Source: Guardian UK
By Sheeza Ahmad
… The mention of Muhammad is significant to understand how today’s Muslims are encouraged to create wealth; supporting the notion of an existing relationship between Islamic business and social enterprise.
According to Sir Zafrullah Khan, the former Pakistani politician and diplomat, the Holy Qur’an states (59:8), “the object of the Islamic economic system is to secure the widest and most beneficent distribution of wealth through institutions set up by it and through moral exhortation. Wealth must remain in constant circulation among all sections of the community and should not become the monopoly of the right.”
In Islamic law, the principal economic obligation is the payment of the capital levy called the zakat (Holy Qur’an, 22:79), which is “a levy imposed upon the well-to-do which is returned to the poorer sections of people”. This law applies to both individual and business wealth. In the wealth that is produced, three parties are entitled to share: the working man, the person supplying the capital, and the community as representing mankind. According to Khan, “The community’s share in produced wealth is called the zakat. After this has been set aside for the benefit of the community, the rest is ‘purified’ and may be divided between the remaining parties that are entitled to share in it.”Though zakat is imposed only as a small percentage on one’s actual assets, Islamic teachings encourage the injection of wealth into communities where support is small or absent. Wealth is encouraged to be in constant circulation, either into the business, or into local communities to ensure the poor and sick are consistently attended to.
Categories: Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Americas, Business
Mostly Muslims focus on the issue pertaining to Zakat and interest, which is well and good.
But, we need to address the all important issue, how a good financial system will reward research and innovation, rather than nepotism, which is the basic human vulnerability to reward only those, who can scratch ones own back.
Nepotism and lack of a social and political structure shoots down any significant economic and technological development.
In Pakistan, for example we would like to vote in grandson of Bhutto into leading role, 30 years after we allowed him to be hanged, by General Zia ul Haq. In other words there are no institutions to bring out the best in the society, to lead, in the domains of government, academics and technology etc. Without new solutions, such societies are always crumbling under their own weight.
In India, we have the King Midas and his golden touch, the name of Ghandi will continue to be cherished for decades to come. It can even sanctify an Italian born lady or anyone else, with any claim to Ghandi DNA and catapult him or her to fame and power.
I feel that if Zakat was properly used, it would alleviate a lot of misery in the third world countries.
Take for example, Pakistan where the zakat is deducted at source from the govt. employees’ paychecks. That accounts for millions of rupees if spent properly (which unfortunately is not the case).