The news on Monday, January 13

When do we achieve profitability in business? This is an essential question to which you must know the answer.

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Let us begin today’s discussion with an assumption.

Suppose Arad never existed. To summarize, Arad has been around for 18 years, but commerce has existed since the time of Adam (peace be upon him) and will continue until the end of time.

If someone hears this hadith from the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which states, "Provision is divided into ten parts, and nine of them are in trade," and in their heart, they wish to benefit from this provision, and then they hear the words of Imam Ali (peace be upon him):

"Engage in trade, for it will make you independent of what people have. Verily, Allah the Almighty loves a truthful and trustworthy professional."

In the Prophet’s hadith, we read a statement of fact, but in Imam Ali’s words, there is a command.

A command means it must be obeyed.

I believe that the claim of loving Allah and His Messenger by many people is mere empty words and nothing but lies.

And I can prove it.

Allah has set a criterion in His book for those who claim to love Him.

Say: “If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Surah Al-Imran, Ayah 31

If someone claims they love Allah, the Prophet, Imam Ali, and other Imams, ask them:

Did you know that both the Prophet and the Imam used a command when speaking about trade?

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) states:

"Engage in trade, and Allah will bless you. For I have heard the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Provision is divided into ten parts; nine are in trade, and one is in everything else.'"

The phrase “engage in trade (Ettajero)” is a command.

Review all Islamic narrations.

See if you find any instance where the infallibles (peace be upon them) commanded people to engage in construction, carpentry, driving, painting, teaching, labor, employment, investing, or any other profession that comes to your mind, instructing them to perform such tasks.

You won’t find any such instance.

However, regarding commerce, they have commanded: "Offer yourself to trade," "Go engage in trade," or "Return to trade, for it is your dignity."

Don’t people claim to love Allah and His Messenger?

Then why don’t they obey their commands?

Why don’t they comply?

If you, as a parent, have a child who says, “Mom, Dad, I love you,” and then you tell them to do something and they refuse, what would you say?

I would say, "Your love is meaningless if there's no action behind it."

What good is love if there is no obedience in it?

This is exactly what Allah says in His words:

"There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge." Surah Al-Hajj, Ayah 11

Meaning, in practice, there is nothing. They only say, "We love Allah," and "We are devoted to Him."

Many of you know Quran reciters and those who read it around you.

Ask them to recite this verse for you:

"O ye of Faith! Say not [to the Messenger] words of ambiguous import, but words of respect; and hearken [to him]: To those without Faith is a grievous punishment." Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 104

And then tell them to recite this verse for you:

"And do not be like those who said, 'We have heard,' while they did not hear." Surah Al-Anfal, Ayah 21

And again, ask them to recite this verse for you:

"And they said, 'We have heard and we have obeyed.'" Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 285

You see, how beautifully and sweetly they recite these verses, yet the Quran doesn’t descend past their throats.

Do you think when Allah says, "They said, 'We have heard' but they did not hear," He means that their ears didn’t hear?

Their ears did hear, but they acted so indifferently that it was as if they didn’t hear at all.

And when He says, "Do not say Ra'ina," in our Persian context, it's a form of insult.

How can I explain this to you without upsetting you? Even if you are upset, I wouldn’t mind if it helps you take commerce more seriously.

Imagine you are sitting with a group, and you say, "Let’s get up and do this."

Everyone hears you and nods in agreement, indicating that this is something that should be done.

Then you get up and walk a few steps, and you see that everyone is still sitting and hasn’t moved.

But when you were moving, they probably thought, "Oh, he just said some empty words, don't pay attention to it."

When you turn around and ask, "Why aren’t you getting up?" they say, "Forget about it."

This is called Ra'ina.

I am ashamed that people treated the Messenger of Allah this way.

The Prophet and Imam Ali (peace be upon them) commanded people to engage in trade, but they act as if they never heard it, and yet they claim their love for Allah is louder than anyone else's.

Allah knows they are lying because there is no obedience in the love they profess.

Tomorrow is the birthday of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), and celebrations for the birth of the Master are taking place all over Iran.

Ask the celebrants: "Do you love Imam Ali?"

They will all say, "Our lives are for Ali."

Then say to them: "Your Imam commanded you to engage in trade so that you may be self-sufficient."

Let’s see how many of them will say, "From tomorrow, I will also engage in commerce."

And how many will say, "Well, Imam didn’t mean us, forget about it."

And Allah knows that most of them are lying, which is why He does not pay attention to their declarations of love.

A few days ago, someone commented that they had found documents of the Prophet’s businesses, but they couldn’t find any evidence showing that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was engaged in trade

Dear one, you haven’t researched properly. Study the history of Yanbu, a barren desert that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) turned into a thriving business city during his 25 years of seclusion.

Allah says in His Book:

"Do ye enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget [To practise it] yourselves, and yet ye study the Scripture? Will ye not understand?" Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 44

It’s impossible that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) would command us to engage in trade and then forget himself.

As it is narrated in Nahj al-Balagha (Sermon 174), compiled by Al-Sharif al-Radi (may Allah elevate his status):

"O people, by Allah, I never urged you to do anything except that I preceded you in doing it, and I never forbade you from sin except that I myself refrained from it first."

It is impossible that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) would command us to engage in trade without having practiced it himself.

It is said that when he assumed the caliphate, every morning, before the merchants began their work, he would walk through their neighborhood and wait for them to arrive. Then he would say:

"Trade, so that God blesses you, and do not pollute your trade with false oaths and underhanded dealings."

At that time, if the people saw that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) had not traded himself, they would certainly have objected, saying, "Ali, you did not trade, yet you command us to do so?"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) often spoke from the pulpit in the Mosque of Kufa, declaring that he had followed all the practices of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

If he had not been a merchant, the stubborn and critical Arabs of that time would certainly have raised objections, saying, "Ali, do not lie! The Prophet traded, but you did not trade."

Thus, all of this proves that Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was a trailblazer in trade, and the tongues of the critics were silenced.

All of this is under the assumption that Arad did not even exist.

I ask you:

If someone, trusting in the Prophet of God and obeying the command of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), enters into trade and says, "O God, I rely on You, and I will persevere in this path,"

Will they become a trader?

Does one who begins trade with reliance on God, trust in the Prophet of God, obedience to the command of the guardian of God, and perseverance and patience in this path, become a trader?

Indeed, they will become a trader.

Not just any trader.

But a professional one.

When Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, God loves the trustworthy professional,"

He means that God loves the one who has mastery and integrity in their trade.

The root of the word "muhtrif" (professional) comes from the Arabic letters H-R-F, the same as our word "harf" (speech), which relates to being skilled and having something meaningful to say in a field.

So, it can be understood as follows:

God loves the trustworthy person who has something to say in trade.

Therefore, even without Arad, you should become a trader if you truly love God and the Prophet.

Even if you love yourself, become a trader, so that you are free from relying on others, borrowing from banks or other people, and lowering your head in front of others.

Even without Arad, by relying on God, following the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt, you would become a trader.

So, how is it that with Arad’s guidance, free training, and support in branding, logistics, supply, communication, information, management, media, and financial transactions, you will not become a trader?

Rest assured, any voice telling you that you will not become a trader is the voice of Satan, whether it comes from within yourself or from the closest person in your life.

Many have entered trade, and someone who they believed was the love of their life tried to take them away from it.

May God protect us from such disgraceful loves.

Blessed is the love that elevates a person, not the one that, when they are on the path of honor, holds them back and leads them back to humiliation.