Economics of Islam
Last Updated on Sunday, 15 August 2010 10:40
Question:
Sir, have you studied the concepct of "Ghulam Ahmed pervez" about economic system of islam. He says "after fulfilling your necessities, all remaining things spend on other people. in Quraan "QUL LAL AFW" is it right? and also investment in Islamic banking system based on MUDARABA is Riba free? Is this profit in islamic banking RIBA FREE?
Ghulam mustafa
Answer:
The verse under discussion is as follows:
يَسْئَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَ الْمَيْسِرِ قُلْ فيهِما إِثْمٌ كَبيرٌ وَ مَنافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَ إِثْمُهُما أَكْبَرُ مِنْ نَفْعِهِما وَ يَسْئَلُونَكَ ما ذا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ كَذلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآياتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُون فىِ الدُّنْيَا وَ الاَْخِرَةِ
(2:219)
They ask you about drinking and gambling. Tell them: ‘There is great sin in both and they have some benefit for people; but their sin is far greater than their benefit’.And they ask you what they should spend in charity. Tell them: ‘Whatever is above your needs.' Thus God explains to you His verses so that you may reflect on the matters of both this world and of the next (2:219)
What we need to appreciate is that there are verses of the Qur'an that are primarily giving instructions while clarifying things and there are verses that are primarily only clarify a confusion and are not directly giving any instructions. There are certain styles and expressions in a verse that determine whether the verse is giving us instructions or not. For instance when we read the verse that explains the distribution of Zakah, we read:
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقاتُ لِلْفُقَراءِ وَ الْمَساكينِ وَ الْعامِلينَ عَلَيْها وَ الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَ فِي الرِّقابِ وَ الْغارِمينَ وَ في سَبيلِ اللَّهِ وَ ابْنِ السَّبيلِ فَريضَةً مِنَ اللَّهِ وَ اللَّهُ عَليمٌ حَكيم
(9:60)
Alms are only for the poor and the needy and the officials appointed over them, and those whose hearts are made to incline (to truth) and the (ransoming of) captives and those in debts and in the Way of Allah and the wayfarer An ordinance from Allah And Allah is knowing, Wise (9:60)
As you can see, the underlined parts of the above verse indicate to us a clear and strict directive. Besides, the clear categorising of the receivers of Zakah in this verse also indicates that a clear instruction is given.
When we look at the verse 2:219 however, there is no indication of an instruction. As you see the whole verse is simply answers to questions that where asked. The whole verse is for clarification and it is not to add anything to what the addressees already knew. For example as you can see, even for alcohol and gambling, in this particular verse, instead of any instructions, only a clarification has been made. Directives about alcohol being Haram can be found in other verses.
Likewise, the intention of the verse is not to instruct us to donate all that remains beyond our requirements. The verse is only an answer to a question. The question was: "What to donate?". It is clear that people were not sure whether they needed to go to the extent of donating from their required wealth or not. The verse clarifies that donation is only applicable to what is beyond the requirements. If the intention of the verse was to instruct Muslims to donate all beyond necessity wealth, then a clear instruction would have been given about this in here or elsewhere in the Qur'an.
It is of course not appropriate for a person who considers himself a servant of God to keep a wealth that is beyond the necessities of him and his dependants. The best is to spend this money in charity or other good causes or at least to work with it and contribute to the economy of the society that way. However the Sharia of Islam also respects the freedom of individuals (within the limitations of Sharia) and has not made it forbidden for them to collect money, even if it is beyond their necessary needs.
As for Mudariba, this is usually referring to a contract where one party provides the money and the other party provides the expertise for working with the money. Usually both parties share the profit but (according to the contract) only the owner of the money bears the loss. If the contract is written clearly and if the work that is supposed to be done with the money itself is not Riba, then in principle I do not see any problems with this kind of transaction. This was existing before the Prophet (pbuh) and continued to exist with him and after him. There are even reports indicating that the Prophet's (pbuh) work for Khadija (rha) before their marriage was based on Mudhariba, and God knows best.
Abdullah Rahim
UIUK
14th of August 2010
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