Islam's response to contemporary world problems (45)

ECONOMIC PEACE. 

We continue to develop the theme of "Economic Peace", linking to the 44th installment. 

(The Holy Quran references can be consulted at https://www.ahmadiyya-islam.org/es/coran/) 

It should be clear here that classes are not created simply by the accumulation of wealth in a few hands, but also by the division of capital between owners and employees, or by landowners and those who cultivate the land. 

There is much more to the creation of a social class. It is impossible to mention all the factors and how they contribute together and individually to the creation of class. 

A study of traditional Indian society provides an excellent example of the existence of a class structure developed over thousands of years. The overall trajectory of this evolution was influenced not only by the distribution of wealth, but by racial, social, religious and political factors. A long history of invasions, internal strife, struggles for survival and domination is preserved in the Indian caste system, which has given rise to so many classes. 

Marx took due note of this situation. In a series of letters to the Herald Tribune of New York, he considered the state of Indian society as a contraposition to the philosophy of scientific socialism. He concluded that the existence of this caste system would make India the last country to accept communism. 

From the Islamic point of view, the creation of classes in a society begins to do harm when there is no ethical code governing how money should be spent. Imagine a society where people live a simple life, without excessive expenditure on clothes, food or accommodation, and where contrasts in lifestyles are not too pronounced. It does not matter so much how much wealth has been accumulated in a few hands; it is the way it is spent that is harmful, not the mere accumulation of that wealth in a few hands. It begins to bother when it is spent or squandered unequally or unwisely. It is the luxurious lifestyle of the wealthy and all that surrounds them, their displays, ostentations and lavishness, seen from the point of view of the miserable and suffering poor who are struggling to survive, that the unequal distribution of wealth begins to create unbridgeable gulfs between the two. 

Therefore, Islam does not unduly interfere with the freedom of each individual to earn his or her wages and his or her right to save them. On the contrary, it promotes and encourages the private sector rather than the public sector. It lays down a well-defined code with regard to lifestyle, which if followed to the letter, would make life as a whole a refreshing example for all. 

As this aspect of Islamic economic philosophy has been discussed earlier, we need not go into it further. 

The Islamic law of inheritance also plays an important role in the distribution of wealth from the deceased to his heirs. A certain share must be distributed among parents, wives, children, relatives and kith and kin. They cannot be deprived of their God-given inheritance rights unless there is a good reason, the validity of which will be determined by the Islamic State Courts and not by individuals. At best, a person may bequeath a maximum of one-third of his available possessions to another person or to a society of his choice (8:13). These measures effectively prevent the accumulation of wealth in too few hands. 

Under the Islamic law of inheritance, the rules of primogeniture, those relating to the fairness of the distribution of estates or the unlimited power of bequest born of the capricious pleasure of the testator are avoided. Movable and immovable property is continually divided after each generation, and in the space of three or four generations, even large estates are parceled out into small holdings so that no permanent division is created among the people over the monopoly of land ownership. 

"And do not devour one another's goods by falsehood, nor offer them as a bribe to the authorities in order to knowingly and unjustly appropriate a portion of another's resources." (2:189) 

Again I must omit this aspect, which is particularly noticeable - in the form of corruption and bribery - in Third World countries, but I will refer to it when I speak of Individual Peace. 

Business ethics 

Islam does not totally disagree with capitalism, nor does it categorically reject scientific socialism, but retains its positive aspects and attitudes. 

The following are some examples from 1,400 years ago. Islam devised a code of sound business ethics that modern man has discovered at the end of a difficult road: 

The Islamic business relationship is based on truth and honesty (2:283-284). 

Islam forbids the use of false weights and cutting corners in measurements (83:2-4). 

Traders are forbidden to sell defective, corrupt or obsolete goods or goods that are defective, corrupt or obsolete. A merchant must not attempt to conceal the defects of any item he offers for sale. (Muslim) If this item is sold without the prior knowledge of the buyer, the buyer has the right to return it when he discovers the fault or defect and obtain a refund. (Hadith) 

The merchant is prohibited from charging different prices to different customers, although he is free to offer concessionary discounts to any customer. He is free to fix any price he deems reasonable (Bukhari and Muslim). 

Islam prohibits false competition or monopolies that create false competition. It also prohibits raising prices at auctions with false bids or relying on "hooks" to deceive a prospective buyer. (Bukhari & Muslim) 

Similarly, Islam recommends that the buying and selling of goods should take place in the open, preferably in the presence of witnesses, and that the buyer should be informed and allowed to see in detail what he is buying. (2:283-284; Muslim). 

In short, Islam adopts the strategy of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor by: 

• The commandment of certain limitations as already mentioned above, pp. drinking, gambling, etc. 
• Prohibiting the hoarding of wealth and its accumulation through interest. 
• Encouraging private enterprise. 
• The promotion of the rapid circulation of wealth. 
• The use of repetitive advice, persuasion and instruction appealing to the nobility in man, so that he voluntarily adopts a humble and simple life-style which does not set the rich man too far apart from the poor man. 

The object of this exercise is to make man more sensitive to the feelings of others and to stifle and kill animal and irrational impulses in him. A "Holy War" in the real sense of the words is to be waged against vanity, hypocrisy, superficiality, snobbery, pride and arrogance. It seeks to bring to the surface all that is refined and noble in man, so that he becomes so sensitive to the suffering of others that he feels it is a crime to live in luxury and comfort, when others suffer and survive a life of misery and destitution. 

Of course, such a group of highly cultivated people, who form the vanguard of man's sublime values, are always a small minority, but their level of social awareness of the welfare of others is displayed at such a considerate level that it is impossible for them to remain concerned only with their own needs and comforts, and unconcerned with the state of misery of the less fortunate sections of society. Their concern in life no longer remains introverted. They learn to live with an open awareness of the world around them. They feel uneasy as long as they do not participate materially in alleviating the suffering of others and raising the standard of living of others. 

The characteristics of such a society of believers is described in one of the first verses of the Holy Quran, already quoted earlier in this address: 

"And they spend what we have provided" (2:4). 

In the previous section on socio-economic peace, we have seen how Islam has revolutionised the concept of almsgiving for the poor and needy. As far as the rights of individuals over national resources are concerned, The Holy Quran marks the criterion by which we can determine how much wealth, which should have flowed to the ordinary man, has been diverted into the hands of a few capitalists: 

"And those in whose goods there is a certain share for the one who asks for help and for the one who does not ask for help." (70:25-26) 

These verses address the rich and remind them that a portion of their property rightfully belongs to the beggar and the destitute. 

(lpbD) - God's peace and blessings be upon him. 

(To be continued in installment 46, elaborating on "Economic Peace" according to the teachings of the Holy Quran).