The Excellence of Trade
Trade is a noble occupation in Islam. It is proven by the fact that the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- himself was a trader and he praised and prayed for blessing for the honest traders.
The Messenger of Allah was a trader
When he reached 25 years of his age, the Messenger of Allah went to trade to the country of Syam, bringing capital provided by Khadija -may Allah be pleased with her- , who, at that time, was not his wife yet. Ibn Ishaq said, ” At that time, Khadija, daughter of Khuwailid, was a woman entrepreneur with plenty of wealth and honorable position in society. She employed people to run her business with the profit-sharing system thus they also received some profits. Also at that time period, the Quraish people were famous as traders. When Khadjia heard about the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- (who was not yet a Messenger, -ed), about his honesty, trustworthiness, and excellent manners, she sent a messenger to him, to offer him to sell her goods to Syam, accompanied by a youth that was her slave named Maisara. She also offered him special reward that was not offered to other traders. The Messenger of Allah – peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- accepted her offer, and departed to Syam bringing her goods together with Maisara. ” (See: Sirah Ibn Hisyam, 187 – 188, cited from “Ar Rahiqul Makhtum”, 1/51)