Islamic Economical system
ISLAM provides guidance to its adherents in all phases and
activities of life, in matters, material as well as spiritual. Its basic
teaching with regard to economics is mentioned in several passages of the
Quran. Far from despising material well-being, it recognizes (4/5) that:
"... your goods which God has made as the very means of your subsistence..."
and it orders: "and neglect not thy portion of this world" (Q.
28/77). However, it lays emphasis on the dual composition of man, by reminding
that "... of mankind is he who saith: Our Lord! give unto us in this
world; and he hath no portion in the Hereafter. And of them is also he who
saith: Our Lord! give unto us what is good in this world and what is good in
the Hereafter, and guard us from the doom of Fire. For these there is in store
a goodly portion out of that which they have earned; God is swift at
reckoning." (Q. 2/200-2). In other verses we find it stated plainly and
definitely that, all that is found on the earth, in the seas and even the
heavens has been created by God for the benefit of man; or that all that is on
earth, in the heavens, the ocean, the stars and others have been made
subservient to man by God. It remains for man to know and to profit by the
creation of God, and profit in a rational way, paying due regard to the future.
The economic policy of Islam has also been explained in the
Quran, in most unequivocal terms: "... so that this (wealth) may not
circulate solely among the rich from among you... " (Q. 59/7). Equality of
all men in wealth and comfort, even if it is ideal, does not promise to be of
unmixed good to humanity. First because natural talents are not equal among
different men, so much so that even if one were to start a group of persons
with complete equality, soon the spendthrift will fall into difficulties and
will again look on the fortune of his comrades with greed and envy. Further, on
philosophical and psychological grounds, it seems that in the very interest of
human society it is desirable that there should be grades in wealth, the poorer
having the desire and incentive to work harder. On the other hand, if everybody
is told that even if he works more than what is required of him as his duty, he
would get no reward and would remain as those who do not do more than their
duty, one would become lazy and neglectful, and one's talent would be wasted to
the great misfortune of humanity.
Everyone knows that human livelihood is in constant
progress, through the domination and exploitation one after the other of all
those things that God has created, whereas one sees that the rest of animals
have changed nothing in their livelihood ever since God has created their
species. The cause of this difference as discovered by biologists is the
simultaneous existence of a society, a co-operation, and a liberty of
competition inside the members of the society, i.e., human beings whereas other
animals suffer from the lack of some or of all of these requisite conditions.
Dogs, cats and snakes for instance do not create even a family; they perpetuate
their race by means of free and momentary "love". Others, such as
crows and pigeons do create a family in the form of couples, yet, even if the
male helps in the construction of the nest, every member of the couple depends
on its own gain for its livelihood. Perhaps the most developed social
co-operation is found among bees, ants and termites (white ants): they live in
a collective way, with complete equality in livelihood, yet without any
competition among its members, and consequently it is not possible for the more
intelligent or more industrious bee to live more comfortably than others. For
this reason there is neither evolution nor change, much less progress in any of
these species, as against the human race. The past history of man shows that
every advance and every discovery of the means of comfort came into existence
through competition and desire for amelioration, and also through the existence
of grades of wealth or poverty among men, one above the other. Yes, the
absolute liberty would lead devilish men to exploit the needy, and ooze them
out gradually. So it was necessary for every progressive civilization and every
healthy culture to impose certain duties on its members (such as the order to
pay taxes, the interdiction of having recourse to oppression and cheating,
etc.), and to recommend certain supererogatory acts (like charity and expenditure
for the sake of God), yet nevertheless, to have a great deal of liberty of
thought and action to its members, so that each one benefits himself, his
family, his friends and the society at large. This is the exigency of Islam,
and it also conforms to nature.
