12. ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE QUR'AN1
12.1
Introduction
The
Qur'an prohibits interest (riba) in the strongest terms. Therefore, the
pillar of an economic system based on the Qur'an must be fundamentally opposed
– not only to the total rejection of interest in all forms – but also to
whatever that bears any resemblance to it. The following verses give some
indication of the Qur'anic requirements:
(2:278)
O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah, and give up what remaineth (due
to you) from usury, if ye are (in truth) believers.
(2:279)
And if ye do not, then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His
messenger. And if ye repent, then ye have your principal (without interest).
Wrong not, and ye shall not be wronged.
(3:130)
O ye who believe! Devour not usury, doubling and quadrupling (the sum lent).
Observe your duty to Allah, that ye may be successful.
(4:61) And
of their taking usury when they were forbidden it, and of their devouring
people's wealth by false pretences, We have prepared for those of them who
disbelieve a painful doom.
(30:39)
That which ye give in usury in order that it may increase on (other) people's
property hath no increase with Allah; but that which ye invest as zakat,
seeking Allah's countenance, hath increase manifold.
Note: In verse 30:39, the phrase 'invest
in zakat' has been used in place of the traditional translation 'give in
charity'. Section 12.3.iii gives the reasons for this.
Today,
most modern economies are based on interest to such an extent that it is
difficult to imagine any economic activity where interest was not involved
directly or indirectly. Many Muslims have attempted to resolve this
contradiction between what the Qur'an demands and the principles of a modern
economy, but as yet no viable system has been developed. The so-called Islamic
countries which shook off the yoke of colonialism have remained intellectually
and economically controlled from outside. The conclusion one comes to after
such a long and singular failure on the part of such countries is that any
suggested economic system cannot be implemented and tested without the prior
establishment of a true Islamic State (see chapter 16).
During
the early years of Islam (i.e. the first few hundred years) when the Qur'an was
the only source of guidance for the Muslims, an economic system based on the
Qur'an was well established, and without doubt this would have flourished even further with
time, if only the Muslims had not deviated from the Qur'an, and thereby lost
their status as a major world power. The vacuum which resulted from the
Muslims' neglect of the Qur'an and subsequent decline was filled by the West
which, as we see today, has an economy largely based on interest.
The
basis of the ideal economic system is in the Qur'an. As in most things, the
Qur'an gives the fundamental principles and leaves the details to be filled in
by human beings according to the need of the society. However, at no stage of their experience should human beings
transgress the fundamental limits set up by the Creator.
12.2
The present day's global economic control
The
following section (12.2.i) is taken
from an article named, Islam: Taking root in Europe, by Sahib
Mustaqim Bleher. The section following (12.2.ii) includes part of an article
published in The Guardian of 9th Jan. '87, by F. Clairmonte and J.
Cavanagh, on the unprecedented debt crisis facing the Third World, preceded by
my own comments.
12.2.i
Every ideology has its basic underlying philosophy: Capitalism
emphasises the individual 'free will', Communism equates the value of man with
his productive capacity, and Modern Philosophy stresses the relativity of
everything. The underlying
philosophical notion of Islam is balance. When Allah created the world,
everything was in its right place. Through the subsequent interaction of
numerous entities and forces in the world, this order is continuously being
disturbed. The balance will be lost, unless and until this imbalance is
redressed, and humanity returned onto the right, straight and even path. This
principle can be applied to all spheres of human experience. The over-rating of
material advancement has stifled spiritual advancement; as a consequence,
uncontrolled pollution has disturbed ecological equilibrium; greed has produced
a world of contrasts through an unfair distribution of resources; the world's
leading societies' careless comfort has brought war to the doorsteps of
countless nations. In all these examples the visible imbalance can be
equated with the injustice of some towards others. To restore the balance
inevitably means fighting injustice. Islam, therefore, can never be a mere
private religion practised in homes and monasteries. If it is not
political, it is not Islam.
