Al Salam Alaikum 🌱 

Last week, I watched a Muslim entrepreneur pitch to investors.

Brilliant idea.

Solid execution.

But when the questions started flying about “maximizing shareholder value” and “aggressive scaling,” I watched him slowly morph into someone else entirely.

By the end of the meeting, he was speaking their language.

Their metrics.

Their timeline.

Their definition of success.

He got the funding. But something else got lost in translation.

This is what happens when we let Wall Street write the rules of our entrepreneurial paths.

🎮️ The Problem: We’re Playing Someone Else’s Game

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most of us learned entrepreneurship from the same playbook that created the very system we’re trying to change.

We memorized the mantras:

• “Move fast and break things”

• “Growth at all costs”

• “Time is money”

• “Fail fast, fail often”

• “Maximize shareholder value”

But nowhere in that playbook does it mention:

• What happens to your soul when you “break things”

• Whose communities get destroyed by your “aggressive scaling”

• How chasing other people’s timelines disconnects you from divine timing

• What “failure” even means when your rizq is written by Allah (SWT)

🧠 Decolonize Your Entrepreneurial Mind

Step 1: Check Your Intentions

Before every major decision, ask yourself:

• Am I doing this for Allah (SWT) or for my ego?

• Will this serve my community or just my bank account?

• Am I seeking recognition and status, or genuine impact?

• If no one ever knew about this success, would I still want it?

Step 2: Audit Your Success Metrics

Stop measuring your worth by:

• How fast you scale

• How much you raise

• How many hours you work

• How “disruptive” you are

Start measuring by:

• How much barakah your work generates

• Whether your business brings you closer to Allah (SWT)

• How your tawfeeq lifts your community

• If you can sleep peacefully knowing your methods align with your values

Step 3: Redefine Risk

Wall Street says: “Take calculated risks for maximum return.”

Faith says: “The biggest risk is compromising your principles for profit.”

When you truly believe your rizq is written, you stop making desperate decisions. You can turn down funding that comes with strings attached. You can choose partners based on character, not capital.

Step 4: Embrace Islamic Business Principles

• Mutual Consent: Every transaction should genuinely benefit all parties.

• Transparency: Full disclosure, no hidden agendas.

• Justice: Fair pricing, fair treatment, fair distribution of wealth.

• Stewardship: You’re managing resources, not hoarding them.

✏️ The Education Gap We Need To Fill

Here’s what’s missing from every MBA program, accelerator, and business books:

Faith-based entrepreneurship education.

We need curricula that teach:

• How to structure businesses according to Islamic principles

• How to maintain your values when everyone around you is compromising theirs

You don’t need to choose between faith and entrepreneurship.

You need to stop letting other people define what successful, faith-based entrepreneurship looks like.

Your ancestors built empires on Islamic business principles. They funded the mission in its early days and spread of Islam, traded across continents, created wealth for entire communities, and never had to check their values at the door.

That blueprint still works. But only if you’re brave enough to throw out the colonized playbook and follow Divine revelation and the Prophetic Sunnah.

Before you check any business metrics, social media, or competitor updates this weekend, spend 10 minutes after Fajr asking yourself: “What would my business look like if I designed it purely to serve Allah (SWT) and benefit my community?”

Write down whatever comes to mind- no editing, no practicality checks. The simple exercise will reveal how much Wall Street’s rulebook has been clouding your vision.

🤲 Closing Dua

“Ya Allah, show us the value of what You’ve already given us. Help us to use our health, time, wealth, knowledge, and relationships in ways that bring benefit to others and draw us closer to You. Put barakah in our efforts and make us among those whose leverage multiplies goodness in both worlds.”

Ameen