It is on the basis of this fundamental principle that Islam
has constructed its economic system. If it tolerates the minority of the rich,
it imposes on them heavier obligations: they have to pay taxes in the interest
of the poor, and they are prevented from practicing immoral means of
exploitation, hoarding and accumulation of wealth. For this end there will be
some orders or injunctions, and also some recommendations - for charity and
sacrifice -with the promise of spiritual (other worldly) reward. Further, it
makes, on the one hand, a distinction between the necessary minimum and the
desirable plenitude, and on the other hand between those orders and injunctions
which are accompanied by material sanctions and those which are not so, but for
which Islam contents itself with persuasion and education only.
We shall describe first in a few words this moral aspect.
Some illustrations would enable us to better understand its implications. Most
emphatic terms have been employed by Islam to show that to beg charity of
others is something abominable and it would be a source of shame on the day of
Resurrection; yet simultaneously unlimited praise has been bestowed on those
who come to the aid of the others, the best of men being in fact those who make
a sacrifice and prefer others to their own selves. Similarly avarice and waste
are both prohibited. One day the Prophet of Islam had need of considerable
funds for some public cause. One of his friends brought a certain sum to offer
as his contribution, and on the demand of the Prophet, he replied: "I have
left at home nothing but the love of God and of His messenger." This
person received the warmest praise from the Prophet. Yet on another occasion,
another companion of his, who was seriously ill, told him when he came to
inquire about his health: "O Messenger of God! I am a rich man, and I want
to bequest all that I possess for the welfare of the poor." The Prophet
replied: "No; it is better to leave to thy relatives an independent means of
livelihood than that they should be dependent on others and be obliged to
beg." Even for two-third and for a half of the possessions the remarks of
the Prophet were: "that is too much." When the proposal was submitted
to give one-third of the property in charity, he said: "Well, even the
third is a large amount." (cf. Bukhari). One day the Prophet saw one of
his companions in miserable attire. On inquiry, he replied: "O Messenger
of God! I am not at all poor; only I prefer to spend my wealth on the poor rather
than on my own self." The Prophet remarked: "No; God likes to see on
His slave traces of the bounty that He has accorded him!" (cf. Abu Dawud
and Tirmidhi). There is no contradiction in these directions; each has its own
context and relates to distinct individual cases. We are afforded an
opportunity of determining the limits of the discretionary choice in excess of
the obligatory minimum, vis-a-vis the other members of society.
Inhetitance
Both the individual right of disposing of one's wealth, and
the right of the collectivity vis-a-vis wealth of each individual, in as much
as one is a member of society, have to be simultaneously satisfied. Individual
temperaments differ enormously. Sickness or other accidents may also affect a
man out of all proportion. So it is necessary that a certain discipline should
be imposed upon him in the interest of the collectivity.
Thus Islam has taken two steps; firstly the obligatory
distribution of the goods of a deceased person among his close relatives, and
secondly a restriction on the freedom of bequest through wills and testaments.
The legal heirs do not require any testamentary disposition, and inherit the
property of the deceased in the proportions determined by law. A testament is
required solely in favour of those who have no right to inherit from a deceased
person.
There is equality in the relatives of the same category, and
one cannot award to one son (elder or younger) more than to the other, whether
major of minor. The first charges on the property left by the deceased are the
expenses of his burial. What remains goes then to his creditors, the debt
having priority over the "right" of the inheritors. In the third
place, his testament is executed, to the measure and extent that it is does not
exceed one third of the available property (after burial and payment of debts).
It is only after satisfying these prior obligations that heirs are considered.
The (male or female) partner of life, the parents, the descendants (sons and
daughters) are the first class heirs, and inherit in all cases. Brothers and
sisters, and other remoter relatives inherit from a deceased person only in the
absence of nearer relatives. Among these remoter relatives we find uncles,
aunts, cousins, nephews and others.
