economic thought in the qur"àn and sunnah 57to man, such as self, children, parents and clan, wealth comes first.
The only exception to that comes in one verse only where God says,
“God has purchased of the faithful their lives and their wealth, and
in return He promised them Paradise” (Qur"àn, 9:111). This sequence
of order reflects the degree of priority given to the value of wealth
by man over other values. There was a need for an emphasis there-
fore that man should give to God what man likes most, wealth,
before considering other forms of giving. In other words there is an
emphasis in the Qur"àn that the sanctity of giving is in giving what
is worth more first, before considering giving what is worth less. The
verse 9:111 above does not however contradict this analysis. The
verse indicates what man is offering to, God. By man’s inclination
to hold on to what he values more to the last, man would offer
himself first and then his wealth, in a descending order. The degree
of uncertainty is driving the behaviour of man still. While giving
away part of wealth carries a certainty of a reduction in the worldly
value of wealth, giving away the self by taking part in military jihàd
may not necessarily lead to loss of life if the person survived the
battle, and, even better, may lead to earning a gain as a share of
the spoils of war. Therefore, offering self for battle, despite the prob-
ability of loss of life, was, by implication, done in pursuit of poten-
tial gains. It enhanced the drive for offering self further, compared
to giving wealth in charity, the strong belief that being killed in bat-
tle in the sake of God and becoming a martyr guarantees a place
in Paradise.
Secondly, the Qur"àn attaches high sacredness to private property
to the extent that theft is punished by the amputation of hands.
Qur"ànic verses rule, “As for the thief, man or woman, cut offtheir
hands to punish them for the crimes (they have committed)” (Qur"àn,
5:38). Various conditions govern this rule. These are: the value of
the stolen object is not trivial, the stolen object is normally kept out
of the reach of the passer-by, the thief is not driven by hunger, the
charge is decisively proven without any room for doubt, and the
repetition of theft by the same person, so that the thief would have
a regular source of income, (Qùtb, 1979). Also, the Prophet is reported
to have said, “Whoever was killed while defending his property is
regarded as a martyr”, (flaœìœMuslim).
Thirdly, the Qur"àn and the Sunnah provide specific guidance for
the inheritance of private property. Men and women, old and young,
are all given shares of the legacy, though the amount of the share