1. Meeting of 10 Aradi Businesswomen with the CEO of Borna News Agency
⏳ 1 minute
2. Necessary Equipment for Commerce and Export
⏳ 93 minutes
3. Business Meeting of the Indian Representative with Aradi Traders, Promotion 9 and Above
⏳ 6 minutes
4. Arad Documentary
⏳ 7 minutes
5. Hatred: The Cost of Success
⏳ 1 minute
6. Traders' Planning in Their Business
Some of you have commerce as your primary and ultimate profession. Others have commerce as their main job alongside another occupation, while some consider it their secondary job. Consequently, you dedicate time to non-commerce activities.
The most crucial point is that commerce must be your top mental priority.
If you accept that the economy is the foundation of life, the path that generates the most income should also be foundational.
You may spend several hours a day engaged in activities other than commerce, yet your mind can still perceive commerce as the primary path to prosperity.
Therefore, the most important aspect of planning is prioritizing mentally and intellectually, ensuring that commerce takes precedence over all my occupations, even if I currently dedicate little time to it.
If you adopt this mindset, you'll naturally clarify your stance regarding Arad's role in your journey.
Many who understand commerce through Arad think, “Now that I’ve learned commerce, I’ll do it on my own.”
Even critics of Arad, when asked, “Wasn’t it Arad that introduced you to trade?” respond:
"God’s will turns adversity into blessing."
This means Arad becomes the "adversary," while commerce becomes the blessing God granted through it.
I just don't understand why God delivers the greatest blessings of their lives through His enemies.
And all these people who gathered around him, and all these years he spent with them—was there not a single friend of God who could introduce this great blessing to him, so that God wouldn't have to make him aware of commerce through His enemy?
How far they are from the truth.
If the economy is foundational, commerce becomes foundational, and so does Arad.
When Arad is fundamental, you’ll see it teaches three other essentials besides economy and commerce, forming a total of five foundations.
And those three things are:
- Information
- Connections
- Promotion
Where can you find these three?
On the website, in the Business School, in podcasts, on the Telegram channel, and on Instagram.
I must allocate part of my day to these resources.
At a minimum, start with 20 minutes daily, progressing to longer periods, as Arad has the potential to keep someone engaged in commercial activities 24 hours a day.
If I were in your place, I’d start my morning by checking the latest news on the website.
Not just to read the writer’s content but to stay updated with the latest happenings in Arad and begin my day with a focus on the economy and trade.
When you’re outside of Arad, is there anyone reminding you daily to secure your economy firmly?
And this is the word of God, as He says:
‘The Evil One has got the better of them: so he has made them lose the remembrance of Allah.’ Surah Al-Mujadila, verse 19
And it is poverty that keeps you from the remembrance of God and, as the Prophet said, it is close to leading a person to disbelief.
But Arad is like an intelligent alarm that reminds you every day: Economy, economy.
Commerce, commerce.
Money, money.
Most people outside of Arad consider it ugly to focus on money every day, but in Arad, we see it as virtuous.
So start your morning with the website so that money becomes the centerpiece of your mind.
If you start your morning with something other than money, you will drown in other topics, and by the time you return home in the evening, even though you check the website, you haven't taken money seriously that day. When you sleep, it will slip from your mind again.
Even if you are an employee, have a shop, or any job other than commerce, visiting the Arad website at the start of your day will still enhance your financial success in any other area.
So start your morning with the website and don’t postpone this to the end of the day.
When we say website, we mean the entire website.
The daily news, the Business School, the podcasts, the meetings, and the comments.
As much as you can, see and grow yourself.
The website strengthens all 5 foundations within you, and because this happens consistently, in a short time, you will notice how much you have changed to the point where others will testify to this difference in you.
After you have visited the website as much as you can and taken your daily benefit from it, rise and start acting.
What does acting mean?
It means connecting with leads and signals.
Start negotiating.
Begin with your new contacts.
Then follow up on your previous day's calls.
If you have an in-person meeting, prepare for it.
If you need to visit a supplier, go there.
Immerse yourself in your negotiations.
If your leads and signals are not enough to fill the time allocated for commerce, get in touch with the branding commission and ask for guidance.
