Farzeen on business

I continue to benefit from my father’s words to me when we spoke on the phone a few days after I arrived in Sana’a, (roughly) “Farzeen, make sure you pay for all the food and not just yours. It doesn’t matter how much it costs. Buy food and drinks for everyone. There’s baraka in it, so pay for it all.” SubhanAllah. These words were a light for me, and true to what my parents have often tried to teach me. May Allah reward them both and grant them and their loved ones peace and khayr in this world and the next, ameen.

Since my return home almost eight months ago, I’ve attended a few conferences with my sisters and “worked” at another stall – Salsabil Boutique – specializing in Muslim women’s clothing – by their side. From a combination of these experiences, cruising Sana’a marketplaces, and other insights, there are a few things that I’ve gathered about business.

First, a business starts with a sincere intention, a clear vision, and continues with a lot of hard work. Secondly, it requires a good attitude along with a rigorous preservation and practice of high moral and ethical principles. And finally, as with everything, it has to be sealed with one’s complete dependence on Allah, for success and our sustenance are both from Him alone, and we need not depend on anyone else for these matters. Within these three points are a multitude of others, but I consider these the “pillars of good business.”