Without entering into technical details, certain basic rules
may be described. A homicide is excluded from the inheritance of his own
victim, even if the court decides that it was a case of death by involuntary
accident. The underlying idea seems to be to prevent all temptations to kill a
rich relative in view of earlier inheritance. The Prophet has also prohibited
inheritance among relatives of different religions, even between the husband
and wife. However, the right of donating gifts and testament can be availed of
in this respect; the Muslim husband, for instance, may bequest even on his
death-bed a part of his property in favour of his non-Muslim wife. On the
strength of the international and political conditions of their times, the
classical Muslim jurists have instituted another hindrance, viz., the
difference of the territory (i.e., political nationality) as barring
inheritance. Evidently the statal treaties may regulate the question of private
international law, in a contrary sense, on the basis of reciprocity.
In countries where the Islamic law of inheritance is not
applied by governments, yet the right of testament is recognized, the Muslim
inhabitants can, and must, utilize this facility, in order to fulfil their
religious duty with regard to the disposition of their property after their
death.
Wills
We have just mentioned that the right of testamentary
bequests is operative only within the limits of a third of the property, in
favour of persons other than creditors and heirs. The aim of this rule seems to
be two-fold: Firstly, to permit an individual to adjust things, in extraordinary
cases, when the normal rule causes hardship; and a third of the property is
sufficient for fulfilling all such moral duties. Another motive of the law of
will is to prevent the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, a thing
which would happen if one should give all his property by will to a single
person excluding totally one's near relatives. Islam desires the circulation of
wealth among as large a number of people as possible, taking into account the
interests of the family.
Public Goods
One also has obligations as a member of a larger family,
viz., society and the State in which one lives. In the economic sphere, one
pays taxes, which the government redistributes in the interests of the
collectivity.
The rates of taxes differ according to the various kinds of
the sources of income, and it is interesting to note that the Quran, which
gives precise directions with regard to budgetary expenditure, has enunciated
neither rules nor rates of the income of the State. While scrupulously respecting
the practice of the Prophet and of his immediate successors, this silence of
the Quran may be interpreted as giving a latitude to the government to change
the rules for income according to circumstances, in the interests of the
people.
In the time of the Prophet, there were agricultural taxes,
and the peasants handed over a tenth of the harvest, provided it was above a
certain taxless minimum and irrigated their lands with rain or spring water,
and half that rate in the case of wells as the means of irrigation. In commerce
and exploitation of mines, one paid 2 1/2% of the value of goods. As for the
import taxes, on foreign caravan-leaders there is an interesting fact which
should profitably be brought into relief. In the time of the Prophet, these
were subject to a tithe as customs duty; caliph 'Umar reduced by half this tax
on foreigners, concerning certain categories of victuals imported in Madinah
(as reported by Abu 'Ubaid). This precedent of high authority casts light on
the essential principles of the fiscal policy of Islam. In the time of the
Prophet, there were taxes on herds of camels, sheep and goats, and oxen
provided they were fed on public pastures and exceeded in number the taxless
minimum. Exemption was accorded further to beasts of burden and those employed
for ploughing and irrigation.
There was a tax of 2 1/2% on savings and on silver and gold.
This obliged people to employ their wealth for increase, and not indulge in
idle hoarding.
State Expenditure
The Quran (9: 60) has prescribed the principles regulating
the budget of State expenditure in Islam in the following terms:
"Verily the sadaqat (i.e., taxes on Muslims) are only
for the needy, and the poor, and those who work for these (taxes), and those
whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the necks (i.e., slaves and
prisoners of war), and the heavily indebted, and in the path of God, and for
the wayfarer - a duty imposed by God; God is Knower, Wise."
These eight heads of expenditure which cover practically all
the needs of a collectivity, need elucidation to enable the understanding of
their exact range and application.
The term sadaqat, which we translate as the State tax on
Muslims, and which is a synonym of zakat, signifies the taxes paid by Muslims
to their government, in normal times, whether on agriculture, mines commerce,
industry, pasturing herds, savings or other heads. These exclude the
provisional taxes imposed in abnormal times, the revenues levied on
non-Muslims, - subjects or foreigners, - and also all the non-obligatory
contributions. Juridical literature of early Islam, and particularly the
sayings of the Prophet leave no doubt that the term sadaqat was employed in
this sense. It did not refer at all to alms, which can be neither obligatory
nor determined as to the quantity and the time of payment. The equivalent for
alms is infaqfl sabil Allah, expenditure in the path of God, or tatauwu,
voluntary charity.
