Question:-
I bake and sell from home. My neighbour also sells similar products to what I sell. She wants to know as to why I am selling products similar to what she is selling. She feels that I am taking her customers away.
Answer:-
The sustenance of every human being has been destined and each person will only receive what has been decrees for him or her. Allah Ta’ala states in the Quraan Sharif, ‘We do not ask you for sustenance, rather we will sustain you.” [Surah Taa’ha] In a verse of Surah Hud Allah Ta’ala states, “There is no creature on the surface of the earth, except that Allah has taken the responsibility for its sustenance.”
It is recorded in a narration of Bazzaar that, Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam once stood up and called the people towards him. They came to him and sat down. He then said, “This is the messenger of the Rabb of the universe, Jibra’eel Alaihis Salaam, who blew in my heart that, no soul will pass away until it completes its sustenance. In another narration Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said, “If you place your trust on Allah as you ought to have trusted Him, then He will sustain you as He sustains a bird, it leaves home in the morning with an empty stomach and returns in the evening with a full stomach.”
In conclusion, Allah Ta’ala is the One that is sustaining us and not our businesses or home industries. These are merely the outward means of acquiring our sustenance, hence, we should make Dua to Allah Ta’ala to grant us Barakah and increase our sustenance. Our sustenance will in no way increase if we prevent another person from selling the products which we sell, if Allah Ta’ala hasn’t destined any increase in our sustenance. Similarly, our sustenance will not decrease if another person sells the same products which we are selling. We should therefore firmly believe that each one is getting what has been destined for him or her, and we should make Dua for Barakah in our sustenance.
ALLAH TA’ALA KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai
Date: 21 Dhul Qa’dah 1443 / 22 June 2022
