Virtuous Life

Virtuous Life is a project brought into being within UTESAV and constitutes the main framework under which UTESAV’s social and cultural activities are carried out. This project aims to place the concept of “virtue”, a higher level of moral standards, at the centre of human life and to make the maxim of a virtuous life a fundamental point of reference among businesspeople. Believing that the pillars of a civilization rest upon merit and virtue, UTESAV carries out various activities within the scope of the project in order to spread goodness and what is good, guided by the principle of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. Foremost among these activities are the Qur’an Gatherings lessons, which began in 2012 and still continue. In these lessons, launched with the aim of keeping alive the noble hadith “seeking knowledge is obligatory from the cradle to the grave” and of not forgetting that, whatever our title may be, we are all students in this world, we strive to attain the knowledge that will make our lives meaningful. So that more people may benefit from these lessons, a live broadcast is held every week on the Virtuous Life YouTube page.

Another activity within the scope of the project is the Virtuous Businessman School training programmes. Islam has regarded a person’s work for “lawful sustenance” as an act of worship and has characterized engaging in economic activity for this purpose as an element of social welfare, an indispensable part of life and a manifestation of personal virtue. For social life to develop in a healthy manner, it is necessary to bring the model of the virtuous person to the fore in business life. In this framework, moral rules are needed so that business life may be conducted successfully and healthily.

The Virtuous Businessman School, brought into being by UTESAV at the end of 2017, consists of a chain of training programmes that bring our businesspeople, who face the problems of life directly, together with scholars competent in their fields, with the aim of evaluating the ethics of business and trade — of which our tradition holds the finest examples — within the framework of today’s needs.

The training programmes we hold in line with these aims cover the Spirit of MÜSİAD, with content on why MÜSİAD was founded and what its founding codes contain; Interest-Free Financial Transactions, in which we address the Islamic finance model that prioritizes social justice and is increasingly accepted around the world by other countries as well as by Muslim countries; Qard al-Hasan, which has been turned into a fund within MÜSİAD and which the Qur’an describes as a “beautiful loan”; Business Ethics, which will give momentum to moral standing in the various dealings of business life; the Culture of Partnership, in which the fundamental elements of sustaining a partnership successfully are evaluated and which MÜSİAD has always kept at the forefront; and the Virtuous Businessman Model, which gives priority to the Muslim businessperson acting in awareness of their responsibilities towards their counterparts in business life, along with many other subjects addressing the needs of businesspeople.