28 chapter one
motivation was not emanating from a disbelief in God’s ability as
much as it was from a wonder of how it could be done in their
attempt to understand God’s wisdom.
Third, social justice did not seem to be an embedded trait of the
pre-Islamic Arabian as the concept did not appear to be fitting in
with the harsh reality of the life prevailing then. The pre-Islamic
Arabians, it seems, had associated social justice with weakness and
feebleness, something they would not like to be linked with; so they
dismissed it. This does not necessarily imply that charity was absent;
indeed a charitable attitude could be inferred from their history and
poetry; supporting the needy and protecting the weak was also sung
in their poetry as an additional source of pride to the powerful clan.
But charity, when extended to the poor, the needy and the weak,
was meant to demonstrate a position of power, wealth and privilege.
In Islam this is not the case. With the concept of social justice well
embedded in the roots of religion, Islam came with a clear message,
“in their wealth there is a right(italics ours) to the beggar and needy”,
(Qur"àn 51:19), and “So give to the kindred his right (italics ours)
and to the poor and the wayfarer” (Qur"àn, 30:38). Furthermore,
while equal respectability of individuals was not known to be the
case in pre-Islamic Arabia except among the privileged few, Islam,
though acknowledged the differences among individuals as a result
of the differences in their ability, wealth and earning capacity, it has
ordained equal respectability among individuals, as persons; they are
as equal as the “comb’s teeth”. In that sense Islam, as will be dis-
cussed in the next chapter, does not call for an equal distribution
of wealth but it advocates instead an equitable distribution.
In brief, Islam, on socio-economic matters, did not come to pre-
Islamic Arabia to destroy a nation, as in A"d and Thamud, drown
a king as with Pharaoh and his army or flood the world except for
those in Noah’s arc, in order to rebuild. Islam came, instead, to
teach, mend, guide and direct, and to make a nation of no nation
and a system of no system. Perhaps God was more merciful with
the Arabian pagans because they still believed in Him as the cre-
ator of the universe and as their sustainer and as they served His
sacred shrine in Makkah and the pilgrims with pride and devotion.
He spared them the torture He gave other nations perhaps because
that was a favourable response to the prayers of His messenger
Prophet Muœammad when he said, “O Lord, if you torture them
they are Your slaves, and if you have mercy on them they are Your