The first two categories of the needy (fuqara') and the poor
(masakin), which are almost synonymous, have not been explained by the Prophet;
there is a divergence of opinion. According to the sayings and constant
practice of the caliph 'Umar, (recorded by Abu Yousuf in his Kitab-al-Kharaj
and Ibn Abi Shaibah in his Musannaf), fuqara' are the poor among the Muslims,
and masakin are from among the non-Muslims residing in the Islamic territory,
such as jews. In his Futuh al-Buldan, Baladhuri cites another case of the same
caliph, who awarded pensions to Christians of Jabiyah (Syria) from the Sadaqat
i.e. Zakat-revenues. The jurist ash-Shafi-i thought that the terms were
absolutely synonymous, and that God, out of His bounty, named them twice in
order to make a double provision. According to this authority, as each of the
eight heads in the Quranic verse should receive one-eighth of the State income,
the poor would receive two-eights. Be it what it two-eights. Be it what it may,
the first duty of the State is to see that no dweller on the Islamic soil is
deprived of the means o livelihood: food, dress, lodging, etc.
The next item concerns the salaries of the functionaries:
collectors, accountants, controllers of expenditure, auditors of accounts, etc.
If the truth is to be told, this category comprises the entire administration,
civil, military and diplomatic, as one can see in the description of the
categories of the beneficiaries. The historian al-Baladhuri (in his al-Ansab)
has preserved a document in which the caliph 'Umar demands of his governor of
Syria: "Send us (to Madinah) an expert Greek, who may put in order the
accounts of our revenues". (hisaba faraidina). We require no better
authority for asserting that the non-Muslims could not only be employed in the
administration of the Muslim State, but also be beneficiaries of the sadaqat
levied exclusively on Muslims.
The category of those whose hearts are to be reconciled can
more easily be understood by the modern term "secret funds". In his
al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyah, the jurist Abu-Yala al-Farra' says: "As to those
whose hearts are to be won, they are of four kinds: (I) Those whose hearts are
to be won for their coming to the aid of the Muslims; (2) or for abstaining
from doing harm to Muslims; (3) for inviting them to embrace Islam; and (4) for
inviting through them their clans and families to embrace Islam. It is lawful
to spend on each and every one of these whether they be Muslims or polytheists.
By the term "freeing the necks", one has always
understood two kinds of expenditure: the liberation of slaves, and ransoming of
the prisoners of war in the hands of the enemy. According to the Islamic law
(Quran 24/33), every slave has the right to purchase his emancipation by paying
his value to his master; and in order to earn the necessary amount he may
compel his master to give him facilities to work, and during this period he
does not require to serve his master. Moreover, as we have just seen, it is the
duty of the government to allot every year in the budget a certain sum for
aiding the slaves to by their freedom. A document of the time of the Umaiyad
caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Aziz (reported by Ibn Sa'd), says, that the payment of
the ransoms by the Muslim government includes liberating even the non-Muslim
subjects who would have been made prisoners by the enemy.
The category of those who are heavily indebted has, according
to the practice of classical times, a whole series of applications: one helped
those who had suffered from calamities such as floods, earthquakes, etc. It
does not refer to the poor, who have already been mentioned in the beginning of
the verse, but to the well-to-do who have suffered from abnormal conditions,
beyond their power. Caliph 'Umar started a special section in the Public
Treasury, in order to lend money, free of interest, to those who had temporary
needs and provided the necessary guarantees for repayment. The caliph himself
had recourse to it for his private needs. It goes without saying that the
"nationalization' of lending without interest was the necessary
concomitant of the prohibition of interest in Islam. The same caliph used to lend
public money even to merchants for fixed periods, and the Treasury participated
with them in a percentage of their business returns, participated not only in
gains, but also in the event of losses. Another application of this State
expenditure was for a kind of social insurance. If somebody was found guilty of
involuntary homicide and was unable to pay the blood money, required by law,
out of his own means, the government came to his help under this head of the
budget, as is evidenced by several cases of the practice of the Prophet. We
shall revert to this, again, later in detail.
