A challenging question: Should one first fall in love with trade and then achieve financial success or should one achieve financial success first and then fall in love with trade?

Absolutely do not skim through this article hastily, as it is intricately intertwined and demands high concentration and precision.

The Relationship between Love and Success

We all know that the relationship between love and success in every field—economic, political, educational, cultural, artistic, athletic, familial, etc.—is completely intertwined.

Absence of love = Failure

Success = Existence of love

All successful individuals are in love with the very subject in which they excel.

And all those in love succeed in whatever field they are passionate about.

Perhaps someone might argue that not all those in love succeed, and there are many lovers who have not succeeded.

Yes, you are correct.

To some extent, we agree with you.

Perhaps a small percentage of lovers do not succeed, but surely, if someone is not in love, they will not succeed.

Indeed, love and passion for a subject are the primary and necessary conditions for success, albeit requiring other conditions to be met.

Which one is the priority?

So none of us denies the influence of love and success on each other.

What we aim to address in this article is the challenging question of which is the priority??

Meaning, which should come first?

Should one first fall in love with commerce to then attain wealth through commerce?

Or should one first attain wealth through commerce to then fall in love with it?

If you ask most newcomers why they did not fall in love with commerce as they should have, they would say, "Well, because we did not attain wealth through commerce."

And they would say that if the experienced ones are in love with commerce, it is solely because they have attained wealth, status, and high position through commerce, so it is natural for them to be in love with it.

And since, except for Arad Branding, there is no amount, promoter, incentive, or executor for commerce at the level of Arad and even a tenth of Arad, the relationship between the old Aradis' love and affection for Arad is greater than that of newcomers.

Why?

Because newcomers and novices believe that since they have not yet achieved wealth through commerce, they are not in love with commerce or Arad either, and if they have any affection, it does not extend to even a tenth of the old ones because they have not yet reached the commerce and Arad's wealth and benefits, which these newcomers have not yet reached, and whenever they do, they too will fall in love.

Don't be offended by the author's benevolence in the example he wants to give you.

The author intends to set an example, but he is worried about the superficial impressions of dear readers.

The concern is to ensure that the example resonates deeply with the core message rather than getting lost in superficial interpretations.

As a great one used to say, only the simple-minded remain on the surface of the example, while the wise delve into its essence.

Please do not get lost in the analogy but seek its profound meaning.

Question assumption: Every profession is like a girl.

Let's imagine that professions are likened to girls, and workers are like suitors who pursue them to obtain their favor and spend most of their lifetime with them.

Imagine this example for a few minutes.

How teaching becomes a girl?

What about construction work?

Municipal workers?

Shepherding?

Bank employees?

Envision each of these professions as a girl.

Certainly, all these girls are virtuous and noble, but are they perceived the same by the suitors?

Certainly, marrying any of these girls is a matter of pride because they are wholesome, but is marrying one girl equivalent to marrying another?

If you make such a judgment, then how is it that many fall in love with one girl and can never think of another?

Is the bond of marriage and legal contract the only reason that makes women fall in love with their men and men fall in love with their women, or is there another reason?

Or is it that other girls are wretched and dirty that these men or boys don't think of other maidens?

God forbid.

Surely, it is not so.

This suitor sees in this girl qualities that he doesn't see in one of her thousand peers.

And no matter how much you prevent him from marrying this girl and invite him to other ones, who also possess purity, authenticity, nobility, and all the praiseworthy attributes, he simply tells you:

You prevent me from loving her

Forgive me, for you have not seen her as I have seen her

In common parlance, the young man says to us, "O those who issue edicts for me being separated from this girl, I grant you the right to say so because you have not seen her as I have."

Primary Question

Now, respond to this question:

If you were to liken commerce to a girl, how would she be?

Is it not true that commerce can be seen as a noble and honorable girl from a prestigious and distinguished family who, in all difficulties, never leaves your side and invites you from a life of gloom to a life full of joy?

Isn't she a faithful girl who never abandons you?

Commerce is not like other professions that can dismiss you for the slightest mistake, akin to wives who divorce their husbands or return to their parents' home over minor errors, and the husband must appease them with countless apologies and efforts to bring them back home.

Commerce is the very girl whom a husband can proudly present at all gatherings and parties, feeling immense pride and honor in having her as his spouse.

Have you seen how some men or even women recite prayers or make supplications each time they attend a gathering, praying that their spouse doesn't cause any trouble, embarrass them, or diminish their dignity?

Some professions are such that children feel ashamed to disclose their parents' occupation at school, but commerce is so dignified that any child proudly raises their voice in front of their classmates and says, "My father is a merchant, and I too aspire to be a merchant in the future."

God has described spouses in His book as each other's clothes and the Prophet of God has said, "Consider how you choose a spouse for your children, for clothing can either enhance or diminish one's dignity."

Once again, reflect on how commerce can be likened to a girl.

Either you are the girl yourself or...

Dear esteemed readers, surely you fall into one of these categories.

