The New Nation - Internet Edition

Tamizul Haque

Barrister-at-Law

The objective of Islamic economic order takes a positive view of life considering man not as a born sinner eternally condemned for his original sin, but as the Vicegerent of Allah (Al-Quran 2:30) for whom has been created everything on earth (Al-Quran 2.:29).

Islam is not an ascetic religion as Holy Quran declares that Monasticism which they (other religions) have invented for themselves was not prescribed by Allah Subhanahu Tahla.

But Allah's Kingdom requires also courage, resistance to evil, the firmness, law, and discipline, which will enforce justice among men. It requires men to mingle with men, so that they can uphold the standard of Truth, against odds if necessary. These were lost sight of in Monasticism, which was not prescribed by Allah.

Allah Subhanahu Tahla certainly requires that men shall renounce the idle pleasures of this world, and turn to the Path which leads to Allah's Good Pleasures. But that does not mean gloomy lives, ("they that mourn"), nor perpetual and formal prayers in isolation. Allah's service is done through pure lives in the turmoil of this world. This spirit was lost, or at least not fostered by Monastic institutions. On the contrary a great part of the "struggle and striving" for noble lives was suppressed.

Many of them lost true Faith, or had their Faith corrupted by superstitions. But those who continued firm in Faith saw the natural development of Religion in Islam. Their previous belief was not a disadvantage to them, but helped them, because they kept it free from false and selfish prejudices.

Traditions reveals that, "Once after the Holy Prophet had given a lecture on the certainty of the Day of Judgement and the accountability before Allah, a few of his Companions gathered in the house of "Uthman Bin Mazun and resolved to fast everyday, to pray every night, not to sleep on beds, not to eat meat or fat, not to have anything to do with women or perfume, to wear coarse clothes, and in general to reject the world. The Holy Prophet heard of this and told them".

"I have not been directed by Allah Subhanahu Tahla to live in this manner. Your body certainly has rights over you; so fast but also abstain from fasting, and pray at night but also sleep. Look at me, I pray at night but I also sleep. I fast but I also abstain from fasting, I eat meat as well as fat, and I also marry. So whoever turns away from my way is not from me".

For better understanding of my readers in this regard I would like to mention Ayat 87 of Sura 5 which runs thus:

O ye who believe!

Make not unlawful

The good things which Allah

Hath made lawful for you,

But commit no excess:

For Allah loveth not

Those given to excess.

In pleasures that are good and lawful the crime is excess. There is no merit merely in abstention or asceticism, though the humility or unselfishness that may go with asceticism may have its value. In Ayat 82 of Sura 5, (Al-Maida) Christian monks are praised for particular virtues, though here and elsewhere Monasticism is disapproved of. Use Allah's gifts of all kinds with gratitude, but excess is not approved of by Allah Subhanahu Tahla.

Therefore, action in every field of human activity, including the economic, is spiritual provided it is in harmony with the goals and values of Islam. It is really these goals and values that determine the nature of the economic system of Islam. A proper understanding of these is therefore essential for a better perspective of the economic system of Islam. These goals and values are :-

1) Economic well-being within the framework of the moral norms of Islam;

2) Universal brotherhood and justice;

3) Equitable distribution of income; and

4) Freedom of the individual within the context of social welfare.

This list of goals is by no means complete but should provide a sufficient framework for discussing and elaborating the Islamic Economic system and highlighting those characteristics which distinguish the Islamic system from the two prevalent systems, capitalism and socialism.

Allah has directed us to eat and drink of that which Allah has provided and act not corruptly, making mischief in the world (Al-Quran 2:60). Part of Ayat 60 of Sura Bakara-II runs thus :

There from twelve springs,

Each group knew its own place

For water. So eat and drink

Of the sustenance provided by Allah,

And do no evil nor mischief

On the (face of the) earth

Here we have a reference to the tribal organization of the Jews, which played a great part in their forty years' march through the Arabian deserts (Num, I and ii) and their subsequent settlement in the land of Canaan (Josh. xiii. and xiv.). The twelve tribes were derived from the sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Isreal (soldier of Allah) after he had wrestled, says Jewish tradition, with Allah (Genesis xxxii.28). Israel had twelve sons (Gen. xxxv. 22-26), including Levi and Joseph. The descendants of these twelve sons were the "Children of Israel.").

