Serving God in business

It is a misconception because wealth is one of God’s favours that is neither dependent on some natural or social dispositions such as gender, age, position, career or marital status nor is it determined by some God-given abilities such as intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, bodily strength, etc. A Nupe adage (in its rough English translation) says […]

It is a misconception because wealth is one of God’s favours that is neither dependent on some natural or social dispositions such as gender, age, position, career or marital status nor is it determined by some God-given abilities such as intelligence, wisdom, knowledge, bodily strength, etc. A Nupe adage (in its rough English translation) says “If wealth were a product of strength, the physically powerful would not have carried loads (to earn a living)” Allah (SWT) in Qur’an 2:212 states “…for Allah bestows His abundance without measure on whom He wills”.
There is no law, divine or human, which states that an individual would be wealthy through materialistic tendencies. Wealth, like power, belongs to God and He gives it to whomsoever He wishes. Allah’s favours are also not exclusive of the righteous. Indeed, those who sometimes enjoy Allah’s gift of wealth or other forms of favour seem to deserve them least. Such is part of God’s unquestionable verdict. Allah (SWT) mentions this in Qur’an 21:23 “He cannot be questioned for His acts, but they will be questioned (for theirs)”.
I recently met a young entrepreneur, Muhammad, who believes that wealth is not a matter of choice but one of the prerogatives of Allah (SWT). Muhammad, who has a shop in Abuja where naira is the common denominator that unites and separates people, is a devout person to be emulated by those who desire to serve God in their businesses. Muhammad’s job is book-binding. While searching for a book-binder a few weeks ago, an old half-broken signpost led me to a corner-shop where I found Muhammad cutting some cardboard sheets in to different sizes.
I greeted the young-looking Muhammad and told him I was there to re-bind the loosened and aged covers of the two copies of the holy Qur’an I brought with me. Muhammad collected the two copies of the Qur’an and asked me to come back after five days. When I asked him how much I was to pay for the work, he cheerfully answered, “It is free. I don’t charge anything for working on holy books, whether it is the Qur’an or the Bible”. When I enquired if that is the collective decision of those involved in binding works in Abuja, Muhammad replied, “No, that is just my own way of serving God in my job”.
Muhammad’s resolve to charge nothing for binding or ere-binding holy books is a testimony that we can serve God in everything we do. Entrepreneurs as well as businessmen and women who may not be as self-righteous enough as Muhammad to render free services from their investments (for the sake of God) would still be serving God if they charge customers at half price; giving a discount of fifty percent. For instance, a tailor may decide to serve God in his occupation by offering a discount of fifty percent (if he cannot do it for free) when sewing white sheets for shrouding a corpse. A carpenter would be serving God by charging nothing for his labour in the construction of a bier or coffin.
A transporter may decide to serve God in his business by collecting half fare from students and the physically challenged. Indeed, this was the case in Khartoum (capital of the Republic of Sudan) when I was a postgraduate student there about two and half decades ago. A student was only required to show his identity card without which he would pay full fare. A transporter may also wish to borrow a leaf from the book-binder by not charging anything for goods that are exclusively holy books up to a specified kilogram beyond which a token fee may be collected.
Cybercafé operators will be serving God by blocking their customers from having access to browse unholy websites such as pornography. Hoteliers will be serving God by denying accommodation to any man who comes to stay with a woman who is not his wife or to whom he is not a Mahram (a person whose relationship of birth or fosterage precludes him from marrying a woman). Such a man and a woman should both be denied accommodation if they fail to show a certified true copy of their marriage certificate or a document to show that the man is a Mahram to the woman. Motor mechanics will be serving God if they charge less in the repair of vehicles belonging to mosques and churches. This can even be extended to the private vehicles of imams and pastors. The only irony in this proposition is that nearly everyone in Nigeria claims to be a Malam or a pastor; some of them sometimes attempting to be more sacred than the ka’abah or more catholic than the pope.
Health workers also have their own way of serving God in their jobs. For instance, on page 35 of the Daily Trust edition of Tuesday May 19, 2015 is a story that the Primus International Super Specialist Hospital, an Indian hospital based in Abuja, recently announced free healthcare services to worshippers at the Abuja National Mosque and a branch of the Redeemed Christian Church, also in Abuja. The services include blood pressure checks, random blood sugar test, eye screening and cardiology consultations.
Petroleum products marketers who nearly shut down Nigeria in the past one week will be serving God by refusing to hoard petrol that has become critical to the survival of citizens in a country where almost everything (including boreholes and refrigerators, mobile phones, laptops, pads and tablets) is powered by generator, which requires petrol to run.
Indeed, there is one or more ways in which everyone could serve God in his job. Let us think of ways through which we can sincerely serve God in our respective professions as teachers, farmers, drivers, administrators, clerks, midwives and nurses, securitymen and women, engineers, architects, judges, lawyers, pharmacists, journalists, accountants, auditors, bankers, town planners, surveyors, technicians, sports men and women, etc. May Allah (SWT) guide us at all times and in all our undertakings, amin.