The Ultimate Business Bargain

The ultimate business investments in this world are those with the potential of giving back at least 100x of your investments in the near future, therefore investing in tech startups with the potential of becoming a unicorn or investing in real estates are good business bargains. 

Those who invested 100,000 Naira in real estate 20 years ago, in developing countries like Nigeria now have their investment portfolio valued at over 20 million Naira, and when Benchmark Capital invested 11 million dollars into Uber in 2011 they made 6.5 billion dollars (at 591x) after the Initial Public Offering (IPO). 

The point is that investing in a low-risk high yield venture is a smart business move!

Now that you are thinking about the business of earning money, let’s talk about a similar but infinitely more important business, the ultimate business of earning al-Jannatul firdaous. The most expensive and valuable real estate in existence. The Prophet said; 

إِنَّ سِلْعَةَ اللَّهِ غَالِيَةٌ أَلَا إِنَّ سِلْعَةَ اللَّهِ الْجَنَّةُ

Indeed, the commodity of Allah is expensive! Indeed, the commodity of Allah is Paradise

This is not a metaphor! earning the paradise of Allah is indeed a business transaction, and only those who Allah bless with insight to understand the best prices to pay for paradise will achieve Jannatul firdaous.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ

Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth (in exchange) for that they will have paradise

Just as I have identified some low risk high yield businesses in the area of earning money, I now set out to identify for you, O seeker of Jannah, the high yield businesses that can leads to Jannatul firdaous. 

Allah says in the Quran; 

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ تِجَارَةٍ تُنْجِيكُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

O believers, shall I direct you to a business that will save you from a painful punishment?

Some of these businesses as identified by the Prophet are:

• Facilitating beneficial knowledge for people
• Raising a righteous child and 
• Investing in ongoing charity

In a narration, the Prophet identified these as the best deeds one can ever leave behind as a legacy when he is no more

خَيْرُ مَا يُخَلِّفُ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ثَلَاثٌ وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ وَصَدَقَةٌ تَجْرِي يَبْلُغُهُ أَجْرُهَا وَعِلْمٌ يُعْمَلُ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِه

The best of what a man leaves behind are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, ongoing charity the reward of which reaches him, and knowledge that is acted upon after him

In another narration, the prophet explained why these are the best investments to make with one’s life;

إِذَا مَاتَ الْإِنْسَانُ انْقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ ؛ إِلَّا مِنْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَةٍ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ، أَوْ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ

When a man dies, all his deeds (reward) come to an end except (reward) from three (types of deed), an ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge or a righteous child who prays for him.

Combining these two narrations of this hadith we can now say that the best investment you can make that can earn you jannatul firdous are those that will continue to pay you dividends (hassanat) forever, long after you have become dust and bones, and there are only three in this category. 

The easiest of these is that of facilitating beneficial knowledge, because there is no condition you can be in, except that you have some useful knowledge or some useful information that will benefit people.

A man may say, how I wish I had a lot of wealth, I would have invested so much in ongoing charity, another may say, how I wish I have a righteous child who will outlive me and pray for me when am gone. But what excuse can a man have to not invest in teaching people beneficial knowledge that he has, or leading people to a place of acquiring beneficial knowledge with the information that he has?

And if he says, I don’t have any beneficial knowledge to impact and am still learning myself, the answer is; you don’t have to be a scholar to benefit from the investment of knowledge, Allah says in the Quran 

مَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْهَا

Whoever intercedes for a good cause will have a share therefrom

Therefore, the one who has no capital to start a school or no expertise to teach people, can still be rewarded along those who are actively engaging in impacting knowledge, he only has to be able to direct people to the right places.

The same scenario happened in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ

جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ : إِنِّي أُبْدِعَ بِي فَاحْمِلْنِي. فَقَالَ : ” مَا عِنْدِي “. فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَنَا أَدُلُّهُ عَلَى مَنْ يَحْمِلُهُ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” مَنْ دَلَّ عَلَى خَيْرٍ فَلَهُ مِثْلُ أَجْرِ فَاعِلِهِ

A man came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: My riding beast has been killed, so give me some animal to ride upon. He (the Prophet) said: I have none with me. A man said: Messenger of Allah, I can guide him to one who will provide him with a riding beast. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: One who guides to something good has a reward similar to that of its doer.

It is understandable from this narration that the sheik who teaches people the knowledge of the religion and the layman who invited people to the gathering of the sheik will both get the same reward, they have both made investments that will continue to reach them after they are dead and gone, they will both continue to get rewarded as long as the world remains, even if that’s a million years after their death! Albeit one of them studied for years to become proficient and the other only had to direct people to the right places, such is the blessing of Allah.

In the world of today, one of the best opportunities to attain this everlasting reward is to direct people to such places where authentic knowledge can be gained. I know no such place better than the International Open University (I.O.U) of Dr. Bilal Philips.

A university that combines the authentic knowledge of Islam with the most important contemporary knowledge, a university where a student of Islamic studies also takes courses in computer science, business management, child education and more, so he learns to be well rounded and make ultimate business bargains in this life and the next! 

A university which takes your busy schedule into account and brings you access to authentic knowledge from the comfort of your home! 

Do not hide the knowledge of this huge opportunity from the public, O seeker of Jannah, for the Prophet said;

مَنْ سُئِلَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ عَلِمَهُ ثُمَّ كَتَمَهُ أُلْجِمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِلِجَامٍ مِنْ نَارٍ

Whoever is asked about knowledge and he conceals it, Allah will clothe him with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection

And Umar ibn Khatab used to say;

حَاسِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُحَاسَبُوا وَزِنُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُوزَنُوا فَإِنَّهُ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْحِسَابِ غَدًا أَنْ تُحَاسِبُوا أَنْفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ

Hold yourselves accountable before you are held accountable and evaluate yourselves before you are evaluated, for the Reckoning will be easier upon you tomorrow if you hold yourselves accountable today

Take a look at your whole life, if you die today, how many people do you reckon you will continue getting rewarded for their knowledge? How many ultimate business bargains have you made? What is stopping you from increasing that number?

Now you should be certain, O seeker of Jannah, that the business of directing people towards beneficial knowledge will continue to pay you dividends as long as the world exists, and in this is a reward more valuable than the billions made from uber and real estates, and in this is the ultimate business bargain. 

الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا

Wealth and children are the adornment of the present world; but the lasting things, the deeds of righteousness, are better with God in reward, and better in hope.

By Abdulkadir Bashir (Abu Yusrah)

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Phone: 08090652523 Email: ceo@alfurqan.ng 

December, 2023

Visit International Open University (IOU) here

You can also reach the study center in ilorin, kwara State, by contacting 

Abu Mariam (08064507311) Email: 1mqs.cm.ilorin@iou.edu.gm