The Qur'an's account of Pharonic society tells us that human
society rests on three pillars: The social, political and military sphere
(represented by Pharaoh); the economic sphere
(represented by Qaroon/Corah); and the ideological sphere of education,
religion and media-propaganda (represented by Haman). The three are
inter-related, and the fight against oppression will remain unsuccessful, if
directed against one without the other two. This is what has happened in the
past. When various bands of nationalism within the Muslim world shook off the
yoke of colonialism, the result was the creation of countries which got rid of
a foreign political elite, but remained intellectually and economically
controlled from outside. The Islamic revival of various Muslim movements around
the world concentrated exclusively on the spiritual aspects of Islam, the need
for the refinement of the individual's character, and was consequently unable to
free anybody from political and economic bondage. Muslim attempts at economic
reforms were limited to minor issues, for they did not address the question of
political and media control. It seems that most, if not all, the Muslim
movements over the last few centuries have been fooled by Western
divide-and-rule-policy in that they adopted a dialectically and analytically
fragmented approach in their effort, rather than the holistic approach that
Islam demands. Modern materialistic society has such refined mechanisms of
control in place that its injustice can be passed off as a just cause. Its
rejection of divine law and emphasis of individualism renders the individual
isolated and helpless against bureaucratic human regulation. Its media
propaganda machine turns falsehood into truth by effectively filtering all
available information to a permitted norm as well as twisting the perception of
events through classic double-speak. Its ever growing drugs and narcotic
industry sedates people to a point where they become indifferent to the
suffering of others, unable to relate, unmotivated, and turn all their
potential energies for change inwardly against themselves. Its political
institutions provide justification of the most perverse deeds of injustice by
an elaborate process of
"decision-making" which effectively rubber stamps any action
the elite wishes to take. Its economic system clearly uses the instrument of
interest for continuing re-distribution of wealth away from its producers to a
small clique of monopolists who have mortgaged the life of almost every
individual on earth.
Present-day
global economic control is a marvellous example of how the mind can be made to
believe things that are not real. It started with the early goldsmiths who took
people's valuables for safe keeping in their vaults. They soon started to
realise that none of the depositors ever asked for all the money/or monies
back, but withdrew small portions of it at a time, and they could safely lend
the remainder of people's money against interest, as long as they kept enough
to meet day-to-day demands. More than that, they could often get away with
lending more than they had, as the recipient of a promissory note would not
normally exchange it back into coin, but be happy with a title deed to coinage
he thought was kept safely in the goldsmith's vaults. Thus, the goldsmiths
became the first bankers and gradually, by way of deception, defrauded more and
more people out of their hard-earned property. With the wide-spread use of
paper money, cheques, plastic cards and electronic money transfers, this
business has taken on gigantic proportions, and bankers now control all
significant enterprises including governments. As, historically, the
money-lending profession was forbidden to Christians, and still is, or should
be, forbidden to Muslims, Jewish families were the first to establish
themselves in this business and to date control it almost exclusively. Little
surprise, therefore, that Zionism almost always gets its way with governments who
find themselves in ever-increasing debt.
In 1865 Abraham Lincoln stated his monetary policy: 'Money is the
creature of law, and the creation of the original issue of money should be
maintained as the exclusive monopoly of national government. Money possesses no value to the State other
than given to it by circulation[...]
Government should stand behind its currency and credit and the bank
deposits of the nation. No individual should suffer a loss of money through
depreciation of inflated currency or bankruptcy. Government possessing the
power to create and issue currency and credit as money [...] need not and
should not borrow capital at interest as a means of financing governmental work
and public enterprise.' These words
need no updating over a hundred years later. But Lincoln was assassinated, and
money-lenders stayed in power. In America this power is exercised by the
Federal Reserve which issues the nation's money instead of the government. John
F. Kennedy was about to take this right away from them, but then he, too, got
assassinated. This money-power has upset the balance more than any other
means of control. Fertile, self-sufficient countries were plunged into debt
and made dependent on outside aid. Yet, the West's income from interest
payments is a multiple of Third World Aid dispatched by the West. Only the
interest income goes on to the lenders, whereas the aid bill is footed by the
people and their governments. Considering that this evil money-power is at the
root of some of the worst injustice troubling our planet -- war, pollution,
starvation, social disorder -- Muslims should be amongst the first to fight it.
Considering that this creation of money out of nothing, this usurpation of
wealth by crooked means is almost taking the shape of playing god - a sign of
the Dajjal, the false Messiah -- it should be the most important issue on the
Muslim's agenda. For good reason, interest has been forbidden in Islam.
