Social justice without curbs

There are a certain obligations and restrictions in the Islamic way of life. Take the case of earning a livelihood first.

The meticulous care with which Islam has distinguished between right and wrong with respect to the means of earning wealth is not to be found in any other existing legal or social system in the world.

Islamic law categorically rejects as illegal the manufacture and sale of alcohol and other intoxicants and any kind of obscenity. It prohibits gambling, speculation, races and lotteries; transactions of speculative, imaginary, fraudulent or controversial nature; business transactions in which the gain of one party is absolutely guaranteed and assured, while that of the other party is left uncertain and doubtful; price manipulation by withholding the sale of necessities of the life;  and many other similar transactions which are detrimental to the interest of the community.

If we examine this aspect of the economic laws of Islam, we will find a long list of practices declared illegal and most of which can make, and are making people millionaires in the capitalistic system. Islam forbids all these unfair means and allows freedom of earning wealth only by those means through which a person renders some real and useful service to the community and thereby entitles himself to a fair and just compensation for it.

Islam accepts the rights of ownership of an individual over the wealth earned by him by legitimate means but even these rights are not unqualified. A man can spend his legitimate wealth, only in legitimate avenues and by legitimate means. Islam has imposed restrictions on expenditure so that while one can lead a decent life, one cannot waste his riches on luxurious pursuits. A person cannot transgress the prescribed limits of exhibiting his status and affluence and behave as a super being vis-à-vis other people. Certain forms of illegal wasteful expenditure have been clearly and unequivocally prohibited while some others, though not expressly banned, may be prohibited at the discretion of the Islamic state.

One is permitted to accumulate wealth that is left over after meeting his legitimate and reasonable requirements and these savings can also be used in producing more wealth but there are some restrictions on both of these activities.

In the event of accumulation of wealth he will, of course, have to pay Zakat at the rate of two and a half per cent per annum on the accumulation exceeding the specified minimum.

If he desire to invest the money in business, he can only do so (in what is declared as legitimate business) by himself, or make his capital available to others on profit-loss sharing basis.

It is not at all objectionable in Islam if, working within these limits, a man becomes a millionaire; rather this will constitute a divine favour.

But in the interest of the community as a whole, Islam imposes two conditions on the individual: first, that he should pay Zakat on his commercial goods and Ushr (1-10) of the value of agricultural produce; secondly, that he would deal fairly and honestly with those whom he brings into his partnership in trade, industry or agriculture, with those whom he takes in his employment and with the state and the community at large. If one does not do justice to others, particularly his employees, of his own accord, the Islamic state will compel him to do so.

Then again, even wealth that is accumulated within these legal limits is not allowed by Islam to be concentrated at one point or place for a long time. By means of its law of inheritance Islam spreads it over a large number of people from generation to generation. Islam has made a law under which the wealth accumulated by a person in his lifetime is distributed among all his near relatives soon after his death. If there are no near relatives, then distant relatives are to benefit from it in the proportion laid down by the law for each one of them.

Under this law the creation or continuance of any big family of capitalists or landlords becomes impossible. If in spite of all the restrictions and conditions stated above, any shred of evil subsists along such accumulation of wealth in one’s lifetime then, this last stroke brings an end to that and the society flourishes under a system which allows private property and freedom of enterprise but safeguards collective interests and establishes social justice. — From Islamic Way of Life by Sayyed Abul Ala Maududi

* Khwaja Mohammed Zubair is former Khaleej Times staffer

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