economic thought in the qur"àn and sunnah 75In warning Muslims against invalid discrimination by wealth, the
Prophet, giving an example of improper bevaviour of previous nations,
stated, “Communities before you strayed because when the high
ranked committed theft they were set free, but when the low com-
mitted the theft the Law was enforced on him. By God, even if
Fatimah, the daughter of Muœammad (the Prophet’s daughter), com-
mitted theft I would cut her hand” (flaœìœal-Bùkhari).
What Islam advocates is the equitable distribution of wealth and
income so as to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
Three main approaches to wealth reallocation are adopted: the
encouragement of voluntary alms giving, the enforcement of Zakàh
and the inheritance law.
First: Voluntary Alms Giving—Charity.
Muslims are required to give alms to the poor and the needy, and
are encouraged to do so in order to please God. In fact, whenever
there is a mention in the Qur"àn that God has given individuals
abundantly or sparingly, there is a mention that individuals should
give alms. The verses that ordain Muslims to spend on alms are so
many and the reward is very generous. In some expressions the
reward is ten times as much and in others it is like “...a grain of
corn which brings forth seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains”
(Qur"àn, 2:261). The notable, and indeed moving, metaphor that
has been used in the Qur"àn to stress the effect of alms is the one
that regards giving alms as if it were as giving loans to God. The
Qur"àn says, “Those that give alms, be they men or women, and
those that give generous loans to God”, and “Those who preserve
themselves from their own greed will surely prosper. If you give a
generous loan to God He will pay you back many times as much
and will forgive you” (Qur"àn, 57:18; 64:16–17; respectively, also
73:20). To that effect giving alms is highly motivated.
There are conditions for alms giving and of the various condi-
tions the following are the most notable: (a) alms should be given
from what the giver would like to have for himself (Qur"àn, 3:92),
(b) as expected, alms should not be followed by taunts or insults to
the receiver (Qur"àn, 2:261, 262); a kind word in this case is better
(Qur"àn, 2:263), (c) they may be given publicly, though it is more
righteous to keep them privately (Qur"àn, 2:271), and more inter-
esting (d) alms may be given to non-Muslims (Qur"àn, 60:8).