56 chapter two
what the heavens and the earth contain, and all that lies between
them and under the soil” (Qur"àn, 20:6).
The concept of ownership in the Qur"àn is established on these
two main axioms: God is the ultimate owner of the universe and
man is His representative on earth. The basis of man’s ownership,
therefore, is the “ownership by trusteeship”. Man owns as a “trustee”
to God who has delegated this ownership to him, which implies that
the ownership must be exercised in accordance with the conditions
laid down by the ultimate owner: God. Within the boundaries of
this “trusteeship”, man is free to exercise ownership rights. Three
main principles organise the framework of this delegated ownership:
free will (authority), responsibility, and a system of reward and pun-
ishment. These principles constitute the fundamental philosophy of
Islamic economics (for example, Naqvi, 1981), as discussed above.
Types of Ownership
Based on the principle of “ownership by trusteeship”, ownership is
divided into two main types: private ownership and public ownership.
Private ownership
Private ownership is well recognised in the Qur"àn and the Sunnah.
This recognition takes various forms:
Firstly, the Qur"àn ascribes private ownership to the instinct of
man and in line with his human nature, “He (man) loves riches from
all his heart” (Qur"àn, 100:8), and “Wealth and children are the
ornament of this life”, though “deeds of lasting merit are better
rewarded by your Lord and hold for you a greater hope of salva-
tion” (Qur"àn, 18:46). Also, the recognition of the importance of
wealth, which man perceives, could be noted from the Qur"ànic
verses that ordain Muslims to make sacrifices in the path of God
and the Holy War. In these verses the word wealth always precedes
the word “self ” in making these sacrifices. For example, the Qur"àn
states “Those that have embraced the faith and fled their homes
and fought God’s cause with the wealth and the persons are held
in higher regard by God (Qur"àn, 9:20), and “Whether lightly armed
or well-equipped, march and fight for the cause of God, with your
wealth and your persons.. .” (Qur"àn, 9:41), also, “Those that believe
in God and the Last Day will not beg you to exempt them from
fighting with their wealth and their persons” (Qur"àn, 9:44). In fact,
whenever wealth is mentioned alongside other matters of high value