Economy occupies most of our daily talk. In rich and poor countries
alike, few communities are immune from escalating economic problems.
The majority of people in the world live on the breadline while many
countries depend on foreign 'aid' for survival. Receiving foreign 'aid'
adds more to their problems, since, unable to pay even the interest,
these countries face great hardship.
From health to education, all issues are kept moving by means of
finance. However, whether developed countries or not, economic
conditions hit people hard. Wealth, extravagance and their natural
consequence, degradation, sit next to impoverishment. Unable to meet
their essential needs, people fight with each other. Many reports and
studies, programmes for improvement, and seminars to raise awareness of
the issue flounder for want of viable solutions and the fact remains
that, each day adds to the despair and misery of much of the world.
Unemployment is a major global problem. Even if people are
employed, their wages are not sufficient to secure good living
conditions. Even so, hundreds of candidates apply for a few vacancies in
public service, which will bring a rather moderate income. People wait
in queues for hours in front of unemployment offices in the hope of
finding a job.
What is the solution, then? Why do measures fail to eradicate these problems?
In any country, economic development, productivity, flourishing job
opportunities, and a productive workforce are essential to maintain
economic stability. Yet, statistics indicate that there are almost 820
million unemployed around the world. When we add the number of
dependants to this figure, the dimensions of the problem become even
more serious.
In our day, economic systems, especially in underdeveloped
countries, rely on bank interest. The high interest rates offered to
depositors by banks have a destructive impact on national economies.
This becomes the main reason why people put their money in banks rather
than investing or using it productively. The wealthy find it easier to
live on the interest they receive rather than working and in a society
where most people do not work it is unlikely to boost investment, which
is essential for the improvement of the country.
In such systems, newspapers carry bank advertisements giving the following message: "You can stop investing in your business and go on a holiday…" This
rationale, albeit seemingly simple and attractive, brings devastation
to a country rather than welfare and wealth. An economy that is not
nurtured by investments is doomed to ruin. Money accumulated in bank
accounts and safes is the main source of such economic problems as
inflation. Those who do not contribute to the economy and who put their
money in the bank and "go on a holiday" will themselves suffer the
consequences in the long term. Their money resting in the bank will
constantly lose value since, in the course of time, it will not keep up
with the rising rate of inflation.
In an economy resting on production, an overall recovery occurs
which benefits everyone. Indeed, Allah commands us to spend our money
for the benefit of people. In Surat at-Tawba, Allah gives the news of a
painful punishment for those who amass their possessions:
You who believe! Many of the rabbis and monks devour people's property under false pretences and bar people from access to the Way of Allah. As for those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend it in the Way of Allah, give them the news of a painful punishment… (Surat at-Tawba: 34)
In a society where the Qur'anic principles are applied, practices
which are essentially to the benefit of people keep the system moving.
Thus, Allah prohibits usury and thus prevents people suffering under the
burden of debts:
Those who practise usury will not rise from the grave except as someone driven mad by Satan's touch. That is because they say, 'Trade is the same as usury.' But Allah has permitted trade and He has forbidden usury. Whoever is given a warning by his Lord and then desists, can keep what he received in the past and his affair is Allah's concern. But all who return to it will be the Companions of the Fire, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Surat al-Baqara: 275)
In another verse, Allah stressed that usury does not bring prosperity to man:
Allah obliterates usury but makes charity grow in value! Allah does not love any persistently ungrateful wrongdoer. (Surat al-Baqara: 276)
To improve living standards, stability and order are essential in
all domains of social life. This also holds true for the economy.
Believers are those who should assume the responsibility of providing
solutions. In this respect, nobody has the time to lose waiting for
others to take the initiative. That is because Allah gave this
responsibility to every believer. To fulfil it, one primarily needs to
communicate the religion and the blessings that the religion adds to
one's life.
The members of a community having a sincere faith that possessions,
unlike usury, spent for the good of people will bring prosperity, will
spend the part of their possessions they do not need for a good cause
without hesitation. The benefits of such a system are evident to
society. However, people should not see such a system as unattainable.
The way to prevent this is to teach people the Qur'an.
It is also important to stress that, in the type of social life
that is guided by the Qur'an and the Sunnah people strive not only for
their own welfare, but for the welfare of the public since the values of
Islam demand co-operation, solidarity and unity.
Being prohibited by Allah from doing so, people do not violate one
another's rights. No one tries to unlawfully take others' possessions or
rights. No one commits fraud in measuring and weighing. In a society
living by the Qur'an, injustice is never allowed. Consequently,
usury-ridden relations end. The wealthy do not rip off the poor and
people do not attempt unlawfully to take other's portions.
In a society where religious values apply, nothing is wasted.
People consume but avoid extravagance. Co-operation and justice maintain
better living standards and welfare. The Blessed Period of the first
community of Islam, an age of welfare when people in general adhered to
the Qur'an and the Sunnah, is an explicit example of this fact.
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