The Teaching of Islam for Eradication Poverty
Oxford
Dictionary defines ‘Poverty’ as being poor, great lack of money or resources,
scarcity or inferiority. Others define it as disadvantaged, low income, poor or
less developed. These conventional definitions do not seem to differ or vary
from that defined by al- Ghazali who gave meaning to poverty as a state of not
being able to satisfy one’s needs which are basic in nature. Islam is the
religion based on certain specific rules and regulations that have been devised
to benefit the general public related to every class of society. Islamic rules
implementation involves people of all ages, people of both genders and the
people of all races or you can say every individual on this earth. Islam is a
very old religion and its foundations were formed hundreds of years ago but
even back then it formed the moral values that benefit the people of all times.
People
nowadays and people hundreds years from now would still be able to relate to
the teachings of Islam and they would still be able to look upon Islam for
guidance. Islam takes cares of all the people in the society whether rich or
poor. Islam has made it compulsory for the Islamic state to take care of the
people of the state especially the poor ones. At least 80% of humanity lives on
less than $10 a day. The poorest 40 per cent of the world’s population accounts
for five per cent of global income, and the richest 20 per cent accounts for
three-quarters. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to
poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far
removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak
in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.” The GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million
people) is less than the wealth of the world’s seven richest people combined.
If
one studies the Quran he would be able to understand what Islam teaches us to
do. If the Arabic language is not the native language then one can learn Arabic
and he would be able to learn Islam in detail. There are Muslim academies that
are established so that one can learn Muslim culture and learn the Muslim
language. One can join a Muslim academy and learn Arabic language. One can also
learn the details about the teachings of Islam in these academies. One would be
able to learn the fact that Islam makes it mandatory to take care of the poor
people in the state and for this purpose the practice of Zakat is made
compulsory in an Islamic state and banking system of Islamic state.
It
is the duty of an Islamic state to ensure that the practice of Zakat is being
done by everyone according to the Islamic rules. The eradication of poverty is
the primary objective of the practice of Zakat. The concept of Zakat is to
circulate the wealth among the people of the society. Wealth is taken from the
hands of the rich people and given in the hands of the poor people. The
countries in which the wealth is largely accumulated by the rich people tend to
remain underdeveloped. If the practice of Zakat is done honestly then these
societies prosper. The Islamic countries have the duty to take care of
the poor people in the state as Zakat is a very important component of Islam.
Salat
and Zakat are discussed together in the Quran to show the importance of Zakat
in Islam. All the prominent rulers in the Islamic history have shown with their
ruling conduct that Zakat need not be ignored by the Islamic state. Poverty is
said to be the mother of each and every social problem that occurs in a
country. That is why it is the duty of an Islamic state towards the poor people
to ensure that Zakat is being given by all the people who have the capable of
giving it. It is the duty of the Islamic state to ensure that the rich people
are giving a part of their fortune to deprived people. In this way the Islamic
state can ensure to develop a society in which the money is equally shared
among the rich and the poor.
Poverty
today, is no longer viewed only as a mere economic issue, but also is a complex
social and political concern that is yet to be successfully solved universally.
The concept of poverty is viewed in the context of society as a whole where it
persisted in every community around the world but the extent or degree in which
it affected human race varies from one society to another.
Even
though it is prevailing throughout the world, poverty has always been ignored
and is closely associated with disbelieve (kufr). As said by Prophet Muhammad
SAW: “Poverty might lead a person to disbelief”, further clarifies the
intensity of this situation. Thus, the Holy Quran cannot emphasis more on the
poor and needy as commanded by Allah in Surah An-Nisaa, Ayath 8- “But if at the
time of the division, other relatives, or orphans, or poor are present, feed
them out of the (property), and speak to them words of kindness and justice”.
Poverty
in Islam is concerned with insufficiency of income and the inability in
fulfilling basic human needs. One is considered poor if he does not possess
sufficient necessities to fulfill his basic needs. Therefore, poverty can be
interrelated to two basic classifications of poor, which are faqir who are the
needy, and miskin who are the poor, as identified and understood in Islam. Faqir is defined as someone who can
only satisfy less than half of his basic necessities while miskin is a poor man who can satisfy
half or more of his basic necessities, but is still below the minimum
requirement of basic necessities required.
Prophet SAW said (about those defined as miskin): “He who does not get enough
to satisfy himself, and he is not considered so, so that charity may be given
to him, and he does not beg anything from people.