1. You are a girl who has not married.
2. You were once a girl who hadn't married but later got married.
3. You have an unmarried daughter at home.
4. You will, God willing, have a daughter whom you will see get married in the future.
5. Or, as the old saying goes, you haven't eaten wheat bread, but you have seen it people's hands, you have seen daughters, you have seen people who have daughters, and you can put yourself in their shoes.

Undoubtedly, for every father, his daughter is like a princess.

The very daughter that even kings don't have.

The very daughter whose face even the moon doesn't possess.

With all the love and affection for fathers,

With all your understanding of the paternal pride and honor of Iranian men

I ask you a question, hoping you won't be offended.

If a young man comes to propose to such a daughter and says, "Allow me to court this young lady first and taste the sweetness of her company, then, I promise that I'll fall in love with her and endure the hardships of marriage, the expenses of the wedding ceremony, and the troubles of hosting relatives and friends after enjoying this sweet journey," what is your response?

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God is witness that asking this question weighed heavily on the writer, causing a shiver to run down the spine for a few minutes, and a coldness to envelop their entire being, nevertheless, he continues to write.

Are you more honorable or the Lord of the Worlds?

The very God who calls Himself honorable and answers to no one except those who have pinned their hopes solely on Him.

And we know that commerce is the tradition of the Prophet of God.

For when God wished to describe Himself to the people, as He saw that His servants were incapable of understanding His essence, He portrayed Himself through parables, which are His manifestations.

In Surah An-Nur, it is stated:

"Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His Light: Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things." (Quran 24:35)

Imam Sadiq was asked about these lights:

The Imam said, 'What do people (hostile towards the Shia) say?'

The attendees replied, 'People say that these are verses whose interpretation has not reached us from the Messenger of God.'

The Imam said, 'They lie, it was they who did not take knowledge from its source.'

The "niche" refers to the Prophet of God, and the "lamp" within it refers to Fatimah, peace be upon her.

The "glass" in which it is placed is Hasan al-Mujtaba, and the "pearly [white] star" is Hussayn, the master of martyrs.

The "blessed olive tree" refers to the blessed tree of Prophethood, which has its roots in Abraham, peace be upon him.

Neither of the east nor of the west, neither Jewish nor Christian.

When He said, "oil would glow even if untouched by fire," it refers to the fact that even if this household is put under oppression, imprisonment, siege, or the like, or are killed and martyred, they still illuminate the servants of God.

"Light upon light" refers to the Imam following another Imam.

Then God said, "Allah guides with His light whom He wills," meaning through us, the Imams.

And God presents examples for the people, and God is Knowing of all things."

Then God continued:

"[Lit is such a Light] in houses, which Allah hath permitted to be raised to honour; for the celebration, in them, of His name: In them is He glorified in the mornings and in the evenings, [again and again]" (Quran 24:36)

Bukhari in Sahih Bukhari, Ahmad in Musnad, and Muslim in Sahih, all three prominent Sunni scholars, have narrated from Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, as follows:

"I heard from my father, Abu Bakr, who said: One day, in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, I asked about this verse: 'Is the house of Ali and Fatimah included among these houses?'

The Prophet replied: 'By Allah, the most favored of these houses is the house of Ali and Fatimah.'"

Then God continued:

"By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the Remembrance of Allah, nor from regular Prayer, nor from the practice of regular Charity: Their [only] fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed [in a world wholly new]" (Quran 24:37)

"Ma'mun Abbasi, may God's curse be upon him, asked in a session with Imam Reza, peace be upon him, about the occupation of these men.

The Imam said: Beware lest you assume they were merely men or males, for indeed, God has addressed both men and women in this verse, and He has chosen the name of men for them not because they are only males but because of the quality of manliness they possess.

Then the Imam said: What do you think their occupation was?

He replied, I do not know.

The Imam said: Was it other than that their occupation was trade, buying, and selling?

Because if they had another occupation, God would have said, 'Men who are builders or carpenters or farmers or shepherds,' indicating that God does not neglect their remembrance despite their occupation.

But since their occupation was trade and commerce, God said, 'Neither commerce nor sale distracts them from the remembrance of Allah."

You have honor and your Lord does not?

Is it true that you first seek love in that boy so that if he truly loves girls and then you demand hardships from him to endure, and if he does, then you bestow the sweetness of your daughter upon him, but your Lord first bestow upon you the sweetness of the occupation that He has praised and extolled in His book for His light, and then if you desire, you fall in love with it and accept its hardships, and if you don't want to, you neither fall in love with it nor accept it?

How do you judge?

It will not happen like this at all.

Putting trade aside, does it happen like this in other situations?

Does a student first fall in love with the field of engineering and then attach his heart to it, becoming an engineer afterward, or does he become an engineer first and then fall in love with it after earning money?

Does a student who shows no interest in study and university and says, "Whenever I profit from this path, I will endure the hardship of studying," reach the sweetness of becoming an engineer?

They tell you, "Such and such a destination is a beautiful tourist attraction where if we go on this trip, we will enjoy it greatly."

Does it make sense to say, "First let me taste the pleasure of this destination, then I'll turn on my car and go"?

Does it make sense for a bodybuilder who wants to have a beautiful body and abs to say, "First give me this six-pack body, then I'll come to the gym and endure the hardships of bodybuilding"?

