»» Thought for the Week (Updated on 15 May, 2006)

Earning livelihood is so important that every companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) practiced one profession or the other to feed his family members. Whatever they did it with full honesty and sincerity. They set unprecedented examples for coming generation. The inhabitants of Makkah were doing major business on the occasion of Hajj. So the Prophet’s great companions continued their business after and before the advert of Islam. They did labour work also when they were in needs.

We can draw a lesson from their lives and that is to earn our bread by hard work and to be away from cheating, concealing, fraudulent, and lying, blackmailing prejudice, Illegal earning as these companions. They spent their lives without indulging in any prohibited means of earning. Every Muslim should seek lawful way of earning and adopt such a mean, which could ensure lawful earning, as it is the pre-requisite of a true Muslim.

- Syed Muhammad Jilani Ashraf
Excerpted from "Kashful Quloob " Volume II
Manners of Dealing [Muamlat