Wealth is the vigor and basis upon which life
is maintained. The Islamic Shariah aims through it to establish a
balanced society, wherein social justice is upheld and one can live an
honorable life. Allah (s.w.t.) says:
Wealth
and children are the adornment of the life of this world. [18:46]
Since
Islam considers money one of the indispensable necessities without which
individual nor society can exist, it has ordained that Zakaah be taken
(2.5%) from the capital of the rich, if the necessary amount from which it is
taken is in that person's possession for a full lunar year.
This
money is to be distributed amongst the poor. It is a due right of the poor, and
it is forbidden to withhold it from them.
This
does not mean that Islam abolishes individual ownership and private business;
rather it sanctions and respects them. There are many explicit texts which
prohibit transgression against wealth and property of others. Allah (s.w.t.)
says:
And
eat up not one another’s property unjustly.
[2:188]
Islam
has enacted laws and regulations the implementation of which guarantees the
achievement of its goal… to provide an honorable life for each individual in
the Islamic society. Some of the regulations are:
1. Islam Has Forbidden Interest
Islam has forbidden interest for it does not allow people to exploit others and
devour their wealth wrongfully. Islam has made wealth and property inviolable.
Due to the fact that interest leads people to forsake acts of kindness and
leads to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, Allah (s.w.t.) says:
O you
who believe! Be afraid of Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from usury (from now onward), if you
are (really) believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of
war from Allah and His Messenger. But if
you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking
more than your capital sums) and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by
receiving less than your capital sums). [2:278-9]
2. The Religion Of Islam Encourages
People To Give Loans.
It
also encourages that one extend the period (of repayment) if one is having
difficulty repaying a loan. One should not be harsh to that individual if he
intends on repaying his debt. As for those who have the means to pay the debt
off, but choose not to, a different course of action should be taken. Allah
(s.w.t.) says:
And
if the debtor is in a hard time (has
no money), then grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. [2:280]
The Prophet
(s.a.w.) said:
“Whoever
loans money to a person in difficulty, he will receive the reward of charity
for each day he gives them. And whoever extends the time period for the debtor
who has difficulty returning a loan will receive the reward of charity for each
day he does so.” [Ibn Maajah]
3. Islam
encourages that the loan be pardoned altogether if it is difficult for the debtor
to repay it.
Allah (s.w.t.) says:
And
if the debtor is in a hard time (has
no money), then grant him time till it is easy for him to repay, but if you
remit it by way of charity, that is better for you if you did but know. [2:280]
The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
“Whoever wishes that Allah save him from the difficulties of
the Day of Requital let him extend the time period to a debtor or free him of
his loan.” [Muslim]
4. Hoarding and monopolizing
Hoarding and
monopolizing of any type of commodity is forbidden, because the trader takes
into his possession products which the people need without selling them until
the supply decreases, and then he sells them for whatever price he pleases.
This incurs much harm, both to the individual and the society, the rich and the
poor. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
Abu
Yusuf, the student of Imam Abu Haneefah,
may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Anything
that is hoarded and proves harmful to the public, it is considered of the
prohibited type of monopoly, even if (the
thing hoarded is) gold or silver. Whoever hoards (something the public
is in need of) would have certainly misused what he owns. The reason
monopoly is prohibited is to safeguard people from harm, for indeed, people
have many different needs, and monopolizing therein would incur hardship upon
people.”
A ruler may force
one who hoards a commodity to sell it at a reasonable profit which is neither
detrimental to the seller or buyer.
If the monopolist refuses to sell at that
profit, the ruler may take possession of the hoarded commodity and sell it at a
reasonable price in order to prevent those who may be thinking of exploiting
the people by monopolizing goods they are in need of.
5. Prohibition of Imposed Tax on Traders
It has prohibited
taxes that are taken from a trader to allow them to sell their goods or toimport them into the country. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
This tax is
considered taking money unlawfully and giving it to those who are not entitled
to it. All those who contribute to this tax, including tax collectors, clerks,
witnesses and receivers come under the Prophet’s saying:
“No
flesh that grows from unlawful things shall be admitted into Paradise; Hellfire
shall have the best claim to them.” [at-Tirmidhi]
6. Islam Has Forbidden Hoarding Wealth
Islam has
forbidden hoarding wealth, and not expending from it the due right that belongs
to Allah; both the individual as well as society would stand to benefit from
this. Wealth should be circulated in society to stimulate the economy, and with
this all individuals within society would stand to benefit. Allah (s.w.t.)
says:
And
those who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the Way of Allah,
announce unto them a painful torment. [9:34]
As Islam respects individual ownership, it imposes rights and
duties therein. Among these are obligations which concern and relate to the
owner himself, such that he must take care of himself and his dependants;
relatives and those who he must upkeep.
There are other rights which concern the individuals in
society, such that they must pay Zakaah, and give out charity, and help
others. Other obligations concern the society at large, such that they must
expend to build schools, hospitals, orphanages, mosques, and other facilities
which would benefit society. What is sought by this is that resources are not
amassed in the hands of a few within society.
