1. The Celebration of the Birth of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (Peace Be Upon Him) at Arad Branding
⏳ 21 minutes
2. Special Article for Newcomers
3. What Is Arad Branding and What Does It Do?
⏳ 108 minutes
4. Income in Various Promotions
⏳ 62 minutes
5. Merchant-Oriented Branding
⏳ 16 minutes
6. Wealth with the Quran
Imam Hasan Ibn Ali (Peace Be Upon Him) said:
"Nothing remains in this world except this Quran. So, take it as your leader to guide you to your path of guidance. The most deserving of people regarding the Quran is the one who acts upon it, even if they have not memorized it. And the farthest from the Quran is the one who does not act upon it, even if they recite it."
I began today's discussion with this delightful narration from Imam Hasan (Peace Be Upon Him) so that dear Aradis understand that if we quote from the Quran, it is not because this is a religious seminary or because we are holding a Quranic gathering. This is Arad Branding and all our discussions revolve around wealth. We have not found a path more profitable than the Quran; otherwise, we would have set the Quran aside and turned to that other path.
For instance, you have surely read this verse many times:
"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which Allah Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- [Here] indeed are Signs for a people that are wise." Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 164
One of the elements mentioned in this verse differs from the rest.
Think and determine which one it is.
All the elements mentioned in this verse are actions performed by God, meaning He is the doer, and humans have no role in them.
The creation of the heavens and the earth,
The alternation of night and day,
The sending down of rain from the sky and the revival of the earth,
The spreading of diverse creatures across the earth,
The circulation of winds and clouds,
All these are the works of God, and humans have no involvement in them.
There is only one action in this verse that is performed by humans:
"And the ships that sail through the sea."
Even here, at the end of the verse, God states that there are signs in this verse, but not for everyone—only for those who use their intellect.
We mentioned that, according to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), two-thirds of wisdom lies in which profession?
Exactly—in trade.
He said that whoever does not engage in trade will never complete two-thirds of their wisdom.
Now, take this verse and show it to anyone you like. Tell them that in verse 164 of Surah Al-Baqarah, God has revealed the secret of wealth and placed it in trade.
Really do this. See how many Quran memorizers and reciters confirm what you're saying.
Let me explain where in the verse we find this code.
The only part where humans are the doers is the ships that sail through the seas.
The question arises: for what purpose do these ships sail through the seas?
Experts familiar with ships know that ships are used for two purposes:
1. Trade and the transportation of goods
2. Travel
It is interesting to note that the transportation of commercial goods by ship is the primary method of transportation for trade.
Among the four modes of transport—maritime, air, land, and rail—maritime is the most widely used.
However, when it comes to human travel, maritime transport is the last option.
Furthermore, the verse continues by stating, "by that which benefits people".
This means the conclusion of the verse is that, O human, if you want to gain significant benefit and profit, you must engage with the ships that sail through the seas.
So, which profession involves dealing with ships?
Is it office work? Manual labor? Services? Driving? Please tell me, which job causes ships to set sail?
Exactly, you guessed it right.
Exporting.
It is fascinating to realize that a single trader cannot possess enough products to fill an entire ship. A group of traders must unite, combining diverse goods for export, to set a ship into motion.
Thus, the verse subtly does not refer to individual trade but rather to the collective trade and export activities of united and aligned traders.
Why isn’t our maritime system like that of the United States?
Why doesn’t it come close to China?
And many other countries whose mention would fill us with despair?
The answer is simple: these nations have deciphered the code and secret. Their people have united in trade, and every day, they send countless ships to different parts of the world. Meanwhile, we barely know what trade means, and if we’ve heard the word, we often associate it with thieves and fraudsters.
If someone asks you which country’s people gain the most benefit from the creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day, tell them: The people of the country that sends the most ships to sail every day.
If they ask for evidence, tell them this is God’s statement. After mentioning the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day, He refers to the movement of ships in the seas and their benefit to people as the third element.