The gushing of twelve springs from a rock evidently refers to a local tradition well known to Jews and Arabs in Al-Mustafa's time. Near Horeb close to Mount Sinai, where the Law was given to Moses (Musa Ali His Salam), is a huge mass of red granite, twelve feet high and about fifty feet in circumference, where European travelers (e.g. Breydenbach in the 15th Century after Christ) saw abundant springs of water twelve in number (see Sale's notes on this passage). It existed in Al-Mustafa's time and may still exist, to the present day, for anything we know to the contrary. The Jewish tradition would be based on Exod. xvii. 6:"Thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink."

There are many other verses in the Holy Quran on the economic field. Islam urges Muslims to enjoy the bounties provided by Allah Subhanahu Tahla and sets no quantitative limits to the extent of material growth of Muslim Society. It even equates the struggle for material well-being with an act of virtue. In Ayat 10 of Sura Al-Juma 62 Allah Subhanahu Tahla has given clear directive to the believers of the faith that when the prayers is finished then one may disperse through the land, and seek of the bounty of Allah and remember Allah frequently so that he may prosper.

Prosperity is not to be measured by wealth or worldly gains. There is a higher prosperity the health of the mind and the spirit.

The idea behind is that Allah has provided us with an opportunity for earning our livelihood which must not be left unexploited or until it is exhausted. However Islam has prohibited bagging and urged Muslims to earn their livelihood "The hand that is above is better than the hand that is below".

Islam goes even further then this. It urges Muslims to gain mastery over nature because, according to the Holy Quran all resources in the Havens and the Earth have been created for the services of mankind.

Islam on economic well-being springs from the very nature of its message. Islam is designed to service as a 'blessing' for mankind. Ayat 107 of Sura 21 Al-Ambiyaa or Prophet clearly states that the Holy Prophet was sent to this world as a blessing for all mankind.

Again in Ayat 57 of Sura 10 of Youns in Holy Quran declares thus :-

O mankind there hath come

To you an admonition from your Lord

And a healing for the (diseases)

In your hearts, and for those

Who believe, a Guidance

And a Mercy.

In Ayat 185 of Sura 2 that is Sura Al-Bakara among others Allah desires ease for us and desires not hardship for us. Similarly in Ayat 28 of Sura Nisa-IV Allah Subhanaha Tahla has expressed His wish to alleviate our burdens, for man is created weak. .

On the basis of these verses of the Holy Quran the Muslim Jurists have unanimously held that catering for the interests of the people and relieving them of hardships is the basic objective of the Shariah. Imam Ghazali a great philosopher reformer-sufi contended that the very objective of the Sharia Law is to promote the welfare of the people which lies in safe-guarding their faith, their life, their intellect, their posterity and their property; and that therefore whatever ensures the safeguard of these five serves public interest and is desirable.

Other Islamic thinkers also held with the basis of the Shariah is wisdom and the welfare of the people in this world as well as in the Hereafter.

This welfare lies in complete justice, mercy, welfare and wisdom, anything that departs from justice to oppression, from mercy to harshness, from welfare to misery, and from wisdom to folly, has nothing to do with the Shariah.

Acquiring wealth through unfair means, exploiting others, subjecting them to wrong and injustice are un-islamic. Islam also seeks to 'purify' life, the Holy Quran clearly warns Muslims against this danger.

However it is generally understood by Muslim religious scholars that 'remembering Allah much' does not imply spending most of one's time in saying prayers or reciting the rosary, but that it implies living a morally responsible life in accordance with the norms of Islam, earning only by the right methods and abandoning all the wrong ones. In part of Ayat 7 of Sura 57 Al-Hadid or Iron of the Holy Quran declares thus :

Whereof He has made you

Heirs. For, those of you

Who believe and spend

(In charity), -for them

is a great Reward.

Whatever power or wealth or influence or any good thing is transferred from one person or group of person to another, it involves added responsibility to the persons receiving these advantages.

They must be more zealous in real charity and all good works, for that is a part of the evidence, which they give of their faith and gratitude. And, besides, their good deeds carry their own reward.

The worldly possessions are but trifling, it is the Hereafter which is better for those who fear Allah Subhanahu Tahla (Al-Quran 4:77). What is this world when compared to Hereafter? Holy Quran also explains what is bad and what is good. Bad and good are never to be considered equal. (Ayat 100 of Sura 5.

(To be continued)