Muslims pay Zakah to gain Allah’s favour. It is an act of Ibadah. Ibadah means worship and obedience. It includes all activities of life when according to Allah’s pleasure. Islam has its own economic principles. Zakah is one of the basic principles of the Islamic economy, based on social welfare and fair distribution of wealth. The Hadith below stresses how important Zakah is.
‘In order to enter Paradise you should worship Allah, do not ascribe any partners to Him, offer Salah, pay Zakat and keep good relations with your kith and kin.’
Muslims are also encouraged to make voluntary contributions to help the poor and needy, and for other social welfare purposes. This voluntary contribution is called Sadaqah. It encourages those blessed by Allah with more than they need to show consideration for the less fortunate and exercise social responsibility. Sadaqah-al-Fitr is an amount given in charity to the poor at then end of Ramadan, to ensure that everyone has enough to eat during Eid-al-Fitr. This amount is traditionally paid in food goods (rice, barley, flour dates etc). It is collected locally and distributed on the day of Eid. Sadaqah is greatly emphasized in Islam as shown in the following Hadith
‘Allah has made it obligatory to pay Sadaqah from their properties and it is to be taken from the wealthy among them and given to the poor among them’ (Hadith).
‘He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour remains hungry’ (Hadith).
From this Hadith we can see how important it is for a Muslim to share what has been given to them by Allah. It is a Muslims duty to help their neighbours as the prophet said
‘For every nation and ummah there is a temptation or test, and the test for my ummah is wealth’. (Hadith)
Muslims believe that you should be thankful whether you are rich or poor. However, Islam does not allow Muslims to be extravagant in spending money so wealth has to be spent in a right way. Gambling like the Lottery is forbidden in Islam as well as Interest.
“They say ‘trade is like interest.’ But Allah has allowed trade and forbidden interest’
One of the worst situations a person can get into on the poverty line is to get into debt. Moneylenders are so swift to offer help, extort crippling rates of interest from people who have only taken loans out of desperation. A Muslim is forbidden to exploit any person in need by lending the money on interest which has the danger of getting the needy person deeper into debt. Therefore Muslims instead help the poor out of charity-lending without interest.
In conclusion Muslims must earn their living by Halal ways and should always bear in mind that whatever he does is known to Allah. The Islamic principle on wealth is that it is a test from Allah, and Muslims should purify themselves through sharing their wealth, (Zakah and other forms of charity).
Explain why there is a need for world development
In measuring the distribution of wealth, the world is usually divided into the developing and developed countries, often referred to as the First World and the Third World. The developed countries, of which the U.K is one, make up only 24% of the world population but receives 83% of the world’s wealth. The poorest 20% only receive 1% of the wealth.
As a global community we are dependant on each other yet there is injustice on a huge scale. An example is in some nations people are deprived from food whereas in other countries such as America people are becoming obese due to excess eating.
There is a need for world development as according to the United Nations declaration, every human has a right etiquette of health and well being of himself and family including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services.
There is also a reason for world development because of the constant disasters that strike. These are either man made problems such as hoarding of goods and necessities, war, misuse and exploitation of land and unlawful trading or natural disasters like the Tsunami earthquake, Hurricanes floods etc.
In detail disasters are linked to poverty as people who live in disaster areas can become homeless. The poor people usually can not afford to move to safer areas which are normally occupied by the rich. When a disaster does strike the country’s government may not have enough money to offer sufficient aid to the victims.
Man made problems like getting into debt is also linked to poverty. Developing countries are often in debt, as they have borrowed a lot of money at low interest rates from the world banks to build up their economy. However, they are not able to pay back their debts and so spend less money on areas such as health and education and more on repaying the debts.
I believe that is the greed of the richer countries that exploit the poor and it is because of these reasons there is a need for world development.
Analyse and explain the work of one Muslim agency working for world development
‘Whoever saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind’’
(5:32)
Islamic relief is an international relief and charity which aims to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest people by upholding the principles of Islam. This relief began in 1984 by Dr Hany El Banna founded in the U.K. Islamic relief works throughout the world. It is an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) that has both short and long term projects with 81% of its money coming from voluntary donations.
Islamic Relief is continuing to work with the Asia earthquake that has happened quite recently in India Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamic Relief aid workers continue to work in 300 villages in four of the worst-affected districts of Kashmir. Around 260,000 earthquake survivors have benefited from IR's projects in shelter, food security, health, water,livelihood. IR has raised funds in excess of £10,600,000 for the Pakistan earthquake. In addition to this, organisations and individuals have donated several tonnes of aid goods worth millions of pounds to IR for distribution in Pakistan.
As well as responding to disasters and emergencies Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities-regardless of race, religion or gender. Islamic Relief works in four sectors such as emergency reliefs, social and economic development and sponsorships of orphans. The relief is also involved in other projects which include education, Ramadan programmes, health care, zakat and building wells etc.
In conclusion Muslims believe it is their duty to help their fellow neighbours around the world. Agencies like Islamic Relief are situated all over the world to fulfill this duty.
There should be no rich people as long as there is poverty in the world Do you agree?
I do not agree with this statement. Muslims believe that the distribution of wealth to each individual is given by Allah. Therefore Allah chooses who He wills to give his wealth and He gives in plenty to whomever He wills. There is no limit to how much wealth Allah gives. It is man’s responsibility to look after the recourses given in this world meaning to share the wealth of Allah’s as He is the real owner.
‘He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour remains hungry’ (Hadith)
This Hadith points at the fact that being rich does not mean to spend on needless extravagance, as Allah will question the way in which humans have spend their wealth. Islam recognises that it is man’s nature to work hard for his rewards but Islam gives rules on how this is to be done as to preserve moderation In Islam a person has a right to his wealth provided this has been done the Halal way and giving Zakah.
‘The best object of charity is that whch is given by a wealthy person’ (Hadith)
Therefore Muslims believe that provided Zakat has been paid, the money is purified and not to be used for any wrong purposes then the money is permissible to keep.
Another point to consider is that world is an imbalanced place for a reason. Muslim believe it is a test from Allah. The poor can not be helped if there are no rich people. Islam aims to alleviate poverty at a global level in the world today and this can be done following the rules of Zakah, where the rich share their wealth with the poor.
‘Do not shut your money bag; otherwise Allah too will withhold His blessings from you. Spend in as much as you can afford.’ (Hadith)
However one might argue
In conclusion I do not agree with this statement. This is because Muslims believe that everything is given to us by Allah and this includes wealth. As long as the wealth is earned and given in a healthy way it is not forbidden Muslims to be rich.
Contents
Bibliography
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith
Islam Beliefs and Teachings by Ghulam Sarwar
Islam by Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood
Internet