There are no distinct techniques to measure poverty, as it is always associated with some level of income required to provide for the basic human needs. This human needs refer to the right of food, clothes and shelter as pronounced by the Prophet SAW that are to be identified and met in order to sustain a minimum standard of living.
The poverty line or income level, which serves as an indicator to identify whether a person is poor, is useful where a person is considered poor if his income is below poverty line income.
Factors Causing Poverty from Islamic Perspective
Man is the essential element in any society thus; any problem related to the society must have something to do with individual because it is his actions on the ethical aspects that affect others as a whole. Dominating nature of men in family affairs and decision making.
There are no distinct techniques to measure poverty, as it is always associated with some level of income required to provide for the basic human needs. This human needs refer to the right of food, clothes and shelter as pronounced by the Prophet SAW that are to be identified and met in order to sustain a minimum standard of living.
The poverty line or income level, which serves as an indicator to identify whether a person is poor, is useful where a person is considered poor if his income is below poverty line income.
Factors Causing Poverty from Islamic Perspective
Man is the essential element in any society thus; any problem related to the society must have something to do with individual because it is his actions on the ethical aspects that affect others as a whole. Dominating nature of men in family affairs and decision making.
One of the many reasons poverty persists in any one community is because of the widespread existence of income inequality and unjust wealth distribution. It is due to man’s narrow-mindedness and selfishness as well as ignorance for a collective life has made man a slave to things, which are material in essence.
In fact, poverty is caused by man’s deviation from divine teachings in which he practices unlawful things and the man-made problems such as injustice, laziness, selfishness, dictatorship, fraud, cheating, monopoly practices, speculative hoarding and oppression that with each passing day, making the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.
Mismanagement and misallocation of funds happening today as a result of so much power in the hands of the elite, who maintain the status quo at national levels is the rationale for the existence of an income gap between the poor and the non-poor.
There are also corruptions and bribery, or the misuse of public power and resource for private benefit and profit by officials such as politicians and policy makers in which they enrich themselves through the misuse of power entrusted to them. Negative attitude, easy access to money as well as deficiency in democratic government initiates corruption and provides an ideal condition for corruption to prevail. Accumulation of wealth by the rich people will therefore hurt the common people as they are left out and the public interest is further disturbed. Islam teaches us integrity, ethics and morality.
Islam promotes just distribution and ethics in everything we do. Those practicing corruption should be penalized for their inefficiency and those who are efficient should be reward for their creditability.
FUNCTION
OF GOVERNMENT AND MARKET FAILURE
The government is established as a protector for the public interest. It means that, government will only see to it if there exist to be a market failure in the economic activity. However, there seem to be an interruption in the economic balance when the government is no longer protecting the public and is applying free trade thus causing massive competition to develop.
Government especially in the third world countries tends to borrow from international donor organization such as the IMF, which in turn requires the debtor country to export their production instead of for local circulation. This will have a severe impact when the prices go up, food subsidies are eliminated, basic services cost such as electricity increased and health and educational funds vanish.
In addition to the said government’s failure, inadequate access to employment, lack of physical assets such as land and capital to be owned by the poor, lack of means of supporting rural development in poor region, inadequate access to markets where the poor can make trade, low endowment of human capital and the destruction of natural resources leading to environmental deprivation as well as reduced productivity are merely some of the causes of poverty in light of the function of the government.
Consequently, poor governance and market failure are two aspects, which should be properly addressed to attain justice in the economic activities, which will help in poverty eradication.
Poverty Eradication in Islam
As Muslims, we are to approach poverty like any other problems faced by our society, in accordance with the Islamic teachings and way of life. It is the concern for the poor, which leads us to address their needs through many approaches, instruments and government policies. It is identified earlier that poverty is a result of diverse factors and therefore has different dimensions in which it would be implemented. These elements are the individual and society’s role in eradicating poverty as well as the government’s role.
God
Almighty commanded us to give compulsory-charity, which is known as ‘Zakat’
(Pronounced: Zakaat). Zakat has to be given by the rich class of the society to
the poor. Agricultural productions have 5-10%, and the excess amount from other
sources have 2.5% of Zakat, which should be distributed systematically among
the poor. This help in the eradication of poverty and hunger. And when the
zakat money is collected from each and every rich individual, then we can
collect around thousand billion dollars annually from all over the world.Imagine
what we can do with the money collected. Apart from satisfying the hunger, the
governments can give interest-free loans to the farmers who in turn increases
the yield of the country, the loan can be given to the small industries who can
develop and multiply the income of the country, the loan can also be provided
to the poor students for their educations who can later contribute to the
country. Systematic use of the zakat money not only eradicates the poverty but
also makes the country developed.
