The most basic duty which the Muslimah must attend to is to obtain knowledge of her Lord and worship Him in the exact way that He demands that He be worshiped. After this, she must fulfill the basic roles for which she has been specifically chosen above her male counterpart. These are the role of tending the home, nursing the children, obeying her husband, beautifying herself for him, protecting the home from foreign intrusion in her husband's absence, and much more. In fulfilling these roles, she must package them as an act of worship for onward presentation to her Lord and Creator. These are the most basic acts that Allah has asked of His female slaves and they are the very deeds that the foremost of women, presented in the time of the Prophet (SAW).
After obtaining the capacity to carry out the tasks above, some of the women of virtue in the time of the Prophet, went a step further. They would engage themselves in business transactions, earn a decent and halal income, pay Zakkat, offer sadaqa and spend on their children and family. They went further to support their husbands with their wealth even when male dignity prevented their husbands from asking. In the tide and hails of wealth, they remained humble to their Lord and their husbands. They were blessed to know, that all their endeavours were acts of worship and did not spend of their wealth without their husband's consent. I think the most important thing to note about this subject is NOT HARAM or forbidden in anyway by the only deen of mankind, Islam.
It is to this post-basic extra mile of excellence that we call our womenfolk. It is a non-compulsory but permissible exercise in pursuit of excellence in the sight of Allah. What better creature than a wealthy Muslimah who obeys her Lord, is subservient to her husband, stays within the comfort of her home; exiting with her veil, only when necessity demands!
That said, I am a strong advocate of the Muslimah to make some money of her own for many reasons. I will mention the ones that have come to the fore in my few years of existence in this world:
1) Opportunity to do many acts of 'ibadah; creating business ideas that make living and worship easy for Muslims, using the wealth gathered for sadaqa, Zakat, Hajj, Umrah, etc.
2) A safety net against undesired but real events e.g the death or incapacitation of her husband, divorce, etc.
3) A means of keeping focused and chaste when single and waiting for the right man.
The world of business is demanding and distractive. To remain focused, the Muslimah must follow the texts of the Qur'an and Hadeeth, upon the understanding of the pious predecessor on her conduct as a Muslimah in business. She must act under such texts as:
"O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast (Yudnina 'Alaihinna) their outer garments (Jalabib) over them; so that it is likelier that they will be known and not harmed; and Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surah Ahzab, v. 59)"
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their step sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O' you believers! Turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain bliss. (Surah Nur, v. 30-31).
Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) said: "No one may trade in our markets unless they have learned their fiqh, for otherwise they will eat unlawfully interest (riba) whether they like it or not." [Zabidi, Sharh Ihya 'Ulum al-Din, 1.130].
She must seek and be well grounded in knowledge about the rulings of Islam on business. When all this is done she may proceed to trade and take from contemporary knowledge of business, that which is permitted in Islam.
To start Muslimah, know who you are. Please do not attempt to start business without asking yourself that all important question. One of such pieces of information culled from the internet is as follows:
Starting a business is not about just making money, no matter how dire your financial situation or shaky your job. It is about solving a problem, giving service, adding value and making the life of others better. By its very nature, a business is a platform for you to give of yourself.
A business is propelled by a mission and a vision that is why companies have them (even if they don't mean it). How many of us with a business have a mission and vision and this can be translated into what we do? How many of us have a personal mission statement?
Before you start that business, know who you are, what you are good at, where your skills and passion lie, where you are now and where you are heading to. Answering these questions will give you the right focus and appreciation of what you are getting yourself into, and will help attract like minds as you for your dream team and attract resource towards fulfilling your mission.
Here are some questions you have to ponder on:
* Is this something you really want to do or you got talked into it?
* Why do you choose that line of business (what is your motive)?
* What is your passion?
* What skills do you have, where does your talents lie?
* Does your passion, talent and skills align with this business?
* What is unique in your offering (what are you adding to the marketplace)? Are you willing to stick with it even if you make no profit in the first 1 - 2 years or more?
* Are you happy doing this (or you are in it for the money)?
* Where do you see this business in 5 - 10 years?
* How will your business contribute to the larger society?
If you are in for the money, you will not go far. Profit is the byproduct of business fulfilling its mission.
So, a business idea is forming? What do I do next? Make Istikharah. Write it down, think it through, plan, discuss with your husband, family or friends who know you better. They would see the light in your eyes, the tremor in your voice and know that you are ready to begin and give you the courage to start.
There's a lot to do in starting a business, there are the decisions to make on learning the trade if you have no previous skills, registering, branding, marketing, getting staff (if need be), customer services, costs, costs and more costs but, there are also time-worn tricks of the trade in starting, people you can talk to, that can help you get going. Cost can be brought down by businesses coming together, leveraging on others' strengths and most of all starting small. Do not be afraid of new waters or competition. That's where the real grit of a business starts from. Make dua, more dua and even more dua.
Sisters are doing business from the privacy of their homes, over the internet, having delivery boys take orders around while they are on the phone, writing for magazines, writing books, selling jewellery, cooking, setting up libraries, opening crèches, the list is enormous and unending and each person can come up with something different and unique in her own idea once it's her own, her passion, her 'thing'...!
In summary, our exhortation is for our Muslim women to engage in halal business activities, after having tended to their primary roles as Muslim women. It is a call for our women to do that which is permissible of business, just like it was done by the female companions, and to do so in ways that neither distract from their primary duties nor bring them to sin.
May Allah guide and protect us all. Amin.
Source http://allafrica.com/
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