When Greed Destroys a Nation: Lessons from the People of Shuʿayb

Qur’anic Insights
Written By Islamic History Today .

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious the Most Merciful


The people of Shuʿayb were a nation destroyed for cheating in business. The cause of their downfall was viewing every interaction through the lens of profit. This led to extremes in how they treated others. Similarly, modern society has also become obsessed with profit margins over honest transactions.

This is through the overcommercialisation of society, where every online interaction is a sponsorship opportunity as brands, content creators and businesses compete to sell products. This can lead to customer ethics being abandoned in favour of financial gain. This article explores today's culture of overcommercialisation and how it reflects the attitude of the people of Shuʿayb. 


The Nation of Madian: The Defrauders

The people of Madian were Arabs who lived in the country of Maan, which is Syria today. They were merchants who did not believe in Allah. They were known for cheating in business, by giving short measure, overpraising their goods beyond its worth and hiding its defects from customers. 

To deter them from their lying and cheating practices, Allah sent Prophet Shuʿayb عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ

to preach to them. He reminded them of Allah's favours and warned them against their actions.


He said:  “O my people! Worship Allah—you have no other god except Him. A clear proof has already come to you from your Lord. So give just measure and weight, do not defraud people of their property, nor spread corruption in the land after it has been set in order. This is for your own good, if you are ˹truly˺ believers.

7:85


Prophet Shu’ayb warned how previous nations perished due to their corruption. He

then advised them to establish prayer. This earned the mockery of the people, who did not understand the correlation between wealth and prayer.


They asked ˹sarcastically˺, “O Shuʿayb! Does your prayer command you that we should abandon what our forefathers worshipped or give up managing our wealth as we please? Indeed, you are such a tolerant, sensible man!”

11:87


The arrogant chiefs in the land rose against him and threatened the Prophet and his followers.


“O Shuʿayb! We will certainly expel you and your fellow believers from our land, unless you return to our faith.” He replied, “Even if we hate it?”

7:88


The people's refusal to repent sealed their fate. Shuʿayb’s final message to them was:


“O my people! Indeed, I have delivered to you the messages of my Lord and gave you sincere advice. How can I then grieve for those who chose to disbelieve?”

7:93


The people seized the belongings of Prophet Shuʿayb and his followers, driving them out of the city. In response, the Messenger turned to his Lord for help, and Allah's punishment descended upon the people of Madian. First, they were afflicted with an intense, scorching heat that left them in great distress.

Then, when they saw a cloud gathering overhead, they hoped it would bring relief. Instead, it brought thunderbolts and fire, while the earth beneath their feet shook violently. The wrongdoers perished in a state of terror.


Allah describes their end:


So they rejected him, and ˹so˺ were overtaken by the torment of the day of the ˹deadly˺ cloud.1 That was really a torment of a tremendous day.

And your Lord is certainly the Almighty, Most Merciful.

26:189-191


Over-Commercialisation of Modern Society: When Life Becomes A Giant Advertisement. 

The people of Madian were merchants who earned their wealth through trade, buying and selling. They gained a profit — rooted in injustice. They would cheat others, give less than what was due. Profit was the ultimate goal, and the consumer became an object to monetise. Rather than provide a high quality service, they lowered its quantity while charging the customer more.

Modern society has followed a similar path. One clear example is shrinkflation—the practice of reducing the size or quantity of a product, often without clearly informing consumers. The result is that customers pay the same, or even higher, prices while receiving less than before.

In March 2026, German chocolatier Mondelēz which produces the Milka bar lost a lawsuit after cutting back on the amount of chocolate they sold, from 100g to 90g while keeping their wrapper the same. They were accused of misleading customers who were not informed of the change. The main complaint was the deception and breach of trust. UK consumer group Which? callied it a sneaky tactic. (Völk, 2026)

This opens up a broader conversation on whether the products we buy genuinely live up to the quality and standards they claim to offer. In today's age, profit accumulation is the main goal, and the consequences lead to declining quantity and quality, rising costs, deceptive marketing tricks and low customer trust. 

Social media’s rise has intensified this concern as it has become an online eco-system for the merchant class. Any user can start a business, sell a product or become an influencer through a strong support base. 

With enough followers, influencers and content creators can receive branded sponsorships and paid collaborations in order to monetise their content. While this in itself is not a problem, it can lead to every interaction with customers being motivated purely by profit. This can override ethical concerns, leading to future scandal and public outcry.

When every online personality and brand is pushing affiliate links, sponsored products and online courses, how much of what we’re being advertised is good quality - and how much is low quality products with good marketing? In an over-commercialised culture, the main goal  is ensuring a product sells, regardless of the means or the ethics. 

