Muslim Banking

[mohsie]

Trade is not the same as profit.

Of course they are different. Trade is done with the AIM of making a profit. And sometimes, you don't get that profit. You could just break even, or even go into a loss. In the latter case, you have traded goods and/or services but not made a profit. So trading does not necessarily mean making profit.

Money is a way for everyone to trade their time, regardless of what their skill or talent is, since all services are necessary for the whole.

Exactly. That is what the profit is... it is a payment of the time you spent in for example, going all the way to the supplier to buy the goods, then bring it to your shop and make it available in smaller quantities for the consumers. So the profit is simply the payment for the time spent. Of course this profit shouldn't be extortionate, and should be justifiable, taking into consideration the expenses incurred, like transporting the goods from the warehouse to the shop.... as they say Time is Money

Profit puts one person at an advantage of another person, thus it is no longer trade.

Seems like you have a different definition of trade than what I learnt in school. Trade is the buying and selling of goods and/or services with the aim of making a profit. You may be involved in processing the goods/services in one way or another between the buying and the selling, even if it is just transporting it. The profit that one asks for is the payment for this processing. Again, of course it should be a reasonable amount.

It is a really bizzare thing, but profit makes everyone poorer.

How? Interest is the one that causes inflation. But in profit/loss sharing, there would be no inflation at all if everyone was honest enough to charge just the right amount of profit for their time.
... and dude, you are getting your stuff from a website titled "Be Happy and Free" ... what kind of info do you expect to get there? No offence, the guys there probably know what they are talking about... but the name seems to give a picture of a few guys who made a loss in business, and are p***ed off at the whole idea of trade and profit! That's the picture I get in my head!