An interview with the founder of workingmuslim.com. Topics discussed include: advice for getting a job, working in Halal, how to get motivated, how to demand your rights as a Muslim at workplace, work balance, etc.

Link to YouTube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CArJ7GmHAWQ

Related Web Sites:
WorkHalal.com

To sponsor HalalBucks episodes please email us admin at halalbucks

I was reading about the Untouchables and caste system in India and it came to my mind the parallel caste system that we have in our “modern” industrial society, from the school system to corporate job title definitions.

Many Muslim parents have defined/dictated a set of study fields and occupations for their children. These choices (or restrictions) not only limit the potentials of their children but also lead to a narrow view to Allah’s Rizq (provision).

As if we have no future, unless we took that haram student loan, or bought properties using haram mortgages. As if our Rizq only comes during Jumaah prayer or only by working in haram businesses or jobs.

We, the caste members of the modern economic caste system, are far more outrageous than the Untouchables, because often time we lock ourselves into these “casted” job even that we can escape from them.

May Allah liberate us from being slaves to jobs or money.

Related Readings:

If you are currently locked in a corporate caste system. Read this book, Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, it may liberate you.

It’s known that the credit card industrydepends on the interests that customers pay. So for a credit card issuer to gain customers, other than offering good interests rate and terms, it also has to offer some services (e.g. in case of disputing fraudulent transactions).

However, in Muslim countries, credit card issuers copied the haram part (riba/interests) from non-Muslims and left out the halal part (customer service).

Since late October when the problem first erupted, Moulana has received little help in rectifying the fraudulent charges. In spite of his daily calls to get assistance from National Commercial Bank’s customer service hotline, the bank has been adding on delinquent fees for not paying the minimum payment on his credit card each month.

BTW, on the topic of credit cards, many young Muslims don’t know about the danger of over spending. I personally know many good brothers from good families end up with a huge credit card debt while in college. Really, masjids should devote some khutbahs and workshop for this topic to educate both parents and youths.

Related Links:

Marketplace: Maxed out on plastic

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Bismillah

My phone fell out of my pocket, which wasn’t bad enough, but…

I stepped on it and broke it into two halves!

So, why am I telling you this?

A friend on Facebook said, “Do you have insurance for the phone?” I said, “Insurance is haram.”

And I didn’t need it, because that phone has generated much more income than its price tag.

I’m telling you this incident to let you know that Allah has given you plenty of opportunities for halal income to cover your expenses.

Thus, instead of me telling you that insurance is haram, how about I just share with you how to earn more halal income?

If you’re interested, answer this survey, click here.

As Muslims, we know the seriousness of having a halal income and avoiding haram ones. However, there are tons of temptations and so called Sharia-compliant investment calling us to muddle with companies that deal with haram or earn haram income.

The return of those investment may look attractive to you, but in reality you are losing in this life and the hereafter.

يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا

He [Shaitan (Satan)] makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires; and Shaitan’s (Satan) promises are nothing but deceptions. (An-Nisa 4:120)

Here is an excerpt of NY Times Op-Ed of Paul Krugman

Last week the Federal Reserve released the results of the latest Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial report on the assets and liabilities of American households. The bottom line is that there has been basically no wealth creation at all since the turn of the millennium: the net worth of the average American household, adjusted for inflation, is lower now than it was in 2001.

At one level this should come as no surprise. For most of the last decade America was a nation of borrowers and spenders, not savers. The personal savings rate dropped from 9 percent in the 1980s to 5 percent in the 1990s, to just 0.6 percent from 2005 to 2007, and household debt grew much faster than personal income. Why should we have expected our net worth to go up?

Here you can see the “growth” graph of Dow since 1966.

May Allah grant us Halal bucks

HalalBucks.com offers professional training and consultation for small businesses, from marketing to strategic thinking.

Hamza & Hoda’s Story:

We had grown up our whole lives hearing that the only way you can own a house is by getting an interest based mortgage. When we learned about the evils of interest and how Allaah condemns those who deal with it, we assumed that we would be stuck renting the rest of our lives. So we began our quest searching for a way to purchase a home Islamically. We investigated Islamic financing institutions, but we didn’t feel comfortable with that route after doing our research, so we eventually devised our own method of home buying that is simple and easy. Within a short period of time, we found our home and we were able to purchase it with a legal contract with a zero percent interest rate. Many people told us it couldn’t be done, but alhamdulillaah, by the Will of Allaah, we did it. After we moved in, our friends and family starting asking us how we did it so decided to write an ebook of our story, detailing all of the steps we took along with research of current trends and economic situations, copies our legal documents, sample letters, and an interactive budget calculator. Our ebook is directed to all people who want to stay away from interest, not just Muslims. We want to start a revolution of no interest to give the people freedom in their lives from endless debt.

For more details, attend the event!

About The Speaker:

Humza Igram is an accounting and art major and is currently the Director of Technology of Cedar Graphics, Inc., a Muslim-owned communications solutions and commercial printing company in Iowa.

Hoda Elkassem is a pharmacist and currently a work-at-home mom who creates information products and writes children’s books.

Together, Humza and Hoda have three kids, published one Islamic children’s book under Muslim Tree, another book on Islamic investments and interest-free home financing under Know Interest, and are working to education and aide our Muslim American/Canadian community to live an Islamic life. Both Humza and Hoda were born and raised in North America (Humza in the US and Hoda in Canada), and fully experienced what it is like to live as Muslims in the west, which led them to work to abide by their Islamic principles, despite the pressures to do the opposite.

HOST: HalalBucks.com
EVENT: How we bought a house without interest
DATE & TIME: Sunday, June 22nd at 12:00pm Pacific
Alhamdulillah, the recording is made available by generous sponsors of HalfDate.com

Disclaimer: Consult a professional before you try any of these materials.

An interview with co-author sister Hoda conducted by MuslimahMoneyMatters