Yet Muslims happily pray in mosques built with interest money, and the
so-called Islamic banks happily contend themselves with trying to beat the
others at the game. Instead of offering a real alternative, they simply change
the labels and shamelessly call it fair partnership, when they get half the
profits of an entrepreneur's hard labour after lending him some money, which
cost them nothing.2
12.2.ii
Unprecedented debt crisis facing the Third World
We now
turn our attention to some of the Western nations who pride themselves on their
'democracy' and 'freedom', yet whose attitudes and behaviour towards other
nations often lack both of these virtues in the extreme. The reason for this is
that the people who govern these countries can only stay in power by promising
a constantly rising standard of living, which in most cases is achieved by robbing
the Third World. Most of these rich nations behave like money sharks. They
corrupt the people who rule the Third World countries by giving huge loans for
imports which in most cases the country does not need but accepts under
political coercion. Thus, huge debts are built up under pressure. The political
leaders can do very little to resist, since they correctly surmise that they
would be liquidated and then replaced by people who would again be subservient
to the rich nations. Very often these Third World leaders are pressurised to
hand out contracts to the foreign countries by accepting huge bribes as well as
by taking an undisclosed share of the profits. This has made it impossible for
any genuine Third World leader, who wants to improve the well being of his
countrymen, to succeed.
If such
leaders somehow survive, then they are branded as communist or undemocratic in
the press and every possible pressure is applied to get rid of them. I would be
failing in my duty not to mention this
great exploitation and the tragic consequences that are bound to follow. The
money lending, and the huge interest that is collected, are crippling these
countries. A point has been reached where the cumulative interest payments
outweigh the original loan and the debt has become so big that it would be
impossible to pay back the original debts, so that the interest payments will
go on forever. The loans are designed so that the money sharks can go on
making money out of the miseries of the Third World. The Church seems to have
nothing to say about this global problem. Below I quote from an article published in The Guardian of
9th Jan '87 by F. Clairmonte and J. Cavanagh on the unprecedented debt crisis
facing the Third World. It is almost ten years since the article was published.
The condition of Third World countries since then has gone from bad to worse,
and the only reason for this, is the exploitation through the medium of
interest payments, which the Qur'an forbids in no uncertain terms.
The Third World is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, with
its debts growing exponentially whilst its export earnings are plummeting. Gigantic
amounts of capital are thus flowing from the poor to the rich countries.
The upshot is that in 1981, for the first time in post-war
history, Third World countries have become net capital exporters. In other
words their debt service payments exceeded new borrowing and rescheduling.
Between 1981 and 1985 net capital export for Latin America moved from US$0.2 to
US$42.4 billion or an 85 fold increase; in Africa from US$5.3 billion to
US$21.5 billion, and Asia from US$1.7 billion to US$9.7 billion. These net
capital flows exclude profit repatriations by Third World based transitional
companies and capital flights, as well as Middle East exporters. If these
additions were thrown into the scale the aggregate outflows would not be far
short of US$230-240 billion. This is the sum four times larger than that of the
Marshall Plan; and it must be emphasised, the Marshall Plan aid was repaid with
interest to the United States. In contrast, this tribute from the poor to the
rich countries will not be repaid. Aggravating this terrifying configuration is
the direction of the international bank lending which topped US$216 billion in
1985. The industrial economies, as usual, absorbed almost the totality: US$194
as compared with US$119 billion in 1984. The under-developed took only US$3
billion (1984): a derisory sum amounting to around 2 per cent of their global
interest payments. Of vital importance is the role played by the commodity
price forecasts of the World Bank, which simply have no claim to scientific
validity. The World Bank's forecasts of commodity prices were generally higher
than the actual price movements of all the commodities since 1980. The
fraudulent nature of these World Bank forecasts -- designed to boost the
over-supply of commodities and thus lower prices -- is being recognised by a
growing body of intelligent technocrats in the Third World. The outcome, like a
Greek tragedy, is ineluctable: Third World countries are literally being driven
to market fatter and fatter volumes of commodities at lower and lower prices on
the global market in return for higher priced goods and service imports. In
fact, neither can the principal nor the interest ever be repaid. Nor is it
desirable that the debt (interest and principal) should be repaid. Debt
repudiation stands out as the only ethically feasible and rational solution for
the Third World.3
Similar
exploitation is suffered by the ordinary people even within the rich countries.
Rules, similar to those used against the Third World are applied. The whole
financial system is geared in such a way that it disadvantages the people who
needs money as against those who already have the sources. Even the newspapers
rarely publicise the enormous suffering that common people undergo at the hands
of money sharks. Sadly the Church, too, is entirely silent on these issues.
No
wonder Allah has forbidden usury and has clearly stated the need to use surplus
wealth for the benefit of humanity.
12.3
Some important economic concepts used in the Qur'an
12.3.i
Charity
(Applicable
until the time when Qur'anic Social Order is established).
12.3.ii Sadaqaat
Payments
for fulfilment of certain obligation out of our income, such as out of a wage,
a dividend, a bill, etc. Sometimes sadaqaat is also used as a charity.