This year, several online brands came under fire for using AI-generated influencers to promote their products, prompting calls for greater transparency. The BBC reported that a fashion brand and an electronics company used AI influencers to post product reviews and share seemingly personal experiences with their brands. However, neither company disclosed that these individuals were, in fact, AI-generated.

This has created concerns about creating a ‘misleading impression of the product being advertised.’ The current guidelines around AI advertising do not strictly prohibit brands from posting AI generated content without disclosing it. In August 2026, the EU plans to unveil its Artificial Intelligence Act which requires AI and deepfake images to be labelled as such. (Marsh, 2026)


The concern isn't only artificial intelligence combined with advertising but the lack of transparency when marketing a product. In a secular world, religious and moral framings are considered unrelated to business practices. This mirrors the people of Madian’s response who saw no relevance between prayer and business transactions. 

The relevance of observing prayer creates God consciousness that lowers greed, corruption and loving this world. When financial transactions are separated from worship, it creates a heedlessness and excessive focus on money. This is why in Surah Al-Jumu'ah Allah called out the people who left Friday prayer to chase a caravan, leaving the Prophet’s khutbah (speech). They were advised to focus on the remembrance of Allah over financial transactions. This shows the importance of the spiritual over the material realm.  


When they saw the fanfare along with the caravan, they ˹almost all˺ flocked to it, leaving you ˹O Prophet˺ standing ˹on the pulpit˺. Say, “What is with Allah is far better than amusement and merchandise. And Allah is the Best Provider.”

62:11


Returning to the Right Way: Being Just in Financial Dealings

Being just in financial dealings is the priority of every merchant, ensuring that society flourishes. Throughout history, Islamic civilisation produced traders who built reputations through honesty, fair dealing, quality craftsmanship and keeping their word. For them, wealth was a means – not the measure of success. This is why the Prophet ﷺ warned about the biggest trial our society will face:


"Indeed there is a fitnah for every Ummah, and the Fitnah for my Ummah is wealth."

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2336


In our contemporary age, money has become the god of the modern world, in which the ruling merchant class has led the world into instability. This is explained by Ahmed Paul Keeler in ‘Rethinking Islam and the West'. He describes how Islamic and Christian society were once in harmony when following the Platonic triad where the scholar embodied intellect, the warrior represented anger and desire was personified by the merchant. This was the core of Plato’s teachings who argued that when intellect controlled anger and desire, there is harmony. (Keeler, 2019, 35)


The modern world is ruled by the merchant, whose overturning of Christianity silenced the scholar, while they utilised the warrior’s anger by financing war and chaos. Their quest for profit overrides ethical considerations that do not operate by religious framings. This is the liberal secular order that governs the world today. 

The fate of Madian’s people stresses the urgency of being just in our financial dealings and practices. The Prophet ﷺ himself was a merchant, but one of his qualities was being al-Amīn—the trustworthy. Being honest and transparent earns the respect of the people, ensuring barakah (blessings) in wealth and livelihood. People naturally become greedy when they fear poverty. Allah the Almighty warns this mentality is from Satan:


The Devil threatens you with ˹the prospect of˺ poverty and bids you to the shameful deed ˹of stinginess˺, while Allah promises you forgiveness and ˹great˺ bounties from Him. And Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.

2:268


Umar ibn Abdul Aziz was deeply concerned with being just with the wealth of people. During his reign he abolished the jiziyah (non-Muslim tax) which had been extended to new Muslims. The Umayyad administration feared losing revenue due to mass conversions to Islam, in an effort to bolster their finances they continued to tax new Muslims. 

Caliph Umar II reversed this decision and stated:


Verily Allah sent Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as a guide and not as a tax collector.

(as-Sallabi, 2011, 143)


This highlights the importance of obtaining wealth in a moral and sound way, which does not harm and do injustice to anyone. Our rizq (provision) has already been allocated to us by Allah. When greed is overpowered by contentment, it generates blessings and ease in our affairs, where a believer no longer fears poverty but is satisfied with what Allah has given him.


The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Wealth is not in having many possessions, but rather (true) wealth is feeling sufficiency in the soul."

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 6446.


Conclusion 

The people of Madian were destroyed due to a persistence in unjust business practices, rooted in a desire to hoard and accumulate wealth. The same mentality has trickled into our capitalist landscape. The overexposure and over-commercialisation of products has merged with social media, influencer culture and AI powered marketing. As Muslims, we must always consider ethical considerations in our dealings, be honest and treat others fairly. Justice is the foundation of commerce, which builds strong and harmonious communities. 

Research Resources

JazakAllahu khair for reading. Please benefit the ummah by sharing this knowledge. Feel free to download this article for offline reading or consult the bibliography below.

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