As vicegerent of Allah on this Earth, we to live a moderate lifestyle in such a way that we fulfill our material and spiritual needs simultaneously. Islam recognizes differences in individual human potentials because each is gifted with different types and levels of abilities.
As vicegerent of Allah on this Earth, we to live a moderate lifestyle in such a way that we fulfill our material and spiritual needs simultaneously. Islam recognizes differences in individual human potentials because each is gifted with different types and levels of abilities.
Therefore, man is to earn his living according to his capacity and ability as that said by Allah (swt) in the Holy Qur'an (Al- Jumu’a: 10).
It is therefore, the public duty of individuals and society to focus on integrating the Islamic principles, moral and ethical aspect in our daily life, as well as the response from the society about poverty, regardless of involvement of the Government. In other words, the strategy to combat poverty is through harmonious equilibrium in development and Islamic ethical values. There should also be fundamental changes at the management and policy level, and change in individual character to be more inspired, efficient and selfless individuals in any society.
The Prophet also mentioned the importance of earning an honest living in his many Hadith.
“Nobody has ever eaten a better meal than that which one has earned by working with one’s own hands”.
The Islamic Economic Approach:
The Divine attributes do not only have metaphysical significance; a firm belief in them acts as a powerful source of inspiration and guidance in economic pursuits and planning.
These attributes have been described through the Quran verses and Hadith to construct a mind and guides individual behavior in a direction, which truly reflects firm belief in Allah’s Unity, Tawhid. Without this firm belief the Islamic economic system and the whole life, falls prey to inconsistency.How do beliefs in this attribute influence economic attitude? A firm belief in the divine attribute of the Provider eliminates insatiable lust for amassing wealth through unlawful means and cools down impatience. It dissuades from unhealthy competition and egotism.
It relieves tension and anxiety and unhealthy reaction in the event of poor for one’s effort.
It is not only discourages one from becoming avaricious and resorting to unlawful earning but also plays an important role in guiding policy-makers and planner to cast off the capricious fears of loss due to abolition of unlawful institutions and undesirable policies and programmed.
A firm belief in his attribute, Al-Razzaq, as expressed in the verse: ‘Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, we shall provide for them and for you. Lo! The slaying of them is a great sin’ (17:31), would inspire the policy-makers to be restrained, barring exceptional cases, in launching on economic grounds a country-wide campaign for birth-control, which often provides a refuge for the morally corrupt. Similarly, belief in the Divine Wisdom of unequal distribution of wealth (4:32) shuns class antagonism and persuades the well-to-do to share their fortune to the poor.As a conclusion, firm belief in divine attributes not only has a far-reaching influence on the general attitude of the individual, it also touches economic enterprises, policy-making and planning. Without such firm belief practicing the Islamic injunctions poses formidable difficulties and leads one to impracticable compromises, which result in dualism and hypocrisy.
The economic resources of this world belong to Allah who gave them to mankind to benefit from them. So, the duty of man is to properly utilize them for the welfare of society. This world entail:
The objective of the alleviation of poverty, the full employment of resources and optimum rate of growth can only be achieved by the active participation of government. The Islamic government should not leave the allocation of resources only to the blind market forces because; being an impersonal entity, the market may not take care of the total welfare, especially of the poor, of the society. Government should play a positive role in the economy through pragmatic planning and by providing necessary physical and social infrastructure. The government must invest in this sector since private entrepreneurs may not find enough incentive to invest because of the heavy investment requirement and small monetary return realized over a long period time. In this case, government investment should be channeled into the improvement of highways, dams, bridges, the construction of irrigation networks, airports, telecommunication services and the provision of other facilities, which would bring about external economies to the different sectors of the economy.So, Islamic government has a great responsibility to eliminate poverty, fulfill basic needs and improve the living standard of the people. If it fails to do so, the Prophet’s (SAW) warning should remind them:
“Whom
Allah has made administrator over the affairs of Muslims but remain indifferent
to their needs and poverty, Allah will also be indifferent to his needs and
poverty.”
