Another fundamental point which should be remembered with relevance to the Islāmic system of economics is that Islām presents the idea that a constant state of struggle and effort should prevail within mankind. In actuality, life is but a name for constant movement and continuous struggle and effort and the entire progress of mankind is tied to this very constant movement and continuous effort. As such, Islām cannot condone a system which pulls man out of the realm of struggle and effort and compels man to sit idle devouring the wealth of others or spending life dependant upon others. Invariably, Islām provides various external supports for individual life, and arranges for one to attain reasonable benefit therefrom, but its actual emphasis is on the fact that every individual should stand on his own two feet and pave the way of life through the power of his own hands or mental faculties. Islām does accept these external supports to be a means of additional assistance, but does not permit one to depend on them completely. This is why the Holy Qur’ān refers to those who sit idle devouring the wealth of inheritance in the following words:
“You desire to devour the wealth of heritage, devouring greedily and wholly, and you crave that this hoarded wealth be not exhausted. And you love hoarded wealth with exceeding love.”1
In this exquisite verse, the objective is to allude to the very truth that the God of Islām does not like a life wherein mankind is pulled out of the realm of struggle, effort, striving and work, and is tied to a particular stake. In this manner, slowly but surely, the natural faculties of man are rusted and wither away. However, it is observed that capitalism and communism both pull man out of a life of struggle and effort and open the door of dependence upon others. In other words, on the one hand, where capitalism drives the stake of hoarded wealth into the ground and ties man to it, on the other communism goes to the other extreme and wishes to tie man to the stake of the government and as if desiring to make man dormant. From this, it is apparent that although the extremes are poles apart, in actuality, this very principle works in both capitalism and communism; that mankind be pulled out of the realm of individual struggle and effort and tied to a strong stake, where he can spend a life of ease without feeling the need to remain vigilant. Hence, if one contemplates, both of these are paths of excessive abundance and extreme deficiency, which the God of Islām wishes to protect man from, placing him in the proactive arena of struggle and effort. What is the principle of communism? Is it not that all people spend a life together in unity, and whether some individuals are weaker than others or stronger, and whether some individuals are indolent and others are vigilant, if they fall, they fall together and if they rise, they rise together? However, contemplate, in terms of capitalism is this not an unnatural support, which can become the means of making mankind negligent of individual striving and effort? No doubt, Islām has also furnished the support of country and nation to weak individuals as well, but it has very intelligently prohibited full dependence upon them. Moreover, it has placed the actual onus of an individual upon the individuals themselves and has only furnished additional support as partial aid or in extreme circumstances. Hence, Islām is the only moderate religion which guarding itself from the two extremes of capitalism and communism, has found a middle path. It does not wish to tie man to hoarded wealth and make mankind useless by way of capitalism, nor does it bind mankind to the complete dependence of the government upon the principle of communism and weaken individual striving and effort. As such, addressing Muslims God the Exalted states:
“O Ye Muslims! we have made you a moderate community, so that you may act as guardians over those nations who succumb to all kinds of extremes.”2
In summary, Islām has employed a moderate course in its economic system. Furthermore, if an individual wishes to undertake a just analysis of the Islāmic economic system in comparison to communism, there is a weighty lesson for him in this point. Although there is a difference of extremes, i.e., capitalism is situated at one extreme while communism is situated at the other. However, in any case, communism presents the same affliction before the world in but another form, which its opposing extreme i.e., capitalism, has put before the world. In other words, both of these systems pull one out of a realm of striving and effort and desires to tether mankind to a specific anchor. It is only Islām which following a moderate course, has maintained the individual striving and effort of mankind on the one hand, but on the other in view of extreme circumstances and in order to establish a spirit of brotherhood and unity in the nation, it has also provided various external supports. It is this very path which can save an individual’s mind from becoming redundant and dense. If not, the curse which capitalism has produced in the world today, will come before the world in another form later, by means of communism.
1 Al-Fajr (89:20-21)
2 Al-Baqarah (2:144)