The expression "in the path of God", in the
Islamic terminology, signifies in the first instance military defense and the
expenditure for the personnel, equipment, etc. But the term applies in fact to
all sorts of charitable works, such as helping students, grants and aids in
religious causes such as the construction of mosques, etc.
The last category concerns communications and tourist
traffic in a wide sense: construction of bridges, roads, hotels, restaurants,
security of routes (police included) hygienic arrangements, transport of
travelers, and every comfort provided to aliens in the course of their
journeying, including extending of hospitality to them without charge and in
proportion to the means available. Formerly such hospitality was assured for
three days in every place of stay.
In order to appreciate the merit of these Quranic
dispositions, one must remember that the time was the very beginning of Islam,
fourteen centuries ago. There is not much that could be added to these heads of
expenditure. They seem to be well applicable to our own times in a progressive
and welfare State, having a concern for the well-being of its subjects.
Exceptional Taxes
The sadaqat were the only taxes of the State in the time of
the Prophet and the Orthodox Caliphs. In later times, on occasions of
extraordinary need, the jurists have admitted the legal possibility of imposing
supplementary charges, on a strictly provisional basis, for possible
exigencies. Such taxes are called Nawa'ib (calamities).
Social Insurance
Only risks involving heavy charges from objects of
insurance, and these differ according to the times and social conditions. Among
the Arabs at the commencement of Islam, the daily ailments were unknown, and
medical care cost practically nothing; the average man built his house with his
own hands, and did not pay even for the major part of the material. Thus it is
easy to understand why one had then no need of insurance against sickness,
fire, etc. On the contrary, insurances against captivity and against
assassination were a real need. Already in the time of the Prophet, this point
had received attention; and certain dispositions were made which had the
elasticity of further development and adaptation to circumstances. Thus, in the
Constitution of the City-State of Madinah of the first year of the Hijrah, this
insurance is called ma'aqil and it worked in the following manner. If someone
was made prisoner of war by an enemy, payment of ransom was needed for
purchasing his liberation. Similarly, all bodily torts or culpable homicides
required payment of damages or blood money. This often exceeded the means of
the individual concerned, prisoner or criminal. The Prophet organized an insurance
on the basis of mutuality: the members of a tribe could count on the central
treasury of their tribe, to which everybody contributed according to his means;
and if the treasury of the tribe proved inadequate, other related or
neighboring tribes were under obligation to render aid. A hierarchy was
established for organizing the units into a complete whole. At Madinah, the
tribes of the Ansarites were well known; the Prophet ordered the Meccan
refugees there, who belonged originally to the various tribes of Mecca, or were
Abyssinians, or Arabs belonging to different regions, should all constitute a
new "tribe" of their own, for purposes of the said social insurance.
Later in the time of the caliph 'Umar, the mutualities or
units of insurance were organized on the basis of professions, civil or
military administrations, to which one belonged, or even of regions. Whenever
needed, the central or provincial government came to the succor of the units,
as we have described above when speaking of State expenditure.
Insurance signifies essentially the repartition of the
burden of an individual on as many as possible, in order to lighten the burden
of each. Instead of the capitalistic companies of insurance, Islam preferred
organizing insurance on the basis of mutuality and co-operation, aided by a
gradation of the units culminating in the central government.
Such a unit could engage in commerce with the help of the
unutilized funds remaining at its disposal, so that the capital is augmented. A
time might come, when the members of a unit could be fully exempted, from
paying further contributions, and might even receive amounts as profits of
commerce. It goes without saying that these units of mutual aid could insure
against all kinds of risks, such as accidents of traffic, fire, loss in
transits, and so on. It goes also without saying that the insurance business is
capable of being "nationalized" for all or certain kinds of risks,
for instance, for temporary motives such as the dispatch of parcels, etc.
