Islāmic Perspective on the Division of Wealth

After this, the question of the division of wealth arises, which amidst the mutual struggle of the communism and capitalism of today, has become the centre of attention. As such, although God-willing, the actual point for this discussion shall come up later, nonetheless at this point, it is necessary to state inasmuch that with relevance to this significant question as well, Islām has given such a lofty and moderate teaching that its likeness cannot be found anywhere else. In normal circumstances, where Islām has accepted the individual right to produce wealth, on the other hand it has also developed such a mechanism for the distribution of that wealth, which if employed, means that the wealth of any country or nation can never escape the hands of the common people and accumulate into the hands of a few. To be brief, I shall only mention four of the mechanisms of this machinery.

1. First and foremost is the Islāmic law of inheritance, whereby the property of a deceased person does not only go into the hands of one child, male children, or a person’s own children. Instead, it is divided between all the sons and all the daughters, the wife, husband, mother and father, and in some cases even amongst the brothers, sisters and other relatives, according to a very appropriate percentage.1 If a Muslim landlord dies, his land is divided amongst his heirs. If a shopkeeper dies, the assets of his business reach all the heirs. If a factory owner dies, the portion of his factory is divided amongst his heirs as well, and so on and so forth. In this way, various natural hindrances or obstacles have been engineered after short intervals to prevent the (excessive) acquisition of wealth, and at the end of every generation a hindrance or obstacle occurs to lesson the gap which had developed in the previous generation. The perfect and complete form in which Islām has established the law of the division of inheritance, cannot be found elsewhere. Furthermore, upon studying the intricacies of this law, the mention of which space does not permit here, it is clearly perceived that in this system of inheritance, the purpose is not only to distribute inheritance to respective heirs. Rather, the distribution of national wealth is also a prime objective. It is for this reason that Islām has also permitted a dying person to bequeath a third i.e., 1/3 of his wealth, and this portion has not been deemed legal for an heir.2 In other words, by this means, in addition to the compulsory portion of heirs, Islām has also opened the door to make it possible for pure-hearted people to further distribute their wealth amongst those who are most deserving. Alas! What could be said of the benefits of this system of inheritance. Today, Muslims have even put aside the injunction concerning the obligatory division of inheritance. Furthermore, the intoxication of capitalism has even deprived girls and wives and mothers and fathers from their due rights. In any case, the Islāmic law of inheritance is such a blessed system that through it, the phenomenon of the distribution of national wealth continues. Along with this, means should be employed whereby the national offspring may be multiplied.3 Hence, if offspring multiples on the one hand and inheritance is vastly distributed on the other, it is evident that the national wealth shall automatically continue to be divided. However, it is imperative that Muslims act upon this blessed teaching.

2. Secondly, the Islāmic law of social support has been divided into two categories: compulsory and voluntary. The compulsory law relates to the system of Zakāt,4 whereby a special tax of 2.5% to 20% is levied on the wealth of the affluent, based on varying circumstances. The money which is acquired through this tax is distributed amongst the poor and the needy, etc., by the government of the time or national system. Moreover, our Master, the Holy Prophet(sa) has described the purpose of this tax in the following words:

“The purpose of the system of Zakāt is so that a portion of the wealth of the rich may be returned to the poor.”5

1. In this Ḥadīth, in using the very wise words, “may be returned,” one purpose is to make the subtle indication that Zakāt is not a donation or charity which is given to the poor as a favour. Instead, it is the eternal right of the poor upon the wealth of the rich, which they naturally possess. Every individual can understand that the poor and working class have a large part to play in the production of all wealth.

   With relevance to the system of Zakāt, it should also be remembered that the God of Wisdom has fixed a greater percentage of Zakāt on such wealth as does not come into the circulation of trade. As such, the percentage of Zakāt charged on savings is 20%. The reason for this is because on the one hand where the poor and working class acquire some portion of the wealth which is put in trade and manufacturing in another form, yet they do not acquire any portion of any stored wealth. This is why the percentage of Zakāt has been significantly increased for savings.