The higher promotions don’t worry, as their promotional services will fill their time to the maximum.
Those with lower promotions should dedicate their time to free branding if they do not intend to increase their promotion level.
In short, a trader should engage with new leads and signals every day.
This initial contact is like planting.
Then, you must follow up daily on your calls, communications, and negotiations from previous days.
This is the stage of maintaining.
And as Mr. Vahid said in the Saturday meeting, when the right moment comes, like the claw in amusement parks where children set it to grab a doll, you must act and go for signing the business contract, collecting money, and shipping goods—that’s harvesting.
These three stages: planting, maintaining, and harvesting, should be part of a trader’s daily routine.
Today's money, meaning today’s harvest, is the result of planting done months ago.
Most traders who are doing well today but are not making efforts to find new leads and signals will see losses in the coming months because they have not planted anything new.
Every piece of advice I want to share, I realize I have learned somewhere in Arad, and I am truly grateful to God. If I were to mention where I learned it, I would have to say with every line, ‘As our dear president says, as Mr. Vahid says, as Mr. Talia says, as Mr. Ghorbani says, as Mr. Shabani says,’ and since these great individuals always emphasize that I shouldn’t write like this, I am writing from my own words, but you must know that I am a student of these great people.
And I must quote again from our beloved and diligent Mr. Vahid, who says: after a person sits for prayer and says the adhan and iqama, God says: The prayer has been established—meaning stand up.
If you look closely at the word ‘adhan,’ you’ll see it comes from ‘iẓn,’ meaning permission.
You ask God for permission to speak to Him.
Then He tells you to recite the iqama.
Iqama comes from the same root as qiyām.
It means to stand up.
This all reflects the profound words of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), who said:
‘A believer’s life consists of two parts: belief and jihad (effort).’
A believer understands nothing other than these two.
Either they are strengthening their beliefs or they are striving in the way of their beliefs, as jihad comes from ‘jahd’ meaning effort.
Arad’s website is the belief.
Did you strengthen your belief about commerce this morning?
Then stand up and follow up on your leads and signals.
Some people are too dependent on the website. It's as if they are just waiting for news to appear on the Arad website, Telegram, or Instagram, so they can post a message.
It’s great that you’ve taken the website seriously, but are you truly attending to your leads and signals?
Do you have business negotiations throughout the day, or are you just glued to the website?
If, in the first three months, you need to listen, understand, and believe, that’s fine, and God bless you.
But if you’re in the fourth month or beyond, it’s time to rise, make new negotiations, and do some work.
Belief without effort is worth nothing, and effort without belief leads nowhere.
These two must act as the two wings of a person, pushing them forward.
From experience, I say that those who take the website seriously, who go through the Business School but don’t make any effort, won’t get anywhere.
And those who are engaged in commerce day and night but are distant from Arad’s website won’t get anywhere either.
The first group neither benefits nor suffers from commerce.
The second group suffers great losses, and many tricks are played on them, leaving them in despair.
This is why belief must come before effort.
First, firmly establish your belief, then strive with effort, for in doing so, both this world and the hereafter will be yours.
7. Only compare yourself to yourself.
When the daily news of our loved ones' successes appears on the website, many of our brothers and sisters express their happiness in the comments. In contrast, there are a few who compare themselves to these great people, and self-blame begins.
For example, just a few days ago, when the video of Ms. Ashouri was posted on the website, I noticed that some dear ones felt upset and started blaming themselves.
They were happy for Ms. Ashouri's success, but they compared themselves to her, thinking that they could have started 11 years ago but didn’t, or that they went down the wrong paths, and so on.
These dear ones should know, first of all, that whatever has passed is in the past, and your regret will not cure the pain.
Secondly, comparing yourself to others is inherently wrong. The only comparison that is worth making is comparing yourself to yourself.
Instead of comparing yourself to this person or that person, you should compare yourself to your own progress.
Ask yourself: "In the last month, as I've been spending more time on the website, have I become a better person or not?"
If you have, give yourself a green check and move forward.
Why are you torturing yourself, dear brother?
Know that the first one to compare was Satan. When he was asked to bow to Adam, he replied:
"[Allah] said: “What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?” He said: “I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay." Surah Al-Araf, 7:12
And this comparison led Satan astray.
