My Forex Learning Experience: Stars, Angels, Moon and Halal

My Forex Learning Experience: Stars, Angels, Moon and Halal 

by Warina Sushil A. Jukuy(Learn to Trade Free Workshop 11 January 2018 Marco Polo Hotel)

Resource speaker Ferdie Pabalan's testimony was so riveting because it is a narrative common to Filipinos. It was a "propelling" story that inspires listeners to dream big and fuels listeners to take chances with "sky-is-the-limit" possibilities securely fastened to Forex trading's safety belt of a mere 2% risk! If there is ever a mantra to immortalize the lesson, it is: monetize your risk!

On the screen flashed his 3 goals sketched in pencil which he envisioned when he was a newbie in a Forex Learning Trade workshop- just like us - but his happened two years ago,

He depicted a condo building, a Civic car, and a Montessori Institute plus an oddly conspicuous man chilling under a beach umbrella. Funny, the sketch was in black and white but my eyes colored it. :)

And the Ballroom vibrated with life when he flashed the AFTER photo slide onscreen, exclaims and gushes punctuated the red pointer highlighting an earth tone living room of his condo unit, his Civic Honda black car, and of his two kids in uniform lounging on a bench of Montessori: a resounding applause ensued. His SMART 3 goals achieved! Not just merely limned in pencil after 21 months!

Pabalan's resilience and ambition are anchored on familial values particularly for his two daughters who assessed and highly esteemed as they estimated his priceless net worth as their superhero Dad. When he asked them what Christmas gifts they'd like him to buy, the "bunso" replied that she'd like 3 stars and 4 angels. His eldest child opposed it because she pointed out it's too expensive. But the youngest said his Dad can afford it as in "kayang kaya yannn ni Daddy!" When Pabalan asked why stars and angels, the child answered that the stars would be to light up their homes and the angels would be divided one each for the siblings and two would be for Dad because he needs it for protection as he is always out to work. The eldest daughter's wish was the Moon to hold it in their hands and enjoy it as a toy, to which the bunso quipped "mas mahal kaya yan kesa sa stars!" Thus, the "Ate" relented by settling for stars too so they can all have two each.

Pabalan goals were for his kids' future and education. His kids ignited his goals, but Greg Secker fueled his dreams and galvanized his goals after it has gained momentum. And the fuel's brand is Forex!

Empowering dreams. Building bridges. Building brighter future. Powerful, positively charged slogans, the last is of the Greg Secker Foundation. These bring back to mind my Pagtabangan BaSulTa days penchant for advocacy slogans such as "Fueling Dreams, Lighting Up Hopes" for Pilipinas Shell Foundation's Youth Business Camp; and BRIDGE: Build relations, Initiate dialogues, Get engaged for Sulu multi-stakeholders.

"The focus is on what strategies work in the market today. I do not believe in teaching the almanac of trading, it's practically impossible. We will teach you what the most successful traders are doing today: how to keep the risk low and obviously how to monetise it." GREG SECKER. Btw, he was absent; he was only shown to us via a CNN interview video clip.

What he learned from his mentor Secker were some vital pointers which Pabalan enunciated to us with impressive wit and light humor. The wisdom resonates in my Muslim orientation bouncing off in my personal deen. Allow me to recap his helplessly practical tips: Take profit and stop loss. Protect your capital. Analyze: Up trending means Buy. Down trending means sell and buy back. Looks paradoxical yet sounds true. Remember do not be the stereotyped "emotional" Filipino if you do not want to err in your FOREX judgment. With a very static and volatile Forex trading, you would end up riding an emotional roller coaster that slides through the wavelengths of uphill and downhill turns of live infographs. After all, Pabalan did warn that to become a successful trader is "90% psychology and only 10% skills"- the latter merely a non-emotional ;) series of decisive mouse clicks.