The establishment of an
equitable distribution system calls for certain governmental functions-
i) The provision of training and rendering assistance for gainful employment to the public. A variety of technical training programs may be launched to assist the unskilled labor force of the less developed countries,
i) The provision of training and rendering assistance for gainful employment to the public. A variety of technical training programs may be launched to assist the unskilled labor force of the less developed countries,
ii) The government should
enforce a just remuneration system so as to fairly distribute the generated
income among the factors of production,
iii)
The
arrangement of a social security system based on Zakat and other charitable revenues. They would serve as
insurance to the unemployed, handicapped, divorcees and other needy members of
society.
As basic necessities are provided, the national wealth circulates among the members of the community. This is why Islam makes it obligatory for the government to guarantee the provision of basic needs to all. If the existing fund is not sufficient, government has the right to pull resources from the rich in addition to the obligatory dues to guarantee basic needs to each and every one in the society. Ibn Hazm calls for the extra levies on the rich to fulfill the basic needs of the destitute of a society. He says:“
As basic necessities are provided, the national wealth circulates among the members of the community. This is why Islam makes it obligatory for the government to guarantee the provision of basic needs to all. If the existing fund is not sufficient, government has the right to pull resources from the rich in addition to the obligatory dues to guarantee basic needs to each and every one in the society. Ibn Hazm calls for the extra levies on the rich to fulfill the basic needs of the destitute of a society. He says:“
The
rich of every locality are obliged to manage the basic needs of the destitute
living in it. If the wealth, stored in Baitul-Mal, is not adequate to meets the
wants of the indigents, the head of the state may compel the rich to contribute
by imposing extra levies on them.”
Government should play a great role through monetary and fiscal policies in reducing the disparity between the haves and have-nots. These policies should be geared towards the benefit of the poor. It is also one of the responsibilities of an Islamic government to differentiate between the deserving and undeserving of the national help. In this case, government should invest in the social overhead capital such as education, healthy and other infrastructural development so that the poor may benefit more than the rich. Islam strongly encourages the rich to spend for people in the lower income group over and above compulsory payments so that wealth trickle-down among the various classes of society. In this context, the principle is that the more one has the more responsible towards providing the poor one is. Allah (saw) says:
Government should play a great role through monetary and fiscal policies in reducing the disparity between the haves and have-nots. These policies should be geared towards the benefit of the poor. It is also one of the responsibilities of an Islamic government to differentiate between the deserving and undeserving of the national help. In this case, government should invest in the social overhead capital such as education, healthy and other infrastructural development so that the poor may benefit more than the rich. Islam strongly encourages the rich to spend for people in the lower income group over and above compulsory payments so that wealth trickle-down among the various classes of society. In this context, the principle is that the more one has the more responsible towards providing the poor one is. Allah (saw) says:
“And they ask you how much they are to spend; say: what is beyond your needs.”
There are compulsory measures of distribution which also heavily contribute to the reduction of inequality among the people. The institutions of Zakat, tithe, sadaqatul fitr, inheritance, legacy etc. come under this category. In these cases, one has to dispose one’s wealth to one’s fellow-beings whereby have-nots become better off. Mutual gifts, endowments and other optional charities, on which Islam places a heavy emphasis, also reduce the disparity between the haves and the have-nots of society. The classical Islamic scholars also gave justifications for taxation as a major of sources of government revenue in an Islamic state. This has been supported by Imam Malik:“If there were no funds in the treasury or the need of the army increased above the capacity of the treasury, the state has the right to levy taxes on the rich up to the level that satisfies the need immediately and until the revenues of the treasury appear.”
Islamic government should make sure that the imposition of taxes does not the kill work incentives of the tax payers. It must carry out some research to find out which particular rates and types of taxation are the most suitable to maximize government revenue in the economy. There should not be any injustice involved with taxation policy in an Islamic state.
Although Islamic state has the right to impose taxes on the poor it should try to minimize their tax burden in general. The bulk of tax revenue should come from the rich of the society because; they are economically more capable to contribute towards revenue collection than the poor. This is why suggestion has been made that the Islamic state should minimize indirect taxes, which are normally borne by the poor and concentrate on the direct taxes, which are usually collected from the rich. Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be observed and respected under all circumstances. To achieve these rights Islam provides not only legal safeguards but also a very effective moral system.
Sources
www.globalissues.org
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