12.3.iii
Zakat
Payments
by way of investment, for the sake of economic development which essentially aims
at making economic gains for the benefit of the society.
12.3.iv
Business dealing and trading.
12.3.i
Charity
Once
the Qur'anic social order is established the need for charity should disappear.
However, during the transitional period, there will always be the need for
charity, but Allah likes the affluent people to pay the charity voluntarily,
and by way of expressing gratitude to their Creator. The following verses
explain the concept of charity in a God-fearing society:
(2:177)
[...]And giveth his wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the
needy and the wayfarer and those who ask and to set slaves free.
(76:8) And
feed with food the needy wretch, the orphan and the prisoner, for love of Him.
(76:9)
(Saying): We feed you, for the sake of Allah only. We wish for no reward nor
thanks from you.
A
selfless act to help the needy breeds two obvious elements in the society:
firstly, the needy are helped in material terms which generates a feeling of
cohesion in the society, and secondly, the donor gains a spiritual benefit in
that his desire for material effects gets blunted which diverts him from
obstructing the path of the society. Indeed, it causes a reversal in the
direction of people's greed when they come forward to give in charity as a
matter of free will, and as an expression of their gratitude to the Creator.
12.3.ii
Sadaqaat
Please
see the following verses to understand this concept.
(9:60) The
sadaqaat are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect
them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and
the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarer; a duty imposed
by Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.
(9:103) Take
alms of their wealth (sadaqaat), wherewith thou mayest purify them and
mayest make them grow, and pray for them. Lo! Thy prayer is an assuagement for
them. Allah is Hearer, Knower.
The
scheme is simple to understand provided human beings believe that it is on
account of the resources made available by the Creator that the material gains
are forthcoming in the first place, and a share out of such gains belongs to
Allah, and that this share is to be spent for the general welfare of the
society. As such, the payment as sadaqaat in verses 9:60 and 9:103 has
been termed as 'for the cause of Allah'. In simple terms sadaqaat
means the tax paid by the people and businesses of the state which must then be
used for welfare spending. It must be noted that, like many Arabic words
having multiple meanings, sadaqaat can also have other meanings
including 'charity', and the meaning applicable in a particular case depends on
the context in which it is used.
(57:18) Lo!
Those who give sadaqaat, both men and women, and lend unto Allah a
goodly loan, it will be doubled for them, and theirs will be a rich reward.
Verse
6:141 below explains when this Divine-share is supposed to be paid: on the day
of harvesting. In today's terms, it would mean the taxes that one must pay when
one receives his pay.
(6:141)
He it is Who produceth gardens trellised and untrellised, and the date-palm,
and crops of divers flavour, and the olive and the pomegranate, like and
unlike. Eat ye of the fruit thereof when it fruiteth, and pay the due thereof
upon the harvest day, and be not prodigal. Lo! Allah loveth not the prodigals.
This
Payment for Allah is a payment to the Islamic State for the common welfare. By
the same token payments to the Messenger in verses 58:12,13 means payments to
the State for the general welfare (as
the Messenger was then the collector on behalf of the State).
(58: 12) O ye who believe! When ye hold conference
with the Messenger, offer sadaqaat before your conference. That is
better and purer for you. But if ye cannot find (the wherewithal) then lo!
Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
(58:13) Fear
ye to offer sadaqaat before your conference? Then when ye do it not and
Allah hath forgiven you, establish worship and invest in Zakat and obey
Allah and His messenger. And Allah is Aware of what ye do.
It is
important to note that Allah enjoins on Muslim men to consider marriage payment
to their wives as a duty (4:24), and this payment has been named as sadaqaat
(4:4). In this case sadaqaat is not a charity but an obligation which
must be paid.
(4:24)
[...]And those of whom ye seek consent (by marrying them), give unto them their
portions as duty. And there is no sin for you in what ye do by mutual
agreement after the duty (hath been
done). Lo! Allah is ever Knowing, Wise.
(4:4) And
give unto the women (whom ye marry) free gift of their marriage portions (sadaqaat);
but if they of their own accord remit unto you a part thereof, then ye are
welcome to absorb it (in your wealth).
Mankind
must understand the cardinal principle that a peaceful and a stable society
will only come into being when there prevails a just socio-economic system. In such a system, wealth is like
blood for the human body: blood must continuously circulate throughout the body,
and must reach each and every cell of the body. Only then will the body
continue to stay healthy. The hoarding of wealth is like thrombosis: an
economic system will collapse if hoarding is allowed to permeate society. This
is why Allah forbids hoarding of wealth as the following verses show.
