Islam & Ethical Decisions – Part I

Part I  | Part II

My business ethics text had listed some reasons for why we fail to make ethical decisions, and I will go through those in a minute, but the concerning part was that it was followed by a table listing nations in the order of how corrupt their governments and institutions were, not surprisingly many Muslim countries were ranking as the most corrupt. Seeing this as an actual statistic really struck a chord with me because I couldn’t help but feel that Islam gave us the remedy to these social ills, and it’s the Muslims that are failing to do this beautiful religion any justice.

Excuse # 1: Everybody Else Does it:

A prime example of this is copying your friend’s homework in highschool, or college. Of course you don’t mean to cheat, but class is in 45 minutes and you don’t have time to think through the problems yourself. So, you don’t think too much of getting a grade for  work you haven’t done.

Another one that comes to mind is downloading music, movies and anything else you can’t get for free in a store. It has become so common that we don’t even give it a second thought. Just because our secular legal systems are still in the process of creating more comprehensive laws that protect intellectual property doesn’t make it okay for us to steal it.

In a hadith narrated by At-Tirmithi, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) warns us not to be Imma’ah. The Imma’ah is the one who if the people are doing good, does good, and if the people are doing bad, does bad. But, he orders us to be steadfast in doing what’s right at all times.

Excuse # 2: If we don’t do it, someone else will:

In an article I read in the New York Times, the writer was talking about Muslim delis that sell alcohol, cigarettes, pork and other non-halal items, because they believed that it was these are the things that made their money. To stop selling these things would be the death of their business because they would miss out on the big bucks and everyone would just go somewhere else.

This excuse makes perfect sense from a capitalist perspective. I say this for two reasons, the first is because in Islam we have the concept of rizq (sustenance) being pre-determined – of course given that you put in the effort.
” And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised. Then by the Lord of the heaven and earth, indeed, it is truth – just as [sure as] it is that you are speaking.” Chapter 51, At-Thaariyaat (Drivers of the Wind),  22-23.

Having this in mind, it makes no sense once so ever to try and increase your income by doing something that is illegal or unethical. Muslims should be under no illusion that doing anything haram (unlawful) could increase their sustenance or make them better off. They may enjoy temporary financial gains, but at what expense?

The second reason is because capitalism is all about wealth-maximization. In other words, to do whatever it takes to win. By making financial gain your number one priority, ethics are the first thing to go out the window, along with  justice and social responsibility.

Excuse # 3: That’s the way it has always been done:

The example that comes to mind is women removing their hijab (headscarf) on their wedding day. Random example, I know, but it was one of those things that I saw as a sort of norm in Egyptian culture and seemed to be acceptable just because of the sheer number of people that did it.

Abu Sa”id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had said:

“Whoever among you sees anything objectionable, let him change it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith.” – Muslim

We are all reformers in our own right. Islam requires us to enjoin good and forbid evil. Social reform isn’t achieved over night, it begins with you making the choice to do the right thing.

Obviously, changing your family’s understanding of hijab or overhauling your company’s corporate culture isn’t something you can do alone. The hadith acknowledges that, and we are advised to at least, make the change in our own hearts. Consequently it would be reflected through our actions and we would gradually teach others by example.

Stay tuned for part II.

Musings on Management

In the introduction of “One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard, Confucius says, “The essence of knowledge is, having it, to use it.”  So this is my attempt to do just that.

If you haven’t read this book before, you should. It’s a well-written short story, if you will, about a young man who sets out to find the perfect manager. He wants to meet someone that found the balance between being good to people and achieving results. So he searches far and wide, only to find either ‘chill’ managers that got along well with their staff but performed poorly, or ‘rough’ managers that despite their employees negative feelings towards them, managed to get results. Until one day his search brings him to find ‘the one minute’ manager, that solves his problem and answers his questions  (why else would they name the book after him, right?) and learns how he achieved and maintained this balance.

If you want to know the exact answers then read the book. I may post about it another time inshallah.

I am aware that the author is really focusing on how we can improve our interaction with others, but we need to also consider applying these methods when dealing with ourselves.

