ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION IN ISLAM

PRESENTED BY
AL-BALAGH FOUNDATION
 

"Whatever spoils given by Allah to His Messenger from townspeople belongs to Allah and to the Messenger, and to the nearest of kin, and to the orphans, and the indigent, and the wayfarer, so that it may not circulate amongst the rich of you. And what the Messenger gives you, take it then; but forsake what he forbids you. And venerate Allah, for He is stern in retribution." Holy Qur'an (59:7) 

"Were it my money I would have distributed it among them equally. But it is Allah's."

Imam Ali (a.s.)

PREFACE

Praise is due to Allah for His explicit and implicit favours. Peace and blessings are on the brilliant light, the giver of good tidings and warnings, our master Muhammad and on his infallible household and the righteous among his companions.

Today, the world appears to becoming more lost in self-generated chaoses economic problems take precedence over all other hardships and haunt the rulers of both the Eastern and Western blocks.

If the West suffers from high unemployment, high inflation...etc., the East complains of decline in production, shortages in the supply of the basic necessities of life... Both capitalism and socialism, including before being developed into communism, are not only retracting their theoretical slogans and renouncing their doctrinal principles, they are nearly perishing as each are riddled with ambiguities and shortcomings that have failed to address even the most fundamental issues of con temporary society.

Satellite states, like in the Arab world, have been dominated by the Western democracies and as a result, have been misled in setting up capitalistic systems or they have reluctantly turned tificsocialism. The result from both should announce their ideologies has been only bitter disappointment. Nothing has remained in their hands except the ashes of aping foreigners, which are being scattered by the piercing wind of the Islamic movement.

Both the East and the West have claimed their absolute dependence on the outcome of abstract theories, not only in the fields of material sciences but even in their ideological and philosophical views with regard to the universe, life and man. Each attach the uppermost importance to tangible experiments to prove facts and adopt the ensuing results. But, contrary to all their claimed developments, the examples of socialism and capitalism in practice have proved to be fiascoes, neither imparting happiness to man nor satisfying his basic needs, both physical and spiritual; in failing to achieve worldwide security or putting an end to global catastrophes, instead cultural erosion and moral collapse, continue to increase unabated, while there has been no sign of pinpointing the root causes of anxiety and psychological misery that is sweeping virtually all nations today.

As the Foundation presents this booklet about economic distribution in Islam, free of charge, it is a single proof of the greatness of Islam and looks forward to the day when humanity will shake worldly dust of fits communities and become arrayed with celestial robes to walk in the light of Islam, where happiness can be won in both this life and the Hereafter.

"...and to whomever Allah does not give light, he has no light."

Holy Qur'an (24:40)

Al-Balagh Foundation

ISLAM'S CARE FOR MAN'S LIVELIHOOD

Today, economic problems come at the head of man's present plights. They may be considered the root of life's problems that leave a pervasive impact on man's material interests and social conditions. The result has a direct effect not only on the life of the individual but also on the community and on the level of their material progress and civil development.

Economic conditions of the ummah (Muslim community), like elsewhere, have a backlash on security and stability, and consequently, advances in health, scientific gains and the process of achieving social justice. In Islam, life's stability is viewed as a base in up a committed Muslim community. Similarly, catering man's basic necessities is a factor conducive to solidifying piety and winning divine rewards in the Hereafter.

Present life and the Hereafter, economic welfare and moral and spiritual ascendancy are tightly connected together through a sound insight in having all-embracing way of life, which only Islam can offer.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

"And seek by means of what Allah has given you the future abode, and do not neglect your portion of this world,..."

Holy Qur'an (28:77)

A Prophetic tradition from the Holy Messenger (s.a.w.) pointedly records:

"He is not from us who gives up his worldly life in favour of his Hereafter, nor is he who gives up his Hereafter in favour of his worldly life."

The Prophet (s.a.w.) is further quoted to saying:

"How excellent is wealthiness in strengthening man's fear of Allah".[1]

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.), in interpreting the following verse,

(...Our Lord! grant us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the fire) (Qur'an 2:201) has elaborated that the good referred is associated together in seeking the pleasure of Allah and Paradise in the Hereafter and the provision and good morals in worldly life.[2]

Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) is quoted himself to have said:

"There is no good in him who does not like to collect wealth lawfully, by which he satisfies his needs, pays off his debts and keeps up his relations with his relatives".[3]

"How excellent is worldly life when it helps one to prepare oneself for the Hereafter".

"Wealthiness that prevents you from wronging others is better than poverty that leads you to do evils."[4]

The Prophet (s.a.w.) has also said:-

"O Lord! make bread blessed for us. Do not separate us form it. If it were not for bread we would not have kept up prayers, fast not have discharged our divine duties."[5]

"It is better for the faithful to wake in the morning or in the evening at the loss of a beloved one than to go in the morning or the evening plundering others' property. We take refuge in Allah from plundering others' possessions."[6]

Through these Islamic texts about the importance of the economic side of man's life, the role of the growth of money and wealth in a Muslim's life, in relation to his quest on earth can be seen. They present a clear understanding of Islam's concern with economic life and the necessity of fair distribution of wealth, and the providing of a satisfactory standard of living to every individual so as to keep his faith sound and his life stable.

