By Muhammad Mojlum Khan
Since the institution of Zakah is a significant component of the Islamic economy, its role therein is both diverse and far-reaching, not least because Zakah is the pivot of all public finance in Islam. However, for the sake of brevity and simplicity, the role of Zakah within an Islamic economy can be said to cover three spheres, namely the moral sphere, the social sphere and the economic sphere. Let us briefly explain them below.
The Moral Sphere
We have already mentioned the fact that the one of the main functions of Zakah is that it instills moral qualities and uprightness in man. Here, however, it is necessary to consider the role of the Zakah insofar as the moral development of the Islamic man is concerned in some detail. According to the Islamic economists, one of the most important roles of Zakah in the Islamic economic order is that it “washes away the greed and acquisitiveness of the rich”, thereby seeking to undermine the excessive and over-zealous wealth accumulative attitude of some elements of the society.
However, I should stress here that Islam is not anti-wealth, so to speak, but, on the contrary, Islam encourages the lawful seeking of wealth. Nevertheless, Islam is against the excessive materialistic attitude which some people tend to exemplify.
Nonetheless, man by nature is a selfish and greedy creature, and as such is rarely content with his lot. The more man is given, the more he craves for. In short, his insatiable self knows no bounds. Referring to such insatiable and acquisitive nature of man, the Quran states: Rivalry in worldly increase distracts you until ye come to the graves. Nay, but ye will come to know! Nay, but ye will come to know! (Takathur 102: 1-4)
Similarly the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) remarked: Had there been two mountains of wealth for the son of Adam, he would have sought the third one; nothing but the earth can fill the belly of the son of Adam. (Bukhari)
In light of this, the role of Zakah in fostering moral qualities and attributes in people in an Islamic society is exceptional because it encourages and also impresses a sense of moral responsibility on the rich to look after the poor and the less fortunate members of the society, thereby seeking to suppress wanton greed, miserliness and selfishness in order to create a society that is caring, loving, equitable and just. In short, the role played by Zakah in developing and strengthening the moral qualities of “sacrifice and goodness and in suppressing evil qualities of selfishness and greed among the people is no small contribution”.
The Social Sphere
At the societal level the primary objective of Zakah is to eradicate poverty.
“Islam has created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any other society had ever been in the world before.” (H G Wells, The Outline of History)
Although the role of Zakah in the Islamic economic order is both diverse and far-reaching, however at the societal level the primary objective of Zakah is to eradicate poverty. And this is a very significant objective which, in my humble opinion, assumes even greater significance considering the fact that some of the wealthier countries in the world happen to be Muslim yet, strangely enough, poverty is rife in the Muslim world. Why?
The simple answer is because in those countries wealth is largely controlled by a group of elites who care less for the poor and the needy. Worse still, these elites also avoid paying Zakah so that the poor and the needy of the society are literally forced to steal or beg for charity. Not surprisingly, the situation in Muslim countries today is both desperate and alarming not only because the elites of those societies prefer not to pay Zakah but because they are flagrantly violating Islamic commandments with regard to the obligation of Zakah. Perhaps they should ponder over the following words of Caliph Abu Bakr: “By God, I will wage war against those who differentiate between Salat and Zakah.” More importantly, the Prophet (PBUH) said: He is not a true Muslim who eats his full when his next door neighbor is hungry. (Al Albani)
Such is the importance of charity and Zakah in Islam. In short, at the societal level, one of the most significant objective of Zakah is that it seeks to eradicate poverty, the mother of all social problems, by ensuring that the rich live up to their social responsibility by distributing a portion of their wealth and fortune to the poor and the needy of the society at large.
The Economic Sphere
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: Whoever offers prayers but does not pay Zakah, his prayers are in vain. (Al Mundhiri)
Undoubtedly, one of the most significant roles of Zakah in an Islamic economic order is that it “prevents the morbid accumulation of wealth in a few hands and allows it to be diffused before it assumes threatening proportions in the hands of its possessors.” That is to say that Zakah ensures that wealth and property are not expropriated and controlled only by a section of a society to the detriment or total exclusion of rest of the society.
As it happens, Zakah is a distributive mechanism par excellence in that it seeks to establish a society in which wealth, goods and services are both equitably distributed and shared and Muslims care for one another, so that inequity and injustice is eliminated on the one hand while poverty and hunger are alleviated on the other.
The Quran constantly reminds the faithful that God commands justice and the doing of good and avoidance of wrong. Muslims need to return to this message of justice, fairness and equality. And the sooner they do the better.www.onislam.net
Concluded