Some of the key points were that:

1.  People who feel good about themselves, produce good results.

I tend find that when I am feeling down I can’t design, write or create anything. I have to literally sit down, think about what it was that got me in this mood in the first place, and then figure out how (if possible) to get over it. It might be that I am frustrated about a falling out I had at work, and as a result I can’t think positively about other things. So to pick myself up, I have to actually speak (out loud) about how I am feeling, or write it down, in order to get it out of my system.

Negative thoughts and feelings are like poison, they makes everything dark, like ink in clean water. So I have to clear it out or it stains all of my efforts. Then once I’ve dealt with whatever it is, I can get  on with being the rockstar I am.

2.   Help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right.

The author says you should compliment people for doing something right, whenever they do it. We tend to focus on the negative aspects of our progress, the point here is to put emphasis on the positives. This is similar to what I was talking about in my last post, It should only make sense that if I love being recognized and appreciated for the good work I do, no matter how small, that I should do the same for others, and well… so should you.

As simple as it sounds to just nod at someone and say, ‘good job man’ or ‘you totally rocked that presentation,’ the challenge lies in doing this with the people that get on your nerves. People you can’t stand, the ones that get under your skin, and as soon as you see them a word you have no business saying (or thinking about) pops in to mind.

There’s probably a good reason they give you a hard time. Maybe you are intimidating, or they are just insecure. Maybe you came off the wrong way when they first met you, or they aren’t used to your style of management. You never know what it is with people, but if you go out of your way to, as Mom says ‘ kill them with kindness,’ then they might stop feeling that way about you, and themselves. And poof goes the problem and the drama.

The Messenger (pbuh) told us to ‘Give gifts, and to love each other.’ This is exactly the same thing. When you give the gift it is about having thought about that person, you remembered them and cared about them enough to sacrifice (money) to make them happy. The same thing goes for being good to people. You are sacrificing your ego and suppressing your negative feelings for them, which may just be in response to their hostility in the first place, and choosing to try and win them over. After all, smiling at your brother is a charity (and its free).

3. Everyone is a potential winner, some are disguised as losers, don’t let their appearances fool you.

Everyone is good at something, they just have to find out what that is, and then do it. In an interview done with Dalia Mogahed when asked about whether she always knew this is what she wanted to do, she said that Allah (swt)  blesses each of us with talents, and our way of being thankful for these talents is to use them in pleasing Him (swt).

That really resonated with me, we should seek to improve our quality of life and have good jobs and lead fulfilling lives, but we need to remember to stay focused on pleasing Allah (swt). So for all the people that say they aren’t good at anything ( you know who you are) this is a reminder to you and all of us, to try our best to do our bit to make the world a better place, no matter how small or insignificant you may think it is.

4. We are not just our behavior we are the person managing our behavior.

When I read that I think of tawbah (repentance). I think its because it sets out to make a distinction between us and our actions. This is really important to realize. I remember when I was about 4 I had done something to upset my mom and she was mad at me. I came to her and started crying, I asked her if I was a bad girl. She said, “No, you’re not a bad girl, what you did was bad.”

That was huge, it taught me that I can always try again and do better. Allah (swt) tells us we can come back to Him when we mess up, and He is always there when we need Him. We aren’t our mistakes, and contrary to what we like to think, we aren’t our successes either.

We were made to struggle, to try to improve, evolve and strive to be better.

5. Goals begin behaviors, consequences maintain behaviors.

Lets say for instance that I want to become the best designer in the world. So I mess around with design programs, join forums, read blogs, do tutorials, beg prominent design firms for jobs and go out of my way to do whatever I think will get me there. Finally I get a job at an agency and I realize that this isn’t really as exciting as I thought. Whenever I  start to slack off and get lazy with my work I have to remind myself of the consequences. My job will be at stake, as a result I won’t learn the tricks of the trade, and as a result of that I won’t become the best designer in the world. Poor example I know, but I think you got the point.

Again, this is a great book, and you can probably go through it in under an hour, so pick it up when you get the chance.