Based on this plain concept is Islam's stress on man's managing his financial life and its concern to set up a fair economic system based on the belief in man's lawful right to satisfy his natural needs. These include providing an adequacy of foodstuff, clothing, residence and the rest of material, ideological and psychological needs on whose availability, the justice of an economic system and the betterment of the community's welfare depend.

Qur'anic ayahs (verses) and Prophetic traditions are bountiful in dealing with thc concerns of everyday economic life of individuals. So exactly and meticulously they attend to production, earnings, distribution of wealth, management of money and all aspects of the economy that they never fail to draw admiration of economists and political scientists the world over.

How excellently perfect is the Qur'anic concept of Islam's view of daily economic life in which it confirms man' s right to gain comfort. It is vividly expressed in this Qur'anic address to Adam (a.s.):

"Surely it is (ordained for you that you shall not be hungry therein nor bare of clothing."

Holy Qur'an (20:118)

Man's economic needs should be met, whether he himself, achieves this goal or someone else, be it an individual, a group of people or the state. The following verse enriches this concept:

"...so let them worship the Lord of this House, Who feeds them against hungry and gives them security against fear."

Holy Qur'an (106:3-4)

It makes it clearer and more positive the connection of Allah's worthiness of being worshipped to favouring man by providing his basic necessities of life. Tackling starvation and furnishing the basic economic needs of man, in the shadow of peace and security and is explained by this verse. It is a sacred feature of man's relationship with Allah and a stimulus to worship and submit to His will.

It is quite evident, in Islam's view, that the issues raised and questions emerging from thanksgiving, or to which worship is related, must be the focus of man's concern. They must be provided, for they form the path leading to worship and the causes of thankfulness and gratitude.

In a nutshell, Islam's view of man's rights to earn a daily living, can be outlined as:-

1. Money and property are Allah's. People are equal in gaining them and making use of them. Imam Ali (a.s.) is reported to have said:

"Were it my money I would have distributed it among them equally. But it is Allah's."

2. Man has an inalienable right to earn his livelihood. Under no circumstances should he be deprived of it and at the time of infirmity or incapability, it must be provided for him.

3. Man is obliged to exert his utmost efforts in working and utilizing nature's resources to his interests. Allah, the Exalted, says:

"...therefore go about in the spacious sides thereof, and eat of His provision, and to Him is the return after death."

Holy Qur'an (67:15)

4. The system of economic life and the methods of earning money, distributing wealth and consumption should be in accordance with a specific moral and legal line. Man's freedom and his economic rights should be similarly subjected to this lawful commitment, which safeguards the rights of all and balances everyone's interests.

MISCONCEPTIONS

Two main points related to the economic system and the distribution of wealth and productivity in Islam, need further consideration as a prelude to delve into related issues. Primarily they are:

1. Islamic economic thought has become vague in the minds of many scholars and cultured people and has led them to deny the existence of such system in Islam. This has been caused on the basis that Muslim thinkers have not studied economic and financial percepts and concepts and presented them in a related way in which contemporary thought has tackled them and treated within modern idioms and methodology.

It is due to this lack of development that Islamic economic thought has remained texts and concepts scattered in the Holy Qur'an, books of traditions, books of history and Islamic studies on fiqh (jurisprudence).

Muslim researchers did not consider them except in the recent past and in a limited and narrow scope. The need has been to have them to be more meticulously examined, gathered, studied, analyzed, deduced and reshaped and where the outcome should be easily comprehensible and encapsulates all man's economic problems as well as covering all related aspects, such as the themes of wealth, its production and distribution within the Muslim community.

In respect, the fuqaha' took great pains to study these items extensively on the basis of fiqh. They also examined zakat (poor-rate), khums (an Islamic tax), kharaj (land tax levied on non-Muslims), working systems for companies, trade, ijarah (hiring someone or something for specific purposes), hawalah (transfer of debt from one person to another), purchases, usury, farming, speculation, usurpation, property, conduct of business...etc. By so doing, they provided basic ideological material conducive to form an economic view, and a clear-cut viewpoint on an Islamic economic system. Many contemporary Muslim intellectuals have made use of this basic ideological material and studied economic systems, ownership, distribution, consumption...in its light. They have also developed it in analyzing production relationships and offering an explanation to economic problems and so forth.

When Muslim intellectuals systematically delve into this field, in line with Islam's methodology of research and employing a comprehensive economic method, an economic overview can be presented, that make up entire systems providing solutions for man's problems, for which he has failed to find an answer. Instead man has been left groping in the long dark tunnels of the communist, socialist and capitalist theories, when satisfactory answers are at hand to alleviate doubts adduced by the enemies of Islam. Such have spared no effort to present, to the sons of Islam and others, that Islamic economic thought is a shallow mould, which is unable to accommodate today's problems. They charge Islam, due to their ignorance, obstinacy, and fear from its justice, as well as its threat to their boundless self-centeredness and greed, that it falls short of successfully treating the more complicated daily economic issues. Islamic economic system is still, as they maliciously claim, composed of a set of varying charity-oriented questions and moral commandments, which cannot tackle deep-seated problems, nor can it resolve the ever-complicated crises of inhumanity because of the immense phenomena, related to financial considerations present in human society.

These efforts are clearly made in a bid to turn attention of Muslims and others from returning to an economic system that frees humanity from exploitation, injustice and avarice and leads it to an economic life of welfare, where man finds comfort, care and dignity.