The Economic Revolution of Islam
Islam is not only spirituality and not only materialism; rather, it is a beautiful confluence of both. Islam has not emphasized avoidance of materialism, so that man should adopt yoga and monasticism, as happened in Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, etc., nor has human society been completely subjected to materialism, so that man, neglecting his spiritual needs in the face of his material desires, spoils both his world and the hereafter, as is happening in the West today.
Islam has not only recognized the role of materialism in the welfare and development of man’s worldly life; but has also given materialism a place in the Islamic system with great moderation and balance. Islam has declared lawful acquisition as the most important duty and has emphasized earning one’s own livelihood through trade, agriculture, industry and employment, etc.
The basic principle of Islamic economic policy is that the circulation of wealth should be common throughout society. It should not be the case that wealth circulates only among the rich, the wealth of the rich increases day by day, and the poor become poorer day by day. The most important thing in terms of economy is the circulation of capital. If the circulation of capital is such that it reaches all classes of people, then everyone will be happy, and if it circulates only among a few people, then prosperity will also come to a few people and the rest will be forced to live a life of misery.
The more people in society circulate capital, the more its value will increase. Islam established an economic system that would prevent the monopoly of wealth by influential people and that the flow of wealth would flow to the poor as well as the rich: “That there may be no state among the rich among you” (Surah Al-Hashr, verse 7).
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Economic Policy of Islam
Islam wants to create economic equality between individuals and society. Economic equality does not mean that one person should have the same wealth as another; because such equality is both unnatural and impractical. It is not possible for every individual in society to have the same wealth and possessions.
Differences between different individuals in terms of intellectual capacity are necessary; because without it, no truly effective civilized system can be established; but this difference between two human beings should not be infinite and the excitement of honors, concessions and unnecessary formal protections based on position should be eliminated.
The equality that Islam wants is that all members of society should have equal opportunities and that along with the increase and decrease in wealth and possessions, there should not be much difference in the standard of living and economic manifestations of the individuals in society. Islam has erased all the differences that are established merely on the basis of position and status and has established real civilized equality and economic justice in place of only so-called equality.
The correct circulation of capital in society
The second sphere of the correct circulation of capital in society is business and commercial transactions that are established between ordinary people. In the contemporary world, there are two theories in this regard: “the theory of national ownership” and the other, the “theory of unfettered ownership” or, in other words, the “theory of capitalism.” Under the theory of national ownership, all the businesses of the estate are made national property and given to the national property, and people work according to their own capacity and then get their share from this national property. The system of national ownership was implemented in Soviet Russia with great force and enthusiasm; but it failed because it was unnatural.
Capitalist system
On the other hand, in the “capitalist system”, every person has the right to continuously increase his income without any restrictions. He is neither morally obligated to give something of his wealth to the poor, nor is there any restriction on him to refrain from acquiring the wealth of the poor through usury and illegal means.
The main goal of the capitalist system is to make money, there is no room for compassion, neediness and poverty. The characteristic of this unrestrained economic system is that when it reaches its peak, wealth is squeezed from all sides and concentrated in just a few handfuls, and their monopoly on business is established, and the people are left with no choice but to work for these handful of capitalists or become their agents and promote their business.
The capitalist system of the West has destroyed the balance of wealth. In the Islamic system, the circulation of wealth in society was based on buying and selling and legitimate exchange; But the basis of the Western financial system was interest, which has been a means of sucking the blood of the poor and keeping the weak weaker and more dependent in every period of human history.
Today, the result of this system is that wealth has become the slave of a few hands and they are twisting the financial system of the world in whichever direction they want. Today, the rich are getting richer and the poor are sinking into the mire of poverty. The capitalist system is a system of plunder, the yeast of this system is raised from greed and avarice.
Usury and Gambling and the Islamic Economic System
Islam proposes a middle way between the two extremes of national ownership and freehold ownership. It recognizes individual ownership; but it also imposes some restrictions; so that the balance of wealth distribution is not disturbed. To stop this one-way flow of wealth, Islam has first tried to ensure that all such businesses are legally prohibited, in which there is a profit for one person and a loss for many, such as usury, betting, gambling, etc.
Islam has declared all forms of usury as forbidden and unlawful; because the usury system is based on ensuring the profit of one or a few people. Usury means that the capitalist should be given a lease of prosperity and be protected from all kinds of risks and losses. Every business in the world has an aspect of profit and loss; but usury is a business in which there is no possibility of loss or loss. There is always profit in it. Even if the debtor becomes poor, the law sells the property of his house and pays the original interest to the capitalist. Thus, as a result of usury transactions, the flow of wealth is directed towards a handful of capitalists instead of the public.
The present-day banking system is also based on interest. Apparently, it does not have the same defects as the moneylender system or the moneylender system; but in reality, a few capitalists collect the wealth of the entire country at a low interest rate and then lend it to manufacturers and factory owners at a high interest rate.
