Wealth of Muslims
“Your weakness will destroy everything and everyone you love.
If you want to protect yourself, your family, and fellow human beings,
you must grow Stronger in every way.” -Umar Akram
By the end of this read, you will gain:
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Bismillah hir Rahman Nirrahim
0 - The Halal Paradox
Halal seems restrictive and ineffective at accumulating vast amounts of wealth and power,
On the other hand, the ‘Do whatever it takes’ approach appears to be very effective.
But in truth, Halal is a secret word for barakah which in turn is a secret word for Sustainability.
And if anyone hopes to grow wealthy and powerful for a very long time,
Spanning across generations and centuries, then ladies & gentlemen,
Halah, is the way to go.
Sustainability is gained by exclusively focusing on Value and Trust.
There is no human, who wouldn't choose to buy forever from an individual or a company that is known for its Quality and Trust.
Every human wants to deal with Competent, Trustworthy people and organizations,
be it a business or a government.
On the other side of the ring, the “do whatever it takes” approach is clearly visible in the current world of business,
approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. (check references)
In 2020, the average lifespan of a company on Standard and Poor's 500 Index was just over 21 years, compared with 32 years in 1965. (check references)
A recent study by McKinsey found that the average lifespan of companies listed in Standard & Poor’s 500 was 61 years in 1958. Today, it is less than 18 years old. McKinsey believes that, in 2027, 75% of the companies currently quoted on the S&P 500 will have disappeared.?
Businesses scarcely fail due to a lack of resources,
businesses fail due to a lack of human capital, such as diminishing will, incentive, trust, quality of work, and value,
Hence a diminishing organization.
It can always be tracked back to a bad policy, a bad practice, a bad decision, etc… that causes the negative chain of events leading to the death of a business or government.
A business that exclusively focuses on delivering Quality, Value & Trust, will always make the right choices.
Note: Global Technological evolution and failure to adapt is also a cause,
But a focus on the delivery of Quality and customer satisfaction will always push a company to get better and evolve with essential adaptations of valuable technology.
You can make money in many ways,
But if you want to grow big and make it all last,
Halal is ‘the way’.
“Halal is nothing but a Truthful - Quality, Trust & Value based way of building Wealth.”?
-Umar Akram
You don't need sly & fancy ways to make money, build wealth and power,
You don't need creative accounting to delude yourself and others, You don’t need fancy lawyer and complex policies & agreements, You don't need sly strategies to figure out ways to minimize expenses at the expense of everything and everyone,
You don't need to sell your soul for a few measly billions or trillions or even infinite wealth.
For Integrity and inner peace can’t be brought, even in exchange for the whole universe.
To earn Infinite wealth, the Halal and Truthful way is the most effective.
“Trust is the True Human Currency.” If you lose that, you lose it all.
Just Remember, Halal = Sustainable Success at a great global scale across lifetimes.?
Halal is literally, Allah guiding & looking out for you in the now and in all of the future,
The sooner you understand this, the sooner you will……………..
1 - Survive and Thrive
Muslims around the world like all people, make money and build up capital from one or more of the following ways:
According to a study, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%), and Jews (1.1%). According to the same study it was found that adherents under the classification "Irreligion", or other religions, hold about 34.8% of the total global wealth. @wikipedia
Some Muslims and Islamic nations are wealthy,
But are weaker in standing, compared to others on the global stage. And hence will need greater amounts of wealth, and ownership in major institutions around the world to command respect and have a meaningful say in matters of importance, Globally.
Strength, Power, and Freedom are Vital for any being or group to survive and thrive.
Without it, they will be destroyed and wiped off.
As is the nature of being in this world.
The Strong and Intelligent wins the most and stands the chance to keep winning and getting stronger
A man must first be Strong and then choose to control and discipline himself and exercise his strength in service of the good.
The same is true for a group.
Strength is an Absolute necessity.
Strength in every way
To measure the strength and power of a Group, here are the metrics:
Muslims must build this strength to Protect and to provide for the Ummah.
“The strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, but there is goodness in both of them” (Sahih Muslim, Book 46, Number 52)
With that clarified, Let's focus on How to build Economic strength.
Wealth metrics to measure:
1
Income - Measured annually
Number of income streams?
Amount of income from each stream
2
Equity
Percentage of Ownership in businesses and other organizations.
3
Assets
Measured by its current market price
Performance and efficiency metrics
4
Votes (% Decision-making power)
Probably the most important metric,
Higher the votes, higher your control and say in all the matters of importance in that particular organization)
Consider this a “GAME OF ASSETS”
Your goal is to collect as many high-value assets as you can and then more.
In a capitalist world, the better player keeps winning more and more.
We must get better and be the best players.
?
This takes a Deep Understanding of Economics, Finance, Business, Human Psychology, Governance & policy
Aka. “How the world really works and how Human beings really function”.