Samer Musa Allong and I were two among five volunteers who answered Pabalan's question: Share to us your 3 S.M.A.R.T Goals for 2018. My answer was:

One: harness my unicorn product pyanggang and satti via an initial HALAL kiosk 

Two: A chain of HALAL kiosks into a Convention Center Resto with a greenhouse at the back to supply our communal organic herbs and spices;

Three: Give back as a sustainable social enterprise to generate job opportunities as a ripple effect. BUT in all these 3 goals it shall be achieved via halal and waqf principles. Bi idhnillaah.

Samer who shared ahead of me talked about poverty alleviation in impoverished Bangsamoro communities as the focal thrust of his three goals.

At the end of the free workshop, I was politely asked by an elderly if what do I think of the workshop. Reluctantly, I replied as politely, I posted what I think on my Fb wall. Samer said it is haram like gambling. The man countered that life is a gamble after all. Samer and I both gushed and chuckled but to us Muslims life is not a gamble. I was obliged to explain that what is forbidden like gambling, alcohol, adultery, senseless killing are done anyway out of human folly. But we have the choice to adhere to Islam as a way of life.

At 6:06pm to the workshop since 5pm today, I realized Forex promises cash gain but the loss is also a great possibility because if not Forex crashes down! More have to lose so that some could incur wins.

Facing Coach William (?) as per Pabalan's advice, I stated that anything that is FREE is an irresistible opportunity that was why we were there. But it must be a halal opportunity. Yes, who would not be interested with the 80% discount offer for a learning study offer to selected 20 testimonial graduates?! Especially, after listening to the success story of Pabalan. The dangling prospect of earning 2K to 4K dollars in 2 hours. The testimony that even his 69 yr old Mom can Forex trade so can his 5 year old daughter, too. Nevertheless, even at more than 400K undiscounted fees plunging down to a discounted price now at 85K in Manila is still unconscionable. Thinking about the 2% risk and monetizing such risk is inconceivable!

In the oxygen of liberal ideas, when in a dilemma between halal and haram, one just have to remember what to inhale and to exhale. Inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and all its impurities.

It is clear that in Forex trading of currencies: there is a delay, and the exchange is not done in the same sitting, thus, in such case it is regarded as a kind of riba-based transaction.

Now the challenge is how to remove the delay and to do it in one sitting to make it halal or permissible. Well, I must admit that my maverick idea would be tantamount to revolutionizing the existing Forex trade of currencies into a HALAL trade of currencies by a series of mouse clicks to buy and sell "control alt shift" to end the trade continuously in one sitting---IF and only IF your Mbps speed allows it. How I wish we, Muslims, could harness the principles of waqf and Islamic financing in order not to monetize our risk but to sanitize our perilous LOVE for money.

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RULING ON FOREX TRADING / INVESTMENT

It says in Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (19/171-174):

Dealing in currency, buying and selling, is permissible, but that is subject to the condition that the exchange be hand-to-hand if the currencies are different. If a person sells Libyan currency for American or Egyptian or whatever currency hand to hand, there is nothing wrong with that, such as if he buys dollars for Libyan currency hand to hand, exchanging it in one sitting, or he buys Egyptian or English currency etc for the Libyan or whatever currency hand to hand, there is nothing wrong with that. But if there is a delay, then it is not permissible, and if the exchange is not done in the same sitting, it is not permissible, because in that case it is regarded as a kind of riba-based transaction. So the exchange must take place in the same sitting, hand to hand, if the currencies are different. But if they are of the same kind, two conditions must be met: they should be of equal amounts and the exchange should take place in the same sitting, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Gold for gold, silver for silver…”

PERMISSIBLE IF:

Dealing in currencies is permissible so long as the exchange takes place in the same sitting as the contract is made. It is permissible to sell euros for dollars so long as the exchange takes place in the same sitting as the contract is made.

HARAM IF:

But when the deal is concerning the same type of currency, such as selling one dollar for two dollars, that is not permissible because it is a type of riba. In that case they should be of equal amounts and the exchange must take place in the same sitting as the contract if the exchange is concerning one type of currency.

EVIDENCE

The evidence for that is the report narrated by ‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, salt for salt, like for like, same for same, hand to hand. If the types are different then sell however you like, so long as it is hand to hand.” Narrated by Muslim, 1587 SOURCE: www.islamqa.com