ABSTRACT
Islam encourages work in general, and trade and commerce in particular. The Quran states: God has made business lawful for you', and the Prophet Mohammad says: Nine tenths of sustenance is in commerce'. Indeed, Mohammad was himself engaged in commerce before prophet-hood. This chapter introduces a simplification of a model prepared by Dr Mourad Sharif from Algeria that links Islamic ethics to a firm's competitive advantage. It also explores how Islamic ethics could contribute to a firm's success. Islam possesses a religious law called Shariah which governs the life of Muslims and which Muslims consider to be the embodiment of the will of God. This law, which caters to the needs of Islamic society, is essentially preventative and is not based on harsh punishment except as a last resort. The Shariah rules governing commerce can be described as the conditions and descriptions which those engaged in commerce must abide by and which are Shariah-compliant.
