In the first article published on the 14th March 2018, I had mentioned that man has never been left unguided by his Creator. A string of prophets and messengers were sent down by God Almighty on to the pride of His creations ie the human beings, starting as early as from Prophet Noah to all the way culminating on Prophet Mohammed.
A large number of prophets provided verbal guidance and reprimands but some of them were given booklets or pages such as Prophets Sheath, Idris and Abraham (peace be upon them). Four prophets were honored with proper books, namely Torah to Prophet Moses, Zabur or Psalms to Prophet David, Bible to Prophet Jesus and finally the Quran to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon all of them).
Study of the three divine revelations Torah, Bible and Quran takes us to the three core elements of the entire philosophy of life. These elements can very well fit in to any and all facets of our lives and in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. These elements are:
(1) How strong a man’s relationship is with God;
(2) How fair a man’s relationships are with God’s servants (ie fellow human beings); and
(3) Has the man understood the purpose of existence on earth?
I would like to apply these elements to the economic philosophy of Islam in order to ascertain where they lead us to.
1) Man’s relationship with God
This fascinating relationship is governed in Islam by the concept of Tawhid ie total belief by the man in oneness of God. This is a central tenet of Islam upon which all doctrines, namely, social, spiritual and financial, are based. Moreover, whole-hearted acceptance of the oneness of God is considered fundamental for salvation in Islam on the Day of Judgment.
The belief of Tawhid plausibly leads to the total submission to the will of God and a commitment to pattern man’s life in accordance with His will. We all know that life on earth is short but many may not be sure as to its purpose. What is that purpose? Let us examine.
All the resources available to man on earth are fully and completely owned by the God Almighty, be they material, mineral, natural, financial, or in any form whatsoever. These have been given to man in ‘trust’ by the God for a short period during his lifetime and that is a test how he makes use of them.
The dogma of trust logically leads to the concept of accountability. Thus a man is accountable to God in utilizing the trusted resources of this earth. His success in the hereafter depends upon his performance in this world.
2) Man’s relationship with fellow human beings
With every human being having the same relationship with God and sharing the same resources on earth, what should be the basis of relationship between them? It is based on the principle of equality and brotherhood.
The necessity to earn the minimum to survive is a man’s duty towards himself and his dependents. However, he is naturally motivated to endeavor earning beyond this threshold.
Whilst no maximum earning limit is fixed in Islam for a man in quantitative terms, moderation in fulfillment of such motivation has been repeatedly emphasized. Therefore, the greed and yearning for more and more wealth, luxuries and comfort is disparaged since these traits have tendency to trample on fellow human being’s rights to earn.
The Quranic saying: ‘Deal not unjustly and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly’ (Baqara II) clearly conveys God’s verdict to the man to remain just in his relationship with the other human beings if he would also like to be treated fairly.
Another prominent aspect which I notice in practical terms is the emphasis for men to pray five daily obligatory prayers in congregation. When they do that, their differences are dissolved since the richest and the poorest stand side by side. I consider this to be reminder that the richest and poorest are equal before God. Such practice also creates brotherly sense as many a times I have witnessed poor being helped by rich in the mosque. Actually, both are passing through examination in their respective brief stints.
3) Purpose of a man’s life on earth
A lot of people remain confused about this extremely important element of the philosophy of life. Well, there are various purposes, some demand top priority and some are secondary in nature but equal in importance. However, we shall confine our discussion to the subject of Islamic finance. From that perspective, the most significant purpose of a man’s life is to establish the economic justice on earth.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, nor the official policy or position of the government of the UAE or any of its entities. The purpose of this article is not to hurt any religious sentiments either consciously or even unwittingly.
Sohail Zubairi is the projects advisor with the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Good reminder indeed. Great if you could elaborate further on “the most significant purpose of a man’s life is to establish the economic justice on earth”. Your thoughts on how this ought to be operationalised in Islamic finance/ Islamic economy.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comment. I will be elaborating it in the next few articles. It is part of the planned outline for the series.