An important guiding principle mentioned
in the Qur’an for regulating the economic life of Muslims in an
equitable manner is that in an Islamic society wealth should not be allowed
to circulate among the rich of the society alone. After announcing that
the wealth Muslims have obtained by way of fay*
belongs to Allah and His Prophet (sws), the relatives of the Prophet (sws),
the orphans, and the needy and the wayfarers, the Qur’an says that
this has been done so that ‘it (wealth) may not concentrate in the hands
of those who are rich among you’ (59:7). In other words it is one of the
objectives which the Qur’an wants to see achieved that instead of
allowing wealth to remain concentrated in a few hands, it should be made
to flow in society as widely as possible so that the distinction between
the rich and the poor can be narrowed as far as is natural and practicable.
If this verse of the Qur’an is
carefully considered, on the one hand, it sanctions the existence of rich
people and, on the other, it definitely disallows them from unjustifiably
going on increasing their share of the total wealth of the society. In
fact, if the true spirit of the verse is followed, their share should,
if anything, gradually fall in a society which regulates its affairs according
to Qur’anic guidance.
Islam definitely recognizes natural
economic differences among human beings. However, according to the verse
under consideration, those differences should not be allowed to be the
basis of further expansion of the gulf between the rich and the poor. To
put it simply, any system which results in the rich getting richer because
of the peculiar nature of the system and which allows the poor to remain
poor cannot be deemed Islamically acceptable. In fact, Islam believes in
striking at the roots of inequality rather than merely alleviating some
of the symptoms. If, on the contrary, in an economy all segments of the
society experience economic improvement although the poor much less than
the rich, then, according to the spirit of the verse, such a situation
can only be considered less unacceptable; it is certainly not desirable.
Therefore, if the effects of any two economic policies for the eradication
of poverty are similar, it is necessary to prefer the one which reduces
income disparity.
It needs to be understood that there
is a difference between economic progress of an individual attributable
to his hard work and intelligence or good fortune and progress by virtue
of a position of advantage offered to him by the favourable customs and
laws of the society. Whereas, generally speaking, there can be no objection
from the Islamic point of view to the achievements of a person in the former
case, undue advantage in the economic race in the latter case would never
be acceptable to the letter and spirit of Islamic teachings.
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