With Zero assumptions and Zero idealism, one must first be a stone-cold observer of people and things,
This will unlock a deep sense of detachment that is essential for any human to reach a mental state essential to develop the intellect and temperament vital to understand Reality.
Once you see the reality, all your naive and idealistic thoughts and beliefs collapse and fade away.
With this newly gained clarity, you are halfway there.
The other half is in getting creative and connective within the bounds of what is right and Halal, to maximize the number and the quality of assets you own. Hence Islamic Finance.
And you will need some…………
2 - Guidance for Muslims
1
Education
Economic & Financial Literacy
The biggest killer of people is a lack of Education, Knowledge, and Understanding. To grow wealthy, you must understand how money works and what it actually is.
Only then will you be able to do anything effective.
Also, there are many books, videos, and teachers out there who are truly great and I highly recommend you go through my list of recommendations to get started.
Most importantly, we need philanthropy of skills and Education, not just some measly money,
When the skilled and educated among us, teach and guide the ones without, That will bring about a great transformation of Muslims.
We need such volunteers and we need such initiatives organized locally and around the world.
2
Purge your Lies.
The second greatest, probably the greatest cause of poverty or lack is False beliefs. Your mind is cluttered with all the lies in the world,
And these are not just any lies, these are the most well-sounding and well-meaning lies and falsehoods that we cling to for comfort. And we actively sacrifice true long-term comfort of productivity and growth for momentary short-term comfort sprouting from the lies we don't know to be lies or don't want to be disproven, fearing a collapse to the unknown.
You must sacrifice this state so you can be freed from it and elevate to a higher one.
This is possible by first becoming a blank slate by throwing away all of your beliefs like the apple basket method of René Descartes and then educating yourself,
observing and learning what is objectively true, and only picking up beliefs that make you stronger.
This way you can cause your own Rebirth.
3
Take Risks and Aim high.
Don't be afraid of taking calculated risks and aiming as high as you can.
“Do not fear poverty, Allah will provide”.
“Do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them,” [Quran 6:151].
Allah is the Great provider.
When Allah says he will provide, who are you to fear?
Who are you to not do your best and aim for the Absolute highest of peaks you can see?
If you have Big dreams and ambitions (pure, beneficial, and halal) they are from Allah.
Who are you to not strive for the best?
The Ummah needs you and your Strength, Your support, your skills, your knowledge, your efforts, your influence, and your power.
All are great blessings from Allah,
But also great tests.
Allah will bless you with great Wealth and Power so you can become the hand through which he protects and provides for the ummah and the entire humanity.
Take the Risks,
Climb the highs,
And Never give up. Allah is always with you.
4
Connect and Unite.
Succeeding alone is no success at all.
Take your Muslim brothers and sisters with you, What's the point of reaching the peak of wealth and power, if all you see around are wolves and hyenas drooling at your stash and waiting to snatch at a point of your weakness and vulnerability?
“TRUST”
Trust is the Original Human Currency.
Trust is the blood that runs in the veins of society and civilization.
Surround yourself with people you can Trust no matter what. Family, Friends, and Fellow Muslim Brothers and Sisters.
Everyone you do business with Must be Trustworthy.
Life's too short to live in misery and too long when it gets miserable.
The answer is “COMMUNITY”
There is great wisdom in Islamic practices of namaz, jamaat, and community gatherings,
as these activities bind us together and create a brotherhood.
The lessons are clear,
The best acts of philanthropy go beyond giving just money,
Instead, teach them to fish and partner up to create a fishing empire together.
“Growing Stronger together is the only way.”
5
领英推荐
Wealth Management
It is just not enough to make money, You must grow, compound, and protect it,
The best found and tested ways to do this are:
With a portfolio designed for the risk-taking of the investor or institution.
When you invest shrewdly, there is no risk of capital loss.
In a long enough time frame, the investments will bear fruits.
Compounding the wealth at 10% to 30%+ annually is very achievable with these investment methodologies.
Given that it’s done by a Truthful, Trustworthy, Competent, Patient, and Tough individual and team.?
Finally the most important Word: “INCENTIVE”
To understand or predict an outcome, all you have to do is look at the incentives.
All of human behavior in life, business, and governance comes down to the incentive structure in place.
To survive and thrive, grow stronger and command respect, or even have the ability to do good and fight evil, Muslims and their leaders must gain a deep understanding of the following:
Judge every investment you make on its intrinsic value and the incentive structure.
Merging logical numeric research with psychological observations and conclusions.
Now let's take a look at the……
3 - Economics of an Economy
Governments run on taxes,
Taxes come from businesses,
And from salaries of individuals which also stems from business.
Hence, Businesses are the lifeblood of an economy?
Businesses make money by selling products and services to people and organizations like government agencies and other businesses.