And then the same goods come to the market with the burden of interest, and all the buyers who had collected their money and provided capital for industries are sold at a high price to earn interest. In this way, as a result of interest-based economics, the wealth obtained from the people themselves becomes a means of directing the flow of wealth towards a few capitalists and industrialists instead of the people. Islam has not opposed banking; because banking is actually a simple economic strategy.
To do big business, big capital is needed, from this aspect, the need for banking is obvious so that the money of the people that is locked in their safes can be invested and its benefits reach everyone. From this point of view, the correct basis of banking according to Islam is Mudarabat, that is, the public should be made equal partners in the actual profit and loss. Mudarabat, by being an aid to the commercial process, expands the circulation of wealth, and interest serves to concentrate wealth and deliver it to a few hands. Mudarabat creates a general profit; while interest promotes exploitation.
The same is the case with gambling, betting, betting and lottery, etc., in which there is necessarily a gain for one party and a loss for the other party, or a gain for a handful of people and a loss for the entire society. This business makes a pile of money for some people without any real service to society, and makes many others bankrupt and impoverished without any fundamental reason.
The Islamic System of Zakat and Inheritance
Zakat was made obligatory in order to maintain the proper distribution of wealth and ensure equal circulation in society, the principle of which is that it should be collected from the wealthy and given to the poor. Islam commands the rich and wealthy to spend their surplus and surplus wealth in the way of God, seeking the pleasure of God Almighty and achieving moral greatness. The Holy Quran states: In their wealth is a right for the beggars and the deprived (Surah Al-Ma’arij, verses 24, 25)
Islam has set a standard for every type of property, and whoever has wealth exceeding this standard will be required to pay a mandatory portion of Zakat every year. Zakat is a great revolutionary chapter in Islamic economics. If a country truly accepts and implements the Islamic system of life, then bankruptcy, begging and other economic crimes will be eliminated there. The Zakat system prevents the accumulation of wealth and directs its flow towards the weakest members of society.
In addition, charity and alms were strongly encouraged and various types of expiations and ransoms were proposed in such a way that they also provided the means to meet the needs of the poor. In Islam, stinginess was considered highly condemnable from a moral standpoint. Generosity and generosity were considered the best qualities.
In view of this economic system, such a law of inheritance was made so that the wealth and property left by each deceased person would be spread over a maximum area and as many members of society as possible would benefit from it.
The Islamic Takaful System
The Islamic Takaful system is an important part of the Islamic economic revolution, in which every individual, regardless of religion or nationality, has the right to have access to as much material resources as a person needs to live a normal life and fulfill his/her related rights and duties in one way or another. The purpose of this system is to prevent the circulation of national and state wealth from being limited to a few wealthy people; so that the common people do not need anyone’s mercy and kindness.
Islam commands that the financial support of those members of society who are poor and needy, or who are disabled due to some excuse and are not able to find a livelihood or earn a living, or who are in need due to lack of suitable employment, is one of the primary responsibilities of the government. Similarly, it is the responsibility of their relatives and relatives to provide for such individuals, and other wealthy people in society should arrange for the support of such individuals through zakat, sadaqat and donations.
In the Islamic system of Takaful, the priority is to ensure that no person in the Islamic state is deprived of the basic necessities of life. In this system, the rich are encouraged and taught to provide the necessities of life to the poor and deprived by instilling fear of the Hereafter.
Summary of the Economic Revolution of Islam
This is the revolutionary economic system of Islam that was prevalent in the world after the advent of Islam and lasted for thirteen centuries with full glory. During the time of this system, humans never faced any major economic crisis. There was a distribution of wealth and its balance among all people.
The economic prosperity of the masses during the times of various Islamic governments is a historical fact. The economic progress of Muslim countries and the flow of wealth are the reasons on the basis of which the Islamic countries of the East became the targets of the capitalist and colonialist countries of the West and even today they have not been able to get rid of it.
In the Islamic system, the people of every country and region had local sources of livelihood and sustenance and they rarely needed to migrate for this; but today, most migration in the world is taking place on the basis of economic needs and millions of people are moving from here to there. Due to unnecessary economic needs, people are deprived of the real comfort of life and are unfamiliar with the wealth of peace of mind despite the abundance of luxuries and luxuries.
The Western system has created an undue lust for wealth in the hearts of people and by showing the glitter of the world, it is inciting people to earn wealth through all legitimate and illegitimate means. The West has invented machinery and made a small section of the country’s wealthy people the owners of all the wealth and the rest of the society its servants.
A person who has immense wealth sets up a factory and the entire nation works for him. The goods that the people produce with their own labor, a large part of its profit goes to the owner himself and a small part of it is distributed to a large section of the society, which is not even a tenth of his labor.
In Islamic society, there was no much difference between the general public and the rulers except in terms of political authority. The civil rights that a common person had were the same as those of the highest officials. Ministers and governors received the same share from the government treasury as ordinary citizens. This was the reason why the wealth of the country reached all members of society equally and there was prosperity everywhere; thus, a situation arose in Arabia where people in the cities would carry alms money and find no one to accept it.
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