And from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), he said:
"Making comparisons (qiyas) is from Satan, and the common people use qiyas to understand the rulings of God, whereas the elite do not rely on qiyas as a method."
A questioner asked, "My Imam, could you give me an example of comparison so that it remains in my mind?"
The Imam replied, "Is urine more impure or semen?"
The questioner responded, "Urine."
The Imam said, "You are correct."
Then the Imam asked, "Which is a higher form of purification, ghusl (full body ritual washing) or wudu (ablution)?"
The questioner replied, "Ghusl."
The Imam said, "You are correct," and then added:
"If comparison were valid, God would have made ghusl obligatory for urination and wudu for semen, whereas Allah made ghusl obligatory for semen and only required washing and wudu for urine."
The questioner said, "I understand now. Please increase my knowledge."
The Imam replied, "Do you consider prayer or fasting to be more important?"
The questioner answered, "Prayer."
The Imam said, "You are correct, yet God did not require a woman in her monthly cycle to make up her prayer, but He required her to make up her fast."
Thus, anyone who resorts to comparisons in pursuit of the truth becomes misguided.
8. The human body is noble through the soul of humanity
Our literature is full of Sufi thoughts that consider poverty sacred and wealth as filthy, and these ideas have contributed to the belief in the sanctity of poverty among people.
The author aims to challenge these proverbs, although he knows that he won’t win this battle easily, as changing beliefs is harder than moving mountains, as Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said.
One of these proverbs and poems says:
"The human body is noble through the soul of humanity, Not only beautiful clothes are the sign of humanity."
There is no doubt that the human body is noble.
There is no doubt that beautiful clothes are not the only sign of humanity.
However, this kind of literature unconsciously devalues beautiful clothes.
It is well known in authentic narrations that Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him) bought a garment for 24 gold dirhams in winter and sold it for 12 dirhams in summer, donating the money.
24 dirhams, in today’s currency, equals about 550 million Iranian Toman.
Of course, the wise know that the Arabic garment is a complete set, including trousers, shirt, cloak, etc.
What a wealthy Imam!
It is also narrated that when Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked if having 20 outfits was extravagant, he said 200 outfits would not be excessive.
God has not set any limit for wearing clothes, and you may have 1,000 outfits.
Extravagance is when you wear your fine clothes while working in the fields, or wear your outdoor clothes when you should be at home.
Imam Reza (peace be upon him) is also narrated to have said: "Our father, Musa ibn Ja'far, whenever he went to meet people or when they came to visit him, wore fine clothes, saying: 'I wear them for their eyes, so that seeing me will be pleasant for them. Otherwise, for us, the Ahl al-Bayt, there is no attire more fitting than piety.'"
The importance of buying beautiful clothes in Islam is so great that it could fill an entire article.
Beautiful appearance is a part of our humanity.
Certainly, the human soul is noble, and there is no doubt about that. However, I do not understand why, to say that something is good, we must devalue another good thing.
Well, dear poet, if you wanted to speak of the goodness of the human soul, there are thousands of better words you could use.
The poor people who, with these kinds of poems, have devalued their beautiful clothes and appearance.
Visit the villages.
You might find a gardener whose clothes make him look like a beggar.
When you tell him to wear a good outfit, he replies:
"The human body is noble through the soul of humanity, Not only beautiful clothes are the sign of humanity."
Dear traders, do not be like this.
Beautiful clothes are very important in business negotiations.
Try this: on a day when you are at home or at work and no one else is going to see you.
Wear beautiful clothes, then make a phone call with a client. Now, do the same thing wearing shabby clothes, and compare the results.
You will see how much more elegantly you speak when you wear beautiful clothes.
When a person wears beautiful clothes, they speak with more class, are more organized in their speech, and do not do anything disgraceful.
This means that wearing beautiful clothes is directly related to our humanity.
In business, wearing beautiful clothes is a principle.
If your clothes are not beautiful and you say you are a businessman, the other person will respond with a smile of disbelief.
Therefore, we amend the poem as follows:
"The human body is noble through the soul of humanity, And beautiful clothes are part of humanity."
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