A country makes money from exports of products and services, which again are produced by businesses.
Everything in an economy comes down to transactions,
The Greater the amount of productivity, the greater the sales, revenue, and taxes paid.
The greater the GDP and exports of the country, the greater the reserves and surplus of money.
Everything boils down to the Productivity of individuals and businesses creating & delivering a valuable product or service that others are willing to pay for.
Everything is perfectly functional & sustainable (halal)
Until you inject one parasite - ‘Interest’
And another - The fractional reserve system of banking
And another - delinked currency
And Another - easy money printers
An Economy is only as strong as its weakest point.
The current economic system is by design Unstable and rocky, With busts and booms, interest cycles, ever-rising credit & debts, diminishing cash, and a disproportionate rise in inflation vs income.
All leading to ever-growing stress and strain on the people.
What is the solution?
Fixing this grand mess with bailouts, handouts, and crazy money printing so it can swing back to a huge mess in just a few years?
I think not.
The real solution is
“A better Economic system”
A combination of traditional and modern ways:
There are some alternatives to the current economic system out there:
Resource-based economy
And many more under research and development.
We know these systems work as we have seen and experienced them in the past.
But in the current way of the world, there is no incentive for any Government to change.
So now what?
History provides an insight,
With time, the credit and inflation rise will in turn give rise to an unaffordability crisis.
And when that crisis arrives, there will be no fix without a revolution,
With that revolution comes violence, famine, deaths and a great struggle to rebuild, reorganize and re-civilize.
Now with the new government in place,
Therein repeats the cycle of life.
How hopeless it all seems.
But there is a way,
A wonderful but uncomfortable way that asks a lot out of us but will deliver now and forever.
Which is……
5 - The Way Beyond
1
The System Design
Whatever you wish this world was like,
Whatever your ideal version of it,
Well, It doesn't exist.
And there is no fixing Humans or life on Earth.
No matter what you do, it all swings back as it's the circle of life.
But
“We have what we have, and must design new and better ways and systems to maximize the quality of our lives.” - Umar Akram
“Don’t get hung up on your views of how things “should” be because you will miss out on learning how they really are. It’s important not to let our biases stand in the way of our objectivity. To get good results, we need to be analytical rather than emotional.” — Ray Dalio
With reality in mind, There are only two ways to go,
1 - Entering the current system of the world and succeeding within it.
or/and
2 - A group of people setting up a ‘community’ with its own education & economic system,
Its self-sustaining supply chain of food and essentials,
But are also involved in the global business and financial markets,
Essentially free from the clutches of the volatile economy of their country.
2
The Approach
No matter where you live, no matter the government, no matter the economic system, No matter what, we win and we keep growing stronger in every way.
This is the approach we need.
The rules:
The Wealth Management system is our key ingredient.
Governments and Central banks can freeze accounts and assets without evidence, all in the name of suspicion and this is a huge advantage they have over us all.
But if these assets are linked to:
Then they are incentivized to obey the “do not disturb” sign.
You can use these strings to build a fairly stable and fortified Business Empire.
Most of them are halal and sustainable (points? 1 to 4)
The haram ways are unethical & unsustainable anyway (points 5 & 6)
Without these incentives, people will find ways to drag down the wealth of others,
In greed, jealousy, or hatred.
Never underestimate incentives - Fear, Desire, Greed, Disgust & Compulsion.
Conclusion:
If Muslims and Muslim leaders decide to follow the path of Strength, Power, and Freedom, with pure intentions and sheer will, they will command respect and a major say in the local, national, and global decisions that will affect them and humanity.
However, if they continue stumbling, they will have failed this test Allah put upon them.
And as a result, Muslims won't be able to protect themselves against the growing discrimination and hatred.
With the rise of mass Surveillance and remote control technology coupled with Sheltered and isolated world leaders who are disconnected from reality and oblivious to the pain of the masses,
All leading to diminishing rights, fading democracy, and the rise of multi-flavored authoritarianism and radicalism.
The only hope for the Muslims and all of Humanity is Strength in every way and UNITY.
Because no matter how good someone or something is, When it becomes weak, it perishes.
So is the law of the universe created by Allah.
So let's not just pray to Allah and keep faltering on the same old path, but change and Actively work towards carving new uncomfortable but high paths towards Strength, wealth, power, and freedom.?
-The End-
“Connect all the dots from everything you read, take what is useful, and carve a way for yourself.”?
Ending now, I will leave you with this:
"All the secrets you need to know about living a successful life can fit in a small piece of paper"
I wish you all great success, meaningful lives, meaningful work & meaningful relationships.
Aameen, Allah Hafiz
By? -? Umar Akram
Umar Akram [email protected]
@iamumarakram on all social media
References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340382049_GLOBAL_HALAL_INDUSTRY_REALITIES_AND_OPPORTUNITIES
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