Go and convey this message to Quran reciters, memorizers, lovers of Ahl al-Bayt, those who pray nightly, those who fast in Rajab and Sha'ban, participants in spiritual retreats, and the devout people of this country. After your explanation, God willing, they will take action towards exports.
How fortunate we Aradis are, who discovered trade before them and were informed of the paths of divine benefit in advance. Day and night, we weave our efforts together to set export ships into motion and bring benefit to the people of our nation.
This endeavor, besides benefiting us and our people, is also considered jihad, a rise, and an exodus for the sake of God.
Those who do not participate in this grand economic uprising remind us of the stubborn and excuse-making people of Bani Isra'il. When Moses (peace be upon him) called them to a sacred path and said:
"O my People! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." Surah Al-Ma’idah, Verse 21
You Aradis should read it like this:
O Aradis, enter the sacred trade that God has provided for you and do not return to your past life of being an employee, a laborer, or a shopkeeper, for you will suffer loss.
Now, what was the response of his people?
They said, "O Moses, indeed there is a people of great power in it, and we will never enter it until they leave it. But if they leave it, then we will enter." Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ayah 22
This is the response of some people when you say, "Engage in trade," and they reply:
They said, "Oh dear, there is American trade that has sanctioned us Iranians, and we can never engage in trade until America lifts these sanctions. So, when America lifts the sanctions, that is when we will enter trade."
In the meantime, two men from the followers of Moses (peace be upon him), who feared God, said:
“(But) among (their) Allah-fearing men were two on whom Allah had bestowed His grace: They said: Assault them at the (proper) Gate: When once ye are in, victory will be yours.“ Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ayah 23
I wish that Allah had written my name among these two men, and I say to you, Aradis:
Enter trade through the path of branding, for when you enter trade, you will defeat America, and rely on Allah if you believe.
And again, his people did not accept and said:
They said: “O Moses! While they remain there, never shall we be able to enter, to the end of time. Go thou, and thy Lord, and fight ye two, while we sit here (and watch).” Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ayah 24
And if you remember, we talked about the ones who sit idle, those who do not want to strive.
These are exactly the same ones who, when you say, "Come, trade," they say to you, Aradis:
"With the sanctions of America, there is no possibility of trade. So, you go ahead and trade, and we will sit here. When we see that you have become a successful trader and solved all the problems, then we will come."
And when Moses heard their words, his heart was pained, and he said:
He said: “O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: So separate us from this rebellious people!” Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ayah 25
This means that Moses (peace be upon him) called those who did not support him in the struggle and remained idle "rebellious," as fisq refers to betrayal, separation from truth, and divergence from faith and sincerity.
And Allah replied to Moses (peace be upon him):
“Therefore will the land be out of their reach for forty years: In distraction will they wander through the land: But sorrow thou not over these rebellious people.“ Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ayah 26
Allah confirmed Moses' statement by calling them a rebellious people.
This is exactly the situation of the people of Iran who abandoned trade and have spent forty years wandering, still not learning the lesson.
They change jobs repeatedly, like someone lost and confused, not knowing which profession to stay in.
From stocks to cryptocurrency, from cryptocurrency to gold, from gold to cars, dollars, real estate, and so on, but they still cannot find a way out.
They go from labor to employment, from employment to shopkeeping, and they trade one job for another, but they never find the peace they should.
Please, O Aradi traders, do not grieve for these people.
Simply show them the clear path of trade, and when you see how they deny it, remember these verses, and how Allah told Moses not to grieve for the misery of these people.
Say to yourselves, Moses had the mission to guide the people, and I have no such mission.
Moses was an Arch Prophet, and I, as a Shia, am a follower of an Arch Prophet.
So, if grieving for people who abandon the sacred path were allowed, Allah would have permitted it for His prophet.
And this is the promise of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), who said: "Do not abandon trade, for you will become humiliated and degraded."
Do you want the people who abandoned trade to not become humiliated and degraded, so that the promise of your Imam does not turn out to be false?
Personally, I pray that they become more humiliated and degraded, so that the promise of my Imam is fulfilled sooner, and these people might start thinking, perhaps taking trade seriously and returning to the right path.
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