Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Fifth Fascicle

dirhams of silver,” he said.
[It is stated as follows in the twenty-fifth page of the (Turkish)
book entitled Bey’ ve Şirâ Risâlesi Şerhi, which is a commentary
made by Ismâ’il bin Osmân (’Uthmân) to the book entitled Bey’
ve Şirâ Risâlesi and written by Hamzâ Efendi ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih’: “Seventhly, cheating someone by selling something for an
exorbitant price should be avoided. For, if you buy something that
is being sold for ten liras in the market by paying eleven liras for it,
you have been cheated by a deceit termed ghaben-i-fâhish, i.e.
extortionate cheating. A customer who has been cheated
extortionately by being lied to may go back on the sale he has
made.”]
2– Goods offered for sale by poor people should be bought by
paying more than they are worth. That will make them happy. For
example, much money should be paid for woollen threads spun by
widowed women and for fruit sold by children. There is more
thawâb in this kind of support given to working people than in
giving alms. People who provide support of this sort will attain the
blessings which Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ invoked
on them. For, the Messenger of Allah invoked: “May Allâhu ta’âlâ
show mercy to those who make things easy in their buying and
selling!” However, there is no thawâb in being cheated as the
goods are being bought from the rich merchant; nor is it something
good. It means a waste of property. On the contrary, it is necessary
to bargain and buy cheaply. Imâm Hasan and Huseyn ‘radiy-
Allâhu ’anhumâ’ would bargain and try to buy cheaply whenever
they were to make a purchase. When they were asked, “You give
thousands of dirhams as alms daily. Why do you exert yourselves
bargaining for such a long time?” they would reply, “We give all
the alms for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ. It would be little no matter
how much we give. But being cheated in buying and selling
bespeaks deficiency in one’s reason and property.”
3– Ihsân in receiving money from the customer may be done in
three ways: Kindness should be shown by making some reduction in
the price. Worn-out, dirty bills and coins should be accepted. Sales
on credit should be made for the same prices as would be charged
for those made on the on-the-spot payment. [If it is stipulated as a
condition to raise the price in case the sale should be made on
credit, the bey’ (sale) will be fâsid. It will be harâm.] Rasûlullah
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “People who offer easy ways
will be shown easy ways in everything they do, by Allâhu ta’âlâ.”
The greatest and the most valuable ihsân is to sell on credit to poor
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