The news on Thursday, November 28

Probably all of you, dear and honorable ones, know the name of the tribe the Prophet of God (PBUH) was born into.

Yes, you are right.

Quraysh.

God has dedicated a Surah in His Book to the Quraysh, and interestingly, no other tribe is mentioned by name in the Quran except for the Quraysh.

Now the question is, what was the main occupation of the Quraysh tribe?

To answer this question, we will not refer to any books or sources with disagreements, but rather we will find the answer from this very Surah of Quraysh.

So, let's first read this Surah together.

Translation:

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

1. For the covenants [of security and safeguard enjoyed] by the Quraish,

2. Their covenants [covering] journeys by winter and summer,-

3. Let them adore the Lord of this House,

4. Who provides them with food against hunger, and with security against fear [of danger].

End of translation.

The key phrase that can lead us to the answer is "winter and summer journeys."

The question here is, why did the Quraysh travel in winter and summer, especially when the next verse mentions that they should worship the Lord of this House, which refers to the Kaaba? This indicates that the Quraysh lived near the Kaaba, meaning in Mecca.

We all know that Mecca was a barren land, where agriculture and animal husbandry were not possible in the way they were in other regions. Interestingly, even after 1400 years since the revelation of the Quran, despite technological advances and the growing power of Saudi Arabia, agriculture and animal husbandry are still not significant in the region.

So, why did the Quraysh travel in both winter and summer?

At this point, any reader with even a little reasoning will come to one conclusion.

Trade.

Thus, it is easily proven that the occupation of the Prophet’s tribe was trade, and God only agreed to dedicate a Surah in His Book to a people who were merchants.

Now, let's refer to some historical sources, the most important of which is about the father of the Prophet of God.

His blessed name was Abdullah, and he passed away before the Prophet of God was born, while the Prophet was still in his mother's womb.

I will share the account of his death from Wikipedia, which you must know has no particular reverence or affection for the Prophet's family and is completely non-Muslim.

Wikipedia states:

"The story of Abdullah’s death is that he traveled with the Quraysh caravan to Syria for trade. On his return from Syria, he became ill in Medina and, due to his kinship with the tribe of Banu Adi bin Najjar, he stopped there. However, his illness lasted for a month, and he passed away."

You can view the same text from Wikipedia here: Link to Wikipedia article about Abdullah’s death.

So, we learned that he passed away during a business trip, and God willed for the last Prophet to be the son of a merchant.

Historians have listed the inheritance left by Abdullah for the Prophet, including a slave, five camels, a flock of sheep, a sword, dirhams and dinars, some land, and other properties.

Also, in the account of the father of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (PBUH), namely Abu Talib, you surely recall the story of the Christian monk, Bahira.

I have also brought this exact account from Wikipedia:

"Bahira, whose full name was Bahira Sergius, according to Islamic accounts, was a Christian monk who, in 582 AD (41 years before the Hijra), met Abu Talib and Muhammad when they traveled to Syria for trade. Bahira emphasized to them that Muhammad was no ordinary man and bore signs of prophethood."

You can click here to view the Bahira article from Wikipedia.

So, we see that the father of Imam Ali (PBUH), Abu Talib, was also a merchant.

That is, two brothers, Abdullah and Abu Talib, were both merchants, and they both had sons who became the pride of creation.

Thus, God willed for the system of creation to begin from a merchant family, and the tribe in which the Prophet’s family grew and flourished, the Quraysh, was also a merchant tribe.

And what a great honor for us, the Aradis.

Isn't it a shame to forgo this closeness to the family of the Messenger of God, under the excuse of laziness and idleness, and return to other occupations that, though necessary and honorable, never reach the stature of trade?

Earlier, we mentioned that negotiation (Muzākara) is derived from the root of “mufa'ala,” which means mutual action. Negotiation only makes sense when:

1. It involves the participation of two or more parties, and it’s not one-sided.
2. It should involve repetition and continuity, rather than being abruptly stopped.

We also said that true negotiation not only takes place in words but also in the hearts of both parties. This means that after your conversation, the person you negotiated with should still think about you and remember you.

We gave the example of Imam Ali (PBUH), who negotiated with Muawiyah, a person worse than Satan, and never backed down. Therefore, it is not permissible to dismiss negotiations with someone or some people on trivial grounds.

Moreover, when Imam Ali (PBUH) was appointed by the second caliph to the six-member council, he engaged in lengthy negotiations with the members of that council, and the full accounts of the council’s discussions are found in historical texts.

But what is interesting is that Imam Ali (PBUH) says in part of his speech:

Then Umar placed the caliphate in a group that he thought I was equal to them.

I seek refuge in God from this council.

At what time was I in doubt before the first of them in the caliphate, so that today I would be equal to the members of the council who now consider me like them and place me in their ranks?

I was forced to compromise again and align myself with them.

One of them, with the enmity he held against me, turned away, and another gave preference to his son-in-law over the truth, and the other two, whose names are too disgraceful to mention.

End of translation.

This means that even in this situation, Imam Ali (PBUH) engaged in the negotiation, never backing down, for the love of God and the preservation of Islam's interests, even though he knew the outcome and vote would not favor him and that he would fail in the negotiations.

Therefore, we understand that negotiating in business and life is an undeniable principle.

Remember, there are three types of negotiation:

1. In-person
2. Telephone
3. Message

In today’s discussion, we will focus on message negotiation.

If you want to truly turn your negotiation into money, you should know that message negotiation is the farthest type when it comes to reaching money if you stick with just that form of negotiation.

What does this mean?

It means that the real money in trade is made during in-person negotiations.

After in-person negotiations, the best money is earned through telephone negotiations.

And after that, message negotiations.

To better understand this, consider when you first joined Arad.

Which of you paid for the Promotion 12 through a message, without meeting or a phone call?

None of you.

All Promotion 12 payments were made in person, after seeing and understanding the offer.

Therefore, you must know that if you only rely on message negotiations, no money will come your way.

Even with telephone negotiations, the money you make is minimal.

The main money comes from in-person meetings.

However, today we are not discussing telephone or in-person negotiations; we are discussing message negotiation.

But since we know that message negotiation doesn't directly lead to money, we must clarify our goal for message negotiations.

Message negotiation is very suitable for two main purposes:

1. Finding leads and signals
2. Sending documents and supporting materials