Muslims have a rich and lengthy history of being the torchbearers of two-thirds of the world. It was Islam that enlightened many parts of the world as Muslims spread across the global village. Not only did Muslims prosper, but whole societies were enriched by the Islamic way of life. It was a rule of justice and knowledge, characterized by the Islamic economy.
From the blessings of Allahﷻ was that Muslims were at the forefront of change, innovation in dunya matters, discoveries and collaboration; striving to improve the condition of societies. All of this was connected to their level of obedience to Allahﷻ, but as Muslims slowly forgot about Allahﷻ, Allahﷻ made them forget about themselves. We see clearly today how the ummah has completely lost their way.
Allahﷻ clearly informs Muslims that He has chosen for mankind Islam as a way of life, making it superior to all other ways of life. We must make a clear caveat though: Islam is free from the actions of Muslims if they are not in harmony with it. In the Muslim consumer market, the actions of Muslims who have strayed from the straight path, have been adopted as the standard for what they term as “Islamic Branding.” This is the farthest from the truth.
The foundational blocks of branding, some of which include psychology, anthropology, business, sociology, communication and even ideology, were laid from the time of the initial inhabitants of the dunya. The concept of branding as we know it today has been led predominantly by the kufaar who have concentrated their efforts toward a consumerist-materialist-capitalist model, making people believe that this is synonymous with the concept of branding. So two sprouts of very different belief systems and worldviews have become apparent—one ignoring the purpose of life (the Kufaar) whilst the other embraces it (Islam). The former being propagated today as the truth.
Brand Management experts have formulated workable models in order for businesses to benefit from the consumer market. There has been mainly two paradigms: Positivist and Constructivist (also known as Interpretive). These, according to Western thought, spanned over three periods: Company/sender focused (1985–92), Human/receiver focused (1993–99) and Cultural/context focused (2000 and beyond). Over this period, seven brand approaches became apparent and resulted in workable models: The economic approach, the identity approach (comes under Positivist, Company/sender focused); the consumer-based approach, the personality approach (comes under Positivist, Human/receiver focused); the relational approach, the community approach and the cultural approach (comes under Constructivist, Cultural/context focused). In short, what this means is that paradigms and schools of thought have been developed in branding that—although they may have been successful and in line with Capitalist objectives—they all fail in addressing Islamic branding.
So what is Islamic branding?
Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire—of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return.—Qur’an 3:14
A Muslim brand can never be an Islamic brand unless and until it strictly adheres to the Islamic way of life. Otherwise, it remains a Muslim owned brand because a Muslim businessman is subject to sin/err and follow desires, whereas Islam is a perfect way of life. Islamic Branding, therefore, is a sharia governed Muslim owned brand with an Islamic business model that includes a deliberate halaal dimension seeking to acquire profit in both the dunya and the akhirah, while fulfilling its Islamic rights, obligations and overall purpose in life which includes being instrumental in the realization of the higher, established Islamic objectives; to please Allah with the aim for success in the akhirah.
Why Islamic branding?
By definition, it constitutes features unique to the Islamic way of life, such as:
The niyah to attain success in both the dunya and akhirah Strives for tayib and virtuous deeds with the niyah to please Allahﷻ Fosters brotherly relationships with stakeholders and customers Dawah to tawheed and the correct aqidah, upon the manhaj of the Salaf Establishes amr al ma’ruf nahi al-munkar in the organization The display of praiseworthy akhlaaq and adaab from stakeholders Considers maslahah in dealing with competitors Enjoins and facilitate ubudiyah in the workplace Products/Services that are mabroor and halaal Business operations performed with ikhlaas Respect others’ rights and give them their haqq Content with the qadr of rizq
Conclusion
Getting back to becoming leaders of mankind again, requires individual and collective striving that can only start with purification. Success in Islam is a multidimensional approach of which the primary objective is to please Allahﷻ and to strive for Jannah. The goal is to set up and facilitate frameworks of purity within your Islamic business as part of an Islamic brand model and by doing so, we hope to fulfill Islamic branding. Moreover, utilizing this system is a surefire way for your brand to become a means of success for you, your stakeholders, your employees and your customers insh’ Allah.