Chapter 1: Introduction to Islamic Business and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

What are business and entrepreneurship in Islam? It is a rarely spoken subject, but Islam is all about value creation, and entrepreneurship is just a means to an end. Our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was an entrepreneur. He was someone who generated true value in the world around him, not only through his company; but the way he did it. Creating a startup or company is not Islam’s main aim, but more importantly, how you accomplish it and what you end up doing with the returns from it. Business and entrepreneurship are the core of all Islamic values because it is all about creating value. Business and entrepreneurship create value for social, wealth creation, and economic growth. Business and entrepreneurship also give financial empowerment, enabling people to pass it on. As an entrepreneur, to improve their lives and society as a whole, one must create value for their customers. Therefore, business and entrepreneurship are fields needed to be explored by anyone. It is important for the development of religion, nation, and country. Businessmen or entrepreneurs are the ones who take the risk of starting or setting up a business or enterprise and working on it. Because of the increasingly dynamic business environment in which culture and religion are important for developing business relationships, Islamic business and entrepreneurship is a topic of business management study. This book’s main goal is to see issues and trends of business and entrepreneurship from an Islamic perspective.