   The second category of the social support system, has been set up in the form of a ‘voluntary system.’ Under this system, the truth is that Islām has emphasised the assistance of the poor and needy to such an extent, that for a virtuous and God-fearing person this system is effectively a compulsory system. In order to increase the standards of personal goodness and to progress feelings of brotherhood, it has not been made law. The Holy Qur’ān and Aḥādīth are replete with motivation and inspiration towards virtues such as feeding the hungry, clothing the bare, freeing those who are burdened by the affliction of debt, arranging for the cure of those who are ill, assisting poor travellers reach their destination and saving orphans and widows from being disgraced, etc. Furthermore, the personal example of the Holy Prophet(sa) himself in this regard was such that during the month of Ramaḍān, which is a special time for fulfilling the needs of the poor followed by the celebration of ‘Īd,6 the hand of the Holy Prophet(sa) worked in the assistance of the poor and needy as swiftly as a whirlwind, which knows no stopping.7 Therefore, by means of the compulsory system of Zakāt and the voluntary system of other alms, Islām has established a wonderful mechanism by which the wealth of the rich can be given to the poor and the wealth of the country distributed.

3. Thirdly, is the Islāmic law of commerce, wherein transactions of usury have been prohibited. Today, the intellectual class has realised that it is usury which is primarily responsible for utterly destroying the balance of national wealth, because through it, the money of the poor slowly but surely accumulates into the depository of the rich.8 Moreover, if one reflects, it is the curse of usury which is the greatest agent in the birth of capitalism in reality. If today usury was stopped, the outcome would be that firstly, the large corporations of the state would either be taken over by the government, or they would be divided into smaller and more appropriate mid-sized businesses and automatically the country’s wealth would be distributed. The opportunity for other wealthy people to usurp the hard-earned labour of the poor would no longer exist. The concept that without an interest-based system trade would become impossible is completely erroneous and false. Such an ideology is only born due to the current environment, whereby the snare of usury has become so prevalent as a result of the imitation of European and American capitalists. Otherwise, when there was no usury international trade functioned and God-willing shall function so in the future. Moreover, the notion that only such usury is prohibited which is charged at a large percentage or compound interest alone, is nothing more than self-deception which takes root in the hearts of such weak people as have fallen into this immoral pit. Otherwise, Islām has prohibited all forms of usury. Moreover, the truth is, that a harmful thing remains harmful, be it a small amount or a greater amount.

4. Fourthly, Islām has prohibited all forms of revenue generated by gambling, the basis of which is merely chance. Through this means, the door for the inequitable division of wealth in the nation and country is opened as well. As such, Allāh the Exalted states:

“O Ye Muslims! Wine and the game of chance and idols and divining arrows are indeed satanic deeds. So shun each one of them so that you may prosper and succeed.”9

4. In this verse, the principle that gambling is from among those satanic deeds, which are ones to destroy the successful life of nations has been mentioned. The reason for this is that in gambling, the acquisition of wealth is based on mere chance as opposed to labour and skill, which is not only catastrophic to national morality but also becomes a means for the unjust division of national wealth. Apparently, this seems like a minor injunction, but it puts significant light on the exquisite perspective which Islām strives to establish in its economic and moral system. That is to say, that the revenues of the Muslims should be based on labour and skill, not on coincidental happenings. The word ‘Maisir’ which has been derived from ‘Yusrun’ (i.e., ease and convenience) has also been devised in order to allude to the truth that the revenue of gambling is not based on labour and skill, rather, it is acquired easily, sitting idle, which is entirely in contradiction to the economic perspective of Islām.

The above-mentioned four fundamental points have only been mentioned with the thought of brevity, otherwise Islām has devised many ways in its economic system to distribute national wealth. The intent of Islām is that on the one hand, the process of personal struggle and effort continues, thus the pathway to reap the fruits of one’s personal labour remains open to every individual, as this is the greatest motivation for labour and progress in the world. On the other hand, it strives to prevent the inequitable accumulation of the country’s wealth into the hands of a few. It is this moderate course of action, which if adopted could save Muslims from the paths of excessive abundance and extreme deprivation.