Author: Mohammad Asem Esmailzahi
Capitalism (part 7)
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How Islamic Economics Responds to the Moral Criticisms of Capitalism and Socialism
The Qur’an and the Sunnah provide three fundamental characteristics for Islamic economics:
First, the foundation of the Islamic economic system is derived from the Qur’an, the Sunnah, fiqh, and other Islamic sciences that are themselves based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Second, these two sources are the only valid and authoritative references for the values required in economic analysis.
Third, within the Qur’an and the Sunnah there exists another category of information that can be highly applicable and useful in economic analysis.
For example: (وَلَوْ بَسَطَ اللَّهُ الرِّزْقَ لِعِبَادِهِ لَبَغَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَكِنْ يُنَزِّلُ بِقَدَرٍ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ بِعِبَادِهِ خَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ) Translation: “And if Allah were to expand provision for His servants, they would surely rebel upon the earth; but He sends down by measure what He wills. Indeed, He is All-Aware and All-Seeing of His servants.” [1]
Or another example: (كَلَّا إِنَّ الإِنسَانَ لَيَطْغَىٰ أَن رَّآهُ اسْتَغْنَىٰ) Translation: “No indeed! Truly, man transgresses, when he considers himself self-sufficient.” [2]
These two verses illustrate one of the effects of a substantial increase in wealth and income on human behavior—an effect that has been neglected in both of the aforementioned economic systems. In these verses, human beings are described as creatures possessing a strong and insatiable inclination toward wealth.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) emphasized the same idea in many authentic and well-known hadiths: «لو كان لابن آدم واديان من مال لابتغى واديا ثالثا ولا يملأ جوف ابن آدم إلا التراب ويتوب الله على من تاب» Translation: “If the son of Adam were to have two valleys of wealth, he would desire a third, and nothing would fill the belly of the son of Adam except dust. And Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents.” [3]
Thus, the human desire for wealth can be limitless unless another factor intervenes to restrain this unlimited inclination. In this regard, the Qur’an points to an invisible yet definite relationship: belief in the rewards of the Hereafter moderates the rebellious tendency toward excessive accumulation of wealth. Accordingly, two relationships are presented in these verses: the unlimited inclination of humans toward wealth, and the possibility of moderating this inclination when a person believes in the Hereafter and gives precedence to eternal benefits over worldly gains. [4]
This is the approach found in Islamic economics, for Islamic rulings and laws obligate Muslims to principles such as moderation, rejection of greed, attention to others, fulfillment of people’s rights, and similar values. As a result, individuals are encouraged to cooperate, participate collectively, and regard one another as partners in wealth.
Islam establishes society upon the spirit of cooperation and mutual assistance. Every member of society is connected to others, helping and supporting one another, and all are regarded as brothers. When such an outlook governs social relations, society moves toward progress, because all individuals complement one another, rather than pursuing purely personal benefit and capital accumulation in the manner prevalent in conventional economics.
Islam has founded many of its economic rulings upon values rooted in cooperation; without these values, economic laws would face serious difficulties in implementation and practice. [5]
People are free in their economic activities to engage in various forms of economic endeavors, and they themselves bear responsibility for the outcomes of their economic decisions and choices. They buy and sell the factors of production they own, or the goods they wish to exchange, in the marketplace.
A person who owns only his labor offers his services in the market, and with what he earns, purchases the goods and services he needs. Likewise, one who owns assets, production goods, consumption goods, or tools of production enters the market. No rightful owner is deprived of his right, and it is not required that the wealthy and the poor be equal in wealth.
Therefore, both the capitalist economic system and the socialist economic system prioritize certain values of their own, and both systems suffer from numerous moral problems. [6]
Continues…
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References:
[1]. Sūrat al-Shūrā, verse 27.
[2]. Sūrat al-ʿAlaq, verses 6–7.
[3]. Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Nīsābūrī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 3, p. 99, Book of Zakat, Chapter: If the son of Adam had two valleys…, Hadith no. 4262, Dār al-Jīl Beirut & Dār al-Āfāq al-Jadīdah Beirut.
[4]. Qahf, Mundhir, Religion and Economics: The Economic System of Islam and the Science of Islamic Economic Analysis, p. 691, translated by Sayyid Ḥusayn Mīr Muʿizzī, Summer 2005, Qom, Iran.
[5]. Ibid.
[6]. Amartya Sen, Ethics and Economics, p. 73, translated by Ḥasan Feshārakī, Tehran, Shirāzah Publishing, First Edition, 1998.
