I am returning from the absence of a few weeks. A short break always refreshes your thoughts and provides you with fresh focus.
The break gave me an opportunity to conduct research on today’s hot topics, which are environment, social and governance or ESG, and the sustainable development goals or SDGs and their relevance to the Islamic economy.
Contrary to the recommendations we usually come across that Islamic finance should align with the SDGs and ESG for better growth, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that actually it is the opposite.
Why do I say that? It is because Muslims believe that Islam is a complete and perfect religion and the teachings of the Holy Quran and Hadith cover all matters of life on planet Earth — until the Earth comes to an end. The belief is tested frequently and found to be robust.
In an earlier article written sometime ago, I had mentioned that the civil and common laws (besides the other laws) have evolved by emulating the Shariah law on many aspects. I had cited the example of the inheritance law where Shariah protects the rights of a wife by including her in the estate and wealth left by the deceased husband.
The ruling is embedded in Islamic society from the dawn of Islam in 7th century AD; however, wives were traditionally denied such a right in the other laws on the pretext that they are not a blood relative to the husband. For example in UK where the common law is adopted, this was not the case until 1922 when the Law of Property Act was promulgated allowing the husband and wife to inherit each other’s property. Other jurisdictions also gradually accommodated the change.
A scholar had wittingly quipped to me in this context that the womenfolk in Islam is the richest segment of society since they inherit from their father, husband, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, and in some situations, even from grandkids. Since by nature, women are risk-averse, they do not enter into any investing adventurism and are successful in preserving the wealth.
Another example I had given of Islamic teachings to be eternal was on the subject of Ijarah or the leasing structure. I had mentioned that there was no application of Ijarah at the time in Mecca or Medina since everyone was free to build their own residential or commercial property anywhere deemed appropriate. However, detailed guidance on Ijarah was provided back then for the utilization in the current environment where not everyone can afford to own a property but can rent it out.
Similar to the aforementioned examples, my study revealed that centuries ago Islam had addressed the objectives currently sought by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the SDGs. Similarly, clear citations are available in the Holy Quran and in the direction provided by Prophet Mohammed on environment issues. In fact, deeper learning showed that similar guidance was provided in the other divine revelations too. I have extracted the following quotes from the books in sequence of their revelation:
Torah: “When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said: ‘Look at my works! See how beautiful they are — how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.’” (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah, 1 on Ecclesiastes 7:13.)
Bible: “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.” (Isaiah 24:4-6.)
Quran: “He created man, teaching him speech. The sun and the moon follow a reckoning, and the grass and the trees prostrate. And He has raised the heaven and set up the balance, that you should not contravene with regard to the balance. And observe the measure with justice and do not skimp the balance. And the earth, He placed it for [all] creatures. In it are fruits and date palms with sheaths, and grain with husk, and fragrant herb. So which of your Lord’s favors will you deny?” (Al-Rahman, 55:3-13.)
Starting from the next article, I will choose one SDG and provide the already existing Islamic wisdom around that goal to emphasize the need for all SDGs to be aligned to Islamic teachings, rather than the other way around.
In my opinion, this could be done at least for Islamic countries to garner greater support from the masses for the accomplishment of goals by or before the fast-approaching deadline of 2030.
I believe that providing the Islamic background for the UNDP SDGs in 57 Islamic countries will enable the people to relate to them better through a religious perspective and make the timely achievement of the goals that much easier in the Islamic block.
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 and AAOIFI-certified Shariah advisor and auditor. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Next week: Discussion on all UNDP SDGs shall continue.