7. Prohibition of Giving Less in Measure and Weight
It has been
forbidden to give less in measure and weight, for it is a type of theft,
treachery and deception. Allah (s.w.t.) says:
Woe
to those who give less in measure and weight. * Those who, when they have to
receive by measure from men, demand full measure. * And when they have to give
by measure or weight to men, give less than due. [83:1-3]
8. Prohibition of
Domination of Public Domain
It has prohibited domination of public domain, such as water
and public pastures, which do not belong to anyone; and has also prohibited
preventing people from benefiting from it. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said:
“There
are three persons whom Allah will not speak to on the Day of Requital nor look
at… a person (seller) who falsely swears that he
bought a product for a higher price than which [the buyer] bought it, a
person who swears to a false oath after [the sacred time of] ‘Asr (late
afternoon) so as to usurp the money of a Muslim, and a man who refuses to
give excess water. On that day, Allah will say to him: ‘Today I withhold from
you my Grace as you withheld what was in excess of your needs, though you are
not its creator.” [al-Bukhari]
The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
“All
Muslims have equal shares in three things: pasture, water, and fire.” [Ahmad]
9. The System of Inheritance
The Religion of
Islam brought about a just system of inheritance through which wealth is
distributed amongst a man's rightful heirs; whether they are young, old, male
or female.
No one has the right to distribute the inheritance in any other way.
One of the benefits of this system is that it divides the estates no matter how
large they may be into small shares, thus making it impossible for the money to
settle with a certain group. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
“Indeed
Allah has given each person his due right. So let not one of you bequeath
something to someone who is already allotted a portion of the inheritance.”
[Abu Dawood]
10. Islam Has Legislated Endowments
Islam has legislated endowments, which are of two types:
a) Private
endowments limited to the family and children of the endower; in order to safeguard
them from poverty and begging. The condition of its validity is that the
endowment should serve charitable causes after the endower's progeny cease.
b) Public
charitable endowments which are used to maintain charitable causes; such as
building hospitals, schools, streets, public libraries, Mosques, social welfare
homes for orphans, foundlings, and the elderly, and all that serve public
interest.
11. Legislation of Bequeathal
The Religion of
Islam has legislated a system of bequeathal; therefore, every Muslim has the
right to bequeath a portion of his money to be used after his death for
righteous purposes. The Religion has limited this portion, to a third so that
his heirs would not be harmed. Aamir bin Sa'd () said:
“The Prophet (s.a.w.) would visit me while I was sick in Makkah
(Mecca). I said to him, ‘I have
some wealth, may I bequeath all of it [in charity]?’ He replied, ‘No.’ I
said, ‘Then half of it?’ He replied, ‘No.’ Then I said, ‘A third?’ He replied,
‘A third is much. If you leave your heirs rich, it would be better than to
leave them relying upon others begging them [for money]. Whatever you
spend, it will act as a charity for you, even a morsel of food which your hand
feeds your wife. Perhaps Allah will raise your status and cause some people to
benefit from you, and cause others to be harmed.” [al-Bukhari]
12. Islam has forbidden all that falls under the words of
Allah:
O you
who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly. [4:29]
This includes:
a) Usurpation of
anything without right, for it involves wronging others and spreading
corruption in society. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
“Whoever
usurps a Muslim’s right through a false oath, Allah makes the Hellfire
obligatory upon him and Paradise forbidden. A man asked, ‘Even if it were
something negligible O Messenger of Allah ()?’ He replied, ‘Even if it were a
twig of an ‘Arak Tree’.” [Muslim]
b) Theft. The Prophet
(s.a.w.) said:
“The fornicator who fornicates is not a true believer so long
as he commits it, no thief who steals is a true believer as long as he commits
theft, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a true believer as long as he drinks
it.” [Muslim]
For it includes
taking people's wealth without right. Allah (s.w.t.) says:
Sever
the hand of the thief, male or female, as a recompense for that which they
committed, a punishment by way of example from Allah. And Allah is All
Powerful, All Wise. [5:38]
In order for a
man's hand to be severed as a castigatory punishment, the following conditions
have to be met:
i. The wealth
must have been in the custody and protection of the owner.
ii. The motive
behind the theft must not have been the need for food, drink, or clothing. If
this were the motive, the hand would not be severed. This is taken from the
judgment of ‘Umar () in the year of the Ramaadah.
iii. The amount stolen must meet the minimum required amount
set for the implementation of this punishment.
Some of the scholars have stated that the repentance of the
thief is not accepted until he returns what he has stolen to its owner. If he
has no wealth, the owner of the wealth is asked to pardon him. Furthermore, if
the owner pardons the thief before the case reaches the court, then the
castigatory punishment is dropped.
c) Deceit and
cheating. The Messenger of Allah () said:
“Whoever
fights us is not from us, and whoever deceives us is not from us.” [Muslim]
d) Bribery. Allah
(s.w.t.) says:
And eat up
not one another’s property unjustly, nor give bribery to the rulers that you
may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully. [2:188]
The Prophet
(s.a.w.) said:
“May Allah curse the one who gives a bribe and the one who
takes it in matters of judicial rulings.” [at-Tirmidhi]
Allah cursed the
one who gives a bribe because he helps to spread evil in society; if he had not
offered the bribe there would never have been any bribery. Allah cursed the one
who accepts the bribe because he takes what is not rightfully his, and breaches
the trust he was given; for he takes a price for a duty which he was designated
to do in the first place.
e) It prohibited
that a person sell something to a customer after his brother is about to strike
a deal with him, except if he allows him to do so. This is because it stirs
enmity and hatred between individuals in society. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:
“Let
not any person sell something if his brother [seller] is about to strike a deal, and let not any person
propose to a women for the sake of marriage whom his brother has already
proposed, except if he gave him permission.” [Muslim]
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