The importance of Ushr is the same as the importance of Zakat since both are obligatory charity by nature.
While Zakat has a holding period of one lunar year for any kind of wealth, Ushr does not have such a period since the earthly produce cannot be held for a long period due to being biodegradable in nature and getting decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms over time. Islam’s economic teachings carry a lot of common sense and logic. As such, we realize that while the wealth can be stowed for a year before the Zakat amount is payable, the agricultural produce cannot withstand such storage.
Another reason to understand why the Ushr rate is higher than Zakat despite it not having a holding period is that the need to feed the hungry is immediate, urgent and greater than gathering wealth.
You see, having created mankind, Allah knows well the greed being the weakness of his mind and heart. Therefore, by imposing Ushr, Allah has guarded humanity from getting starved, provided mankind applies the rule honestly and correctly.
A scholar said that Allah’s laws are moral and not physical. An example given by the scholar is that if you touch fire or a hot thing, your fingers will get burned instantly, which is a physical law whereby you face the consequence immediately. However, nothing will happen to you if you lie, cheat, or do immoral acts openly or secretly.
Similarly, if a farmer does not pay Ushr on his produce, although he is defying Allah’s code, he will not face any immediate chastisement in this world and he can continue to digest the share of the poor and the hungry, crop after crop.
Nevertheless, this shall be a temporary delight since invariably he will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment for every act carried out by him in defiance of the rules imposed by Allah the Most Exalted. While the enjoyment in this world shall be for a limited period, the punishment for doing injustice by not doling out Ushr shall be much greater. Hence, ultimately it will turn out to be an enormous loss-incurring trade.
Now, coming to the point of utilizing Ushr for reducing and eliminating hunger by applying modern means, currently I could not locate if it is applied anywhere in the Islamic world. If a reader knows to the contrary, it shall be an addition to my knowledge.
I have examined the Zakat and Ushr ordinance introduced in Pakistan in the year 1980, which is a good piece of legislation addressing how the whole paraphernalia of Ushr can be effectively administered. Sadly, it remained confined to just that, a good piece of legislation despite that most parts of the country have been blessed by Allah with fertile land.
As per an OIC report of 2020 titled ‘Agriculture & Food Security in OIC member countries, the Islamic world possesses an arable land area of 1.38 billion hectares, which is tantamount to more than one-fourth of the world’s agricultural land area.
In terms of the agricultural population, working people employed in the agricultural sector range from 50% in some countries, up to 75% in others. The report further claims that the rural population in OIC countries accounted for 49.5% of their total population, compared with 44.8% in the world. With such a dark green perspective, it is a mystery that a majority of Islamic countries are suffering from a shortage of food and are highly food-insecure. So, what should be the way forward to bolster food security and to exterminate hunger in the Islamic world?
Water is the primary source to grow plantation. Here, the report provides not a rosy picture whereby OIC countries collectively receive only 16.2% of the world’s annual average precipitation volume. Analyzing the arable land area and the average precipitation at the individual country level, the distribution of average precipitation in OIC countries is highly uneven.
One area where OIC countries could bring marked improvement is the ability to store water during the rainy season and to release it during a dry spell. This can be achieved by building thousands of small to medium to large dams in the countries.
Dams do wonders whereby even 16.2% of the world’s annual average precipitation can be made more than enough to turn the hectares of land into green pastures. On the other hand, the dams may also produce cheap electricity to bring down the cost of production by industries and provide relief to households.
In the next article, I shall propose ways and means which may not be explored yet and which may help to shore up the levels of food storage by reviving the institution of Ushr.
Next week’s concluding article on the current subject should be able to make it clear to readers that while Zakat is for SDG 1 (No Poverty), Ushr is for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).
The purpose of this educative series and the article is not to hurt any religious or commercial sentiments either consciously or even unwittingly.
Sohail Zubairi is an Islamic finance specialist, AAOIFI-certified Shariah advisor and auditor as well as CIAE-certified Islamic arbitrator and expert. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Next week: Discussion on Ushr as a solution for SDG 2 shall come to an end.