Without entering into technical details, it may be pointed
out that the capitalistic insurance's, in which the insured person does not
participate in the benefits of the company in proportion to his contributions,
is not tolerated in Islam. For, such an insurance constitutes a kind of a game
of chance.
In passing, we might mention another social institution of
the time of the caliph 'Umar. He had organized a system of pensions for all the
inhabitants of the country-and according to the Kitab al-Amwal of ibn Zanjuwaih
and ar-Risalah al-'Uthmaniyah of al-Jahiz, even the non Muslim subjects were
among the beneficiaries of these pensions-so much so that as soon as a child
was born, he began to receive a certain pension. The adults received the
minimum necessary for living. In the beginning, the caliph practised a certain
discrimination amongst the different categories of the pensioners and if the
minimum was 1, the most favoured person received 40; yet towards the end of his
life, he decided to observe complete equality, but he died before this reform
could be introduced. This institution, named "Diwan" by 'Umar, seems
to have originated in the very time of the Prophet, as the following report
implies" "The basis of this practice is the narration that the
Prophet named Mahmiyah ibn Jaz' to be in charge of the governmental fifth of
the booty captured on the Banu'l-Mustaliq; and in fact Mahmiyah was in charge
of the governmental fifth of the booties. The sadaqat (=zakat taxes) were
administered separately, and had their particular functionaries. The Prophet
used to spend the sadaqat on orphans, weaklings and poor: if the orphan reached
his puberty and military service (Jihad) became his duty, he was transferred
from the list of the beneficiaries of the sadaqat to that of the fay', yet if
he refused to render military service, he benefited no more from the sadaqat
and was commanded to earn his livelihood himself'. (cf. Sarakhsi, Sharh
as-Siyar al-Kabir, ed. Munajjed, $ 1978).
Games of Chance
In prohibiting these, the Quran (5/90) has characterized
them as the "work of Satan"; and this for cogent reasons. It is
recognized that most of the social evils emanate from the bad distribution of
the national wealth, some individuals becoming too rich and the others too poor
and as a result they fall victim to exploitation by the rich. In games of
chance and lotteries, there is great temptation for quick and easy gains, and
often an easy gain is bad for society. Supposing that in the races-of horses and
others-and in the lotteries, public or private, as well as all other games of
chance, the people of a country spend 3 million pounds every week-as is the
case in certain countries-in the course of only ten years, a sum of 1,560
millions of pounds will be collected from a very large number of the
inhabitants and redistributed among a ridiculously small number. Less than one
per cent of the people thrive at the expense of the remaining 99 per cent. In
other words, the 99 per cent are impoverished in order to enrich the 1 per
cent, and this one per cent of millionaires are created by systematically
ruining the 99 per cent. Whether games of chance, including lotteries, are
private or nationalized, the evil of accumulating wealth in the hands of the
few, at the expense of a very vast majority, works with full force. Hence the
total prohibition of games of chance and lotteries in Islam. As in capitalistic
insurances, games of chance bear one-sided risks.
Interest on Money-Lending
Probably there is no religion in the world which has not
prohibited usury. The distinctive trait of Islam is that it has not only
forbidden this kind of gain, but also remedied the causes leading to the
existence of this evil institution in human society:
Nobody pays willingly an interest on what he borrows: he
pays only because he requires money and he finds that he could not get it
without paying interest.
Islam has made a very clear distinction between commercial
gains and interest on money-lending. The Quran (2/275) says: "...God permitteth
trading and forbiddeth interest:" A little later (2/279), it says:
"If you do not give up (interest), then be warned of war against God and
His messenger; and if ye repent, then ye shall have your principal, (without
interest); neither ye wrong nor be wronged."
