision I bring home for my wife and children.” How saddening to see the hardness of the buyer’s heart, yet how moving to see the firmness of the merchant’s faith above the pull of material gain.
So we can reflect on how we’ve been doing business in a thought-provoking way, let us use a simple analogy. Imagine a man named Tittuet driving on the highway toward a business deal worth 10 billion rupiah. Midway, the fuel indicator on his dashboard blinks red and beeps: Beep... Beep... The sign that his fuel is critical and almost completely empty! Ahead is a rest area with a large gas station. But Tittuet instead yells at his car and shouts, “No way! I don’t have time to turn into the gas station! I’m busy chasing this 10 billion project! Why waste 5 minutes filling up gas!” He then floors the accelerator as fast as he can.What do you think happens 2 kilometers later? His car breaks down completely in the middle of the highway, his project flies away, and he has to pay for a tow truck. A double loss!Funny and absurd, isn’t it? That is the analogy of someone who claims to be “too busy with business” to the point of abandoning the obligatory prayers. The five daily prayers are our spiritual “gas station”! Our energy, blessing, health, and peace of mind are recharged there.How can you expect your “business car” to run smoothly to the destination of success if you yourself are stingy about taking 5 minutes to refill the “fuel of blessing” from the One Who Owns all provision? Let our business not break down mid-journey just because we forgot to turn toward the prayer mat!
3. Conclusion & Closing
Friends, the profound moral message from the character of this successful trader is very clear: never make worldly busyness an excuse to neglect the Hereafter. Becoming rich and successful is a very good thing; in fact, Islam needs many God-fearing Muslim tycoons to drive the Ummah’s economic engine.Let us realign our business intentions today. Hold those giant transactions in your hand, be a professional and resilient entrepreneur. But ensure your heart never breaks away from the remembrance of Allah SWT. Always remember, true revenue is not how many digital numbers enter our bank accounts, but how blessed that wealth is in taking us and our families to His Paradise.May Allah SWT make our businesses prosper, bless them, and count us among His servants who are never heedless of remembering Him
. والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Abu Sultan Al-Qadrie