(9:34) [...]Those who hoard up gold and
silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings (O
Muhammad) of a painful doom.
(104:1-4) Woe
unto every greedy, arrogant, one who hath gathered wealth (of this world) and
arranged it. He thinketh that his wealth will render him immortal. Nay, but
verily he will be flung into the Consuming One.
In a
truly Islamic state there will be security for everybody, and hence any surplus
wealth will be invested, thus avoiding the effect of hoarding. Also, Allah lays
great stress upon the distribution of wealth of a deceased person, and the
Qur'an contains extremely detailed laws of inheritance. This is a vital scheme
whereby the wealth of the nation stays well distributed, and the formation of
cartels is not possible. Unfortunately, Muslims devised ways and means to
circumvent these vital economic measures by defining sadaqaat as
voluntary charity and limiting Zakat to 2.5% of savings and accumulated assets so that the
rich could hold on to their wealth. In contrast, the woman's dowry (i.e.
the marriage payment from their husband) in most cases remain an unclaimed
contract, whereas it should be invested for the woman, as the maintenance of a
family is the responsibility of the man. Further, women are often deprived of
their inheritance from their parents' side, in spite of the Qur'an's clear
injunction on this.
12.3.iii
Zakat
Literally,
zakat means growth, purification and righteousness. Al-Shaukani gives the
following definition: 'Linguistically, zakah means growth: One says Zakahhaz-Zar
meaning the plant grew. It can also mean purification. In Shariah
(Islamic law) it implies both meanings. The first meaning is construed as to
cause growth in wealth, or as to cause more reward or as to pertain to
increasing wealth, such as the case in commerce and agriculture.' 4
(30:39)The
usury that is practised to increase some people's wealth, does not gain
anything with Allah. But if you invest in zakat, seeking Allah's
countenance, these are the ones who receive their reward manifold.
Both zakat
and usury involve the investment of capital in order to
seek material gains.
But whereas zakat is a method of investment approved by Allah,
usury is condemned. The above verse indicates the cardinal principle that the
material gains resulting from the practice of usury gain nothing with Allah,
whereas the gains, resulting from the practice of zakat, receive
'Allah's blessing'. Instead of following the straight interpretation, the
Traditionalists went in the direction of linking zakat with verses 9:60
and 9:103 which are related to sadaqaat, and extracted an interpretation
which led to charity collections being introduced by the State. They went so
far as to fix the yardsticks for such charity collections, and to attribute the
emergence of this practice to the Messenger of Allah. It is unimaginable
that the Messenger of Allah would have introduced an economic system, whereby
extracting 2.5% of the otherwise ill-gotten wealth would render it 'pure'!
After having demonstrated that zakat is something different from what
had been ordained in verses 9:60 and 9:103, we come to verse 2:177 which
indicates that even after spending in charity, out of own volition, there is
something called 'zakat' which will still be outstanding. Verse 22:41
ordains that the true believers are those who, when allowed power and
influence, establish a system of 'zakat' in their way of life.
(22:41)
Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish worship and invest in
zakat and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquity. And Allah's is the sequel of
events.
Verse
22:78 further confirms this Ordinance.
(22:78)
[...]So establish worship, invest in zakat, and hold fast to Allah. He
is your protecting Friend. A blessed Patron and a blessed Helper !
Here is
a list of references which deal with zakat directly:
2:43,83,110,177,277; 4:162; 5:12; 7:156; 9:5,11,18,71; 21:73; 22:41,78;
24:37,56; 27:3; 31:4; 33:33; 41:7.
Zakat prevents hoarding of money and causes the wealth to grow so that
people can earn their living instead of depending on charity. Another way of looking at zakat
is that if the spare cash is simply given away in charity then, in the long
run, the person may not be able to give in charity but may himself become
dependant on charity, due to his circumstances changing. However, if zakat
is used as an investment for growth then one can still live a modest life, and
help the society in creating employment, so that the people do not need to
depend on charity. At the same time the question of hoarding is removed. Zakat
as an investment therefore fulfils many of the Qur'anic
requirements.
Note:
There are verses
in the Qur'an in which the word 'sabeelillah' appears. For
example:
(2:261)
The likeness of those who spend their wealth in Allah's way (sabeelillah)
is as the likeness of a grain which groweth seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains.
Allah giveth manifold to whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.