The basis of the prohibition of interest is also the
unilateral risk. For when one borrows a certain sum for earning an increase, it
is possible that circumstances should not have been propitious enough for
earning sufficiently to be able to pay the promised interest, the lender not
participating in the risks of the exploitation.
It is not possible to compel an individual to deprive
himself of his money, in order to lend it to others gratuitously and without
interest. We have pointed out that Islam has ordered that one of the charges on
State income is the obligation of helping those who are heavily indebted hence,
the Public Treasury organizes interest-free loans, in addition to and for
supplementing the loans offered by charitable men or organizations, to help
those who are in need of them. The principle is the mutual aid and
co-operation.
In the case of commercial loans, there is also the system of
mudarabah, in which one lends money and participates equally in gains as well
as in risks. If, for instance, two individuals form a company, each one
furnishing half of the capital and labour, the distribution of the profit is
not difficult. However, if the capital comes from one party and the labour from
the other, or if the two furnish the capital though only one of them works, or
the proportions of the partners' share are not equal, in such cases a
reasonable remuneration of the labour, on the basis of the previously agreed
conditions is taken into consideration before the distribution of gains and
profits is effected. Of course all possible precautions are taken, in order to
prevent risks, yet Islam demands that in all contractual participations, the
profit as well as the loss should be participated in by both the contracting
parties.
As far as banks are concerned, their activities are
principally of three kinds: remitting of amounts from one place to another,
assuring safety of the savings of the clients, and lending money to others on
profit. The expenses of the functioning are borne by those who utilize the
service of banks. The question remains of loans for commerce, industry or any
other trade motive. If the bank participates in the profit of its debtors as
well as in their risks, Islam allows such banking activities, otherwise not.
Confidence is borne of confidence. If the savings banks of a
government declare at the end of the year, and not at its beginning, that they
are in a position to pay such and such percentage of profit to the clients, not
only would this be lawful according to Islam, but the public also would have no
hesitation in depositing its savings with governmental banks, in spite of the
silence in the beginning with regard to the quantity of the expected profit.
For one has confidence in the public administration.
To sum up, the principle of mutual participation in profits
as well as in risks must be observed in all commercial contracts.
Statistics
In all planning, it is necessary to have an idea of the
available resources. The Prophet organized the census of the Muslim population,
as al-Bukhari informs us. In the caliphate of "Umar, the census of beasts,
fruit-trees, and other goods was organized; and in the newly-acquired
provinces, cultivable lands were measured. With a large spirit, full of concern
for the well-being of the public, caliph 'Umar had the habit of inviting
representatives of the people of different provinces, after the collection of
taxes, to find out if they had any complaint against the behaviors of the
collectors during the year.
The Daily Life
We may end this brief sketch by mentioning two prohibitions
of considerable importance, which form in fact characteristic features of the
daily life of a Muslim, games of chance and alcoholic drinks. We have had
occasions to discuss games of chance, in which one spends sometimes continually
during long year without obtaining anything in return. What a loss to those who
are economically weak! The use of Alcohol has the peculiarity that its
consumption in a small quantity makes one gay and weakens his resolution to drink
no more; and when one becomes drunk, one has no more control over one's acts.
One may then squander money without noticing it. To these evils may be added
the unhygienic effects of alcoholic drinks which are transmitted in the
children and the posterity also. One of the Quranic verses (2/219) speaks of
it, in interesting terms: "They question thee about wine and games of
chance; say in both is great sin and some profits for men; but the sin of them
is greater than their usefulness." (Quran 2/2 19). The Quran does not deny
that there are certain profits in the use of alcohol, yet it declares it a sin
against the Legislator. In another verse (5/90) it relegates it to the same
level as idolatry, and declares it to be the handiwork of Satan; and adds, if one
would desire to be happy in the two worlds, one should abstain from games of
chance and alcoholic drinks.
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Introduction to Islam
By Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah
By Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah
Economic system of Islam
Reviewed by Engel
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