Most people about God

Most of the people should say "oh God, give us a taste of this paradise, your nymphs, and when we enjoy them, then we will become in love with You, Your paradise, and Your worship, prayers, and devotion?"

This is where the preacher calls out:

"For indeed, the easy things are obtained in the company of hardships." (5). 

So many writers and translators have mistakenly translated this verse and they told us since childhood as:

"After every hardship comes ease!!!"

Or some have said: "With every hardship comes ease."

But is it really true that after every hardship comes ease?

Have you not seen a thief who steals for a lifetime with hardship, and even after his thefts, he gets caught and will also suffer torment in the afterlife?

Or the drug dealer who risks his life every day evading the police and never tastes the sweetness of ease?

And we can give examples until morning of the thousands of hardships where there is no ease before, after, or alongside them.

If God wanted to pair every hardship with ease, He wouldn't have used the definite article "al" with "usr" (hardship), but rather He would have denoted it like "yusr" (ease) turn it into indefinite.

Maybe this sentence will be difficult for some readers, but just know that in Arabic, when it wants to indicate an unknown thing, it adds "tanwin" (a sign of indefiniteness) like "ٍ ً ٌ" to the end of the word, and whenever it wants to refer to a known thing, it adds "al" to the beginning of the word.

"Al-'usr" (the hardship) has "al" (the) which means specific and known hardships, not every hardship.

"Al-yusr" (the ease) indicates any kind of ease.

So, the meaning of the verse becomes as follows.

Indeed, every kind of ease is known to accompany specific hardships. 

So, if you think I will give you ease first without enduring the hardship that I have set and conditioned that ease upon, then you are mistaken, my servant.

Do you want ease?

You must first endure the hardship related to reaching that ease.

So know that every hardship does not bring you to an easy state.

According to the words of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), there are so many hardships that God's servants endure, and neither do they get a reward, nor do they get any ease, but it also includes the punishment of God.

So we understood that first difficulty then ease.

Now it's love that makes hardships easy, just as Hafez said:

"O cupbearer, bring forth the cup and pass it around,

For love made the hardships easy at first, then the difficulties fell."

Meaning, in every path to success, there are hardships, and this is natural.

First, fall in love so that it becomes easy, then pass through the hardships with ease.

How can one fall in love with trade?

One might ask, "How can I fall in love with commerce when I haven't tasted its profits yet?" 

By contemplating about commerce.

By reasoning about commerce.

By reviewing the lives of merchants.

By pondering about their personalities.

By imagining the life of a successful merchant that you desire.

By associating with Aradi experienced merchants.

By reviewing articles and comments on the impact of commerce on Aradis lives.

How can the children of Aradi merchants, who are raised with teachings of school of commerce at home, become passionate about commerce and eventually become senior executives of companies?

You must attend gatherings where these Aradis are present and see the love and devotion the children have towards Arad.

Their parents threaten them not to misbehave by excluding them from Arad business gatherings.

And according to the parents, when they scare them with such a thing, these children behave.

If they are too noisy, they calm down.

If they don't eat, they end up eating.

If they excessively play on their phones, they stop.

With their limited intellect, they intend to become merchants and engage in commerce and Arad with love.

But what about someone who, after fifty or sixty years of life, wonders how they can express their love for Arad in their family when they haven't yet made any profits? 

How can someone, who hasn't yet found the love of their life, proclaim their love for their potential spouse to all their close friends?

How can someone, whose university education hasn't yielded any returns yet, express their love for their field of study and their university?

How can someone, who just started their first day of bodybuilding and hasn't even shed a single centimeter of belly fat, boast about their passion for bodybuilding to everyone?

How can someone, who has only started reading a book for two days, already fallen in love with it and excitedly shares it with all their relatives?

They've watched the first part or twenty minutes of a TV series and loved it, so they share it with everyone, even though they have no idea what will happen next or what thoughts it will instill.

But when it comes to commerce and Arad, they say, "I must make money first, then I'll fall in love."

Interestingly, they neither make money nor fall in love.

Look at the tone of all those unsuccessful Aradis when they talk about commerce.

Is it similar to the tone of someone who once was in love with Arad, or is it like the tone of someone who had no love for Arad from the first day and only saw Arad as money?

Should someone like that become a merchant?!

The order of the path

The order is:

First, listen to commerce.

Then, understand it well.

After understanding, believe in it.

If you believe in it, you'll fall in love with Arad and with the business.

Once you're in love, act, because acting with love is easy, while acting without love and affection is burdensome and painful.

You've surely seen people who go on the Arbaeen pilgrimage to visit Imam Hussain every year.

And they enjoy it immensely, while many of them use any minor back pain as an excuse not to do anything else.

This is the secret of love in ease of action.

Whenever you've listened to something lovingly, understood it lovingly, believed in it lovingly, and applied it lovingly, you'll work without difficulty and with pleasure.

That's where the news comes in, saying, "I've brought my daughter ,commerce, into through marriage to you, and I liked that you become a classy international professional merchant.

God willing, you'll grow old together.

My prayers are with you.