You must have heard many a time that Islam teaches moderation in dealing with day-to-day matters of life. What does that mean?

In the last article, I had quoted a verse from the Holy Quran, the gist of which is that Allah has ranked some people above others in worldly resources so that the ones who are above can attach the ones who are below in their work. I had explained that this means to discourage hoarding by those who are wealthy, and that they should instead invest in trade and industry to create employment for those who are below in the worldly rankings. This will enable low-ranking people to sustain themselves and their families in a decent manner.

Contrary to the people who hoard, there are people who are spendthrifts and live a life of lavishness. What does Allah say about such people?

“Children of Adam! Take your adornment at every time of Prayer, eat, and drink without going to excesses. For Allah does not like those who go to excess.” (Verse 31 from Sura Al Ara’f or The Heights.)

The underlined part relates to the termination of the pre-Islamic practice whereby the people of Mecca used to circle the Kaaba without clothes. Instead, Allah the Almighty ordered people to appear in decent clothing, covering themselves properly.

In another place, Allah said: “And do not spend wastefully.” (Verse 26 from Sura Isra or the Night Journey by Prophet Muhammad – as Muslims know it by the name of Meraj).

Prophet Muhammad said that: “There would be men from my nation who eat a variety of foods, drink a variety of drinks, wear a variety of clothes, and are boastful in their speech. These are the worst of my nation.”

So how do you define moderation in light of the Quranic verses and prophetic sayings? To put it simply, Islam allows completion of needs, which are starting from basic needs for survival to amenities and reaching the frills or add-ons in a bottom-up approach. However, one must take extra care of not indulging in wastefulness upon reaching the stage of frills or become a hoarder.

It is not correct to state that Islamic teachings are averse to the economic well-being of a person and attaining richness. The Creator has Himself destined for some of His servants to be wealthy compared with others.

Nevertheless, there is a method and discipline in doing so whereby firstly, the wealth creation must be done in a Halal or permissible manner, and then a part of the overall wealth must be taken out and distributed among the poor and the needy every lunar year.

We have glorious examples of some of the companions of Prophet Muhammad who, with sheer hard work and determination, became billionaires. One of them was Abdul Rahman Auf who was a rich man in Mecca but became penniless upon migrating to Medina. He did not accept the offer from an Ansaar (Muslim citizen from Medina) to share half of his wealth and asked the direction to the market where he started the trading of butter with a capital of less than 10 dinars and gradually became one of the most prominent traders of the Arabic peninsula. Some scholars estimate his wealth at that time in current terms at over half a billion US dollars. Surely, the pure heart, honest dealings and taking care of the poor from increasing wealth attracts Allah’s mercy similar to how a magnet attracts iron.

Islam focuses on addressing hunger in society to keep it in a healthy state. The saying of Prophet Muhammad that he is not a believer if he eats until a full stomach and someone in the neighborhood sleeps hungry is such a strong motivation for Muslims to go the extra mile to find hungry people in the community every night before retiring for the day. So, if you want to be counted among believers, get out and feed each hungry person.

Islam recognizes that ignoring hunger causes disastrous effects and some of them lead to serious crimes. A jobless father with no provisions at home for the starving children and no help from society shall have a high tendency to resort to ransacking and snatching at any cost, even if he has to stab someone. We witness this phenomenon routinely in countries plagued by poverty and the failure of the governments to provide opportunities to people to secure necessities for a decent existence. In light of the aforementioned Hadith, will the same person getting so much care from the community ever think of robbing the very hands who feed him and his family?

I hope by now the socioeconomic justice directed by Islam is clear to readers; it, first of all, conveys that the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ are decreed by the Creator to test people from both sides, and also that every person has the right to rise in material terms provided he or she uses Halal means and that once you are successful, you must neither become a hoarder and stingy nor a spendthrift and extravagant, and finally as you grow in wealth, the responsibility to hold the hands of the underprivileged of society increases proportionately.

With the application of such golden principles, poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2) both were eradicated from the Islamic rule in a short period during 7th century, and subsequently too wherever and whenever these values were truly applied.

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 of SDG 2 – Zero Hunger to continue.