(4:160-161)
Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews We forbade them good things which were
(before) made lawful unto them, and because of their much hindering from
Allah's way (sabeelillah). And of their taking usury when they were
forbidden it, and of their devouring people's wealth by false pretences. We
have prepared for those of them who disbelieve a painful doom.
(47:38) Lo!
Ye are those who are called to spend in the way of Allah (sabeelillah),
yet among you there are some who hoard. And as for him who hoardeth, he
hoardeth only for his soul. And Allah is Rich and ye are poor. And if ye turn
away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of
you.
The
literal meaning of sabeelillah is 'Allah's Path'. Traditionalists
consider this synonymous with charity, even though in the whole of the Qur'an
this word has never been used in that meaning. Effectively, it means spending
freely: money, time, wealth or anything, in the path of Allah.
12.3.iv
Business dealings (baiy) and trading (tejarat)
Business
dealings and trading are two different practices as indicated in the following
verses:
(24:37) Such
people as remember Allah while trading or making baiy[...]
The
nearest concept of baiy in this verse is business dealing which pertains
to the dealings with money where the exchange of commodity is not involved.
Outwardly, it would look similar to the practice of usury. However, it has a subtle and vital
difference. When we understand
this, the wording of following verse
becomes clear.
(2:275)
[...]They say baiy is just like usury: whereas Allah permitteth baiy
and forbiddeth usury[...]
As an
example, a model of money lending based on baiy would be that profits
and losses would be shared equitably. Alternatively, to repay the loan in such
a way that it retained its original purchasing power. There could be no
question of repaying in devalued money. In contrast, money lending based on
usury, where money is lent at an agreed rate of interest, would be independent
of whether the borrower makes a profit or loss out of the money lent.
Verse
2:282 below clarifies baiy as essentially a practice of mutual agreement
designed to last over a period of time, which therefore, must be signed and
witnessed. Trading on the other hand may be long term or across the table, where
a commodity is exchanged for money. It excludes the practice of money
dealing, without involvement of commodities.
(2:282) O
ye who believe! When ye contract a debt for a fixed term, record it in
writing[...] And call to witness, from among your men, two witnesses[...]
12.4
Qur'anic scheme of economics summarised5
1. Free enterprise and right to
personal holdings but in a rightful way.
2. Lending or borrowing of money on
fixed interest is forbidden. Usury in any form is not allowed.
3. Usury to be replaced by zakat.
Money to be invested freely, either directly or through the intermediaries
known as Bait-ul-Mals (banks); and to share profits and losses of the
institution where money is lent. Other clerical services like transfers, letter
of credit, licensing should be performed on the tariff to be approved by the
government.
4. Individuals pay in charity in the
manner ordained in the Qur'an (see 12.3.i), and must maintain the institution
of free will and a free sum of money: the Qur'an has a depth of insight not to
fix a precise percentage. It should be different from person to person and from
time to time, the principle aim being
the process of reversal of greed.
5. The State would take by way of
taxes from the society with the primary intention of removing excess and redistributing wealth for general welfare
(see 12.3.ii).
6. No one should be able to sell something
he hadn't already bought or paid for. It would
not be possible to speculate in 'futures' as is done in the West, that is,
without ever actually owning the goods. The fortunes men make in the City of
London by financial transactions which would be strictly forbidden by Islamic
Law.
7. Fresh money would only come into
circulation when goods and services of the corresponding value had been
inducted into the society. This would effectively check price spirals, inflation,
collapse of currencies, etc. Distribution of fresh money coming into
circulation would be on mutually-agreed basis between the society members.
8. An air of confidence would emerge
so that people would come forward willingly, and make investments (see
12.3.iii).
An
economic system based on the Qur'anic principles of an equitable society and
productive investment can effectively remove much of the chronic economic
illnesses as suffered by the modern society.
References:
1.
Freedom for Qur'an by Ahmad Nawaz and published by Ahmad Nawaz. Mr. Nawaz
has dedicated his book for the service of mankind and as such there is no
copyright restriction. The basic concepts are based on this book.
2.
Islam: Taking root in Europe by Sahib Mustaqim Bleher. Published by
'Islamic Party of Britain' in their
official Part News report, 'Common Sense' dated Last Quarter 1992. Issue
3. The
Guardian: (i) News item on front page dated 7.3.87.
4. Zakah
by Abdul Rehman Ansari. Published by IPCI, 481 Coventry Road, Small Heath,
Birmingham B10 0JS. p. 5.
5. Freedom
for Qur'an by Ahmad Nawaz and published by Ahmad Nawaz. p. 167-169.
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