Shia Strength: [MahdiUniteMuslims] FW: THE SPIRITUAL ASSETS OF ISLAM

Sunday, November 22, 2009

[MahdiUniteMuslims] FW: THE SPIRITUAL ASSETS OF ISLAM - Part 6

From: mustafa@mawjee.org.uk
To: mustafa@mawjee.org.uk
Subject: THE SPIRITUAL ASSETS OF ISLAM - Part 6
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:45:07 +0000

THE SPIRITUAL ASSETS OF ISLAM

The Value of Human Being

amidst

ISLAM, CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM

The unfortunate conditions existing in the Muslim world today have misguided some to regard the Islamic economic system as a form of "Capitalism". Nothing can be farther from truth. Exactly speaking, Islam is a class by itself. But if it can be likened to any of the modern ideologies, than that would be definitely "Socialism". A brief analysis of the economic teachings of Islam in the light of this fact may, therefore, be given, in order to bring into broad relief the role which Islam can play in defeating various challenges of the present world order.

Islam is not "Capitalism" because, although it allows private property and gives the scope for personal initiative, it is definitely opposed to the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. Islam achieves that end by different means, the most important among which are:

(a) Islam stands for the state-ownership of such "means of production" as the mineral wealth, thus eliminating from its society the steel-barons and the oil-magnates.
(b) Islam prohibits usury and interest in all forms. All students of economics know that the greatest impetus which Capitalism receives today is from the modern system of Banking which functions on the basis of interest. Islam does not permit the rate of interest to rise above zero and conceives the Bank primarily as the medium of commercial transactions.
(c) In the field of Agriculture, Islam does not favour feudal absentee landlordism. Its ideal is the creation of a society of peasant-proprietors.
(d) Among all the systems of Law, the Islamic law of inheritance is the most anti-capitalistic. It stands for the distribution of inherited wealth among the largest number of persons on the basis of the widest margin of relationship.
(e) Islam condemns the hoarding of capital in very strong terms. It imposes a fairly heavy tax on all capital, above a certain minimum standard, for the benefit of the less fortunate.

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