3 minutes read
A halal business cannot be built by pretending its first dollar does not matter.
Imagine someone offers to fund your new business.
The product is halal.
The customers are halal.
The operations will be halal.
There is only one problem: you know the money being invested was earned through riba, selling alcohol, theft, or another clearly prohibited source.
It can be tempting to think, "That was before the business. Once we invest it, everything we do afterward will be halal."
But a Muslim founder must care about the money entering the business, not only the money coming out of it.
Muslim Founder Brief
A daily briefing on Muslim ownership, responsibility, and disciplined building.
The Source of Capital Matters
"There is no flesh raised that sprouts from the unlawful except that the Fire is more appropriate for it."
"There is no flesh raised that sprouts from the unlawful except that the Fire is more appropriate for it."
The warning should make every founder think carefully before accepting clearly unlawful wealth.
And not all haram wealth is the same.
Money someone acquired through a prohibited activity raises serious questions about purification and repentance.
Stolen money is even more fundamental. The thief has no rightful ownership of someone else's property to contribute as capital in the first place.
Ask Where the Money Came From
So before asking what percentage of the company an investor wants, ask a more important question:
Where did the money come from?
A Muslim business should pursue halal from the first dollar invested to the last dollar earned.
The source of your capital is not a detail to overlook. It is part of the amanah of building a business that seeks the pleasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
What standards should Muslim founders establish for the capital they accept before they ever begin discussing valuation and ownership?
Muslim Founder Brief
A daily briefing on Muslim ownership, responsibility, and disciplined building.
Muslim Founder Brief
A daily briefing on Muslim ownership, responsibility, and disciplined building.
Muslim Founder Brief
A daily briefing on Muslim ownership, responsibility, and disciplined building.
