Islamic perspectives on poverty alleviation and economic justice

International Development

Being very much in the public eye as a result of the War in Iraq, the concept of Islam in the Western world is generally associated with war, atrocity, and hardship. Mostly unknown is the fact that one of the basic principles of Islam is in fact the well-being and harmony of all creatures on earth. Indeed, the Qur'an is not used only for reasons to cause war and destruction, but also to alleviate suffering and poverty throughout the world. As such, there are many institutions and structures connected to Islam, which do just that. While many of these are religion-specific, such as religious gatherings or groups, others take a more global aspect, offering services across cultural and religious borders. Thirdly, there is also an application of the poverty reduction system, as mandated by the Qur'an, to politics.

Islam and Poverty

Poverty is a phenomenon that appears worldwide, from the most prosperous urban environments to the most destitute rural towns. Alhabishi (1) takes this a step further by explicating poverty as not only an economic phenomenon. Indeed, the author goes as far as stating that poverty is no longer seen as a one-dimensional phenomenon. It is now recognized as impacted by a variety of social and political problems, along with the economy.

This is significant in terms of the perspective of Islam in terms of poverty. In order to understand the issue of poverty and its alleviation as addressed by Islam, Alhabishi (3) begins by considering Islam's perspective on basic human needs.

There are five basic human needs, according to Islam. These include religion, the physical self, intellect and knowledge, offspring, and wealth. A basic goal of Islam is to provide both society and individuals with the opportunity to meet all their basic needs. Those who do not have access to all the basic needs mentioned above, are considered poor. According to Alhabishi (5), all five needs must be fulfilled for a person not to be considered poor at some level.

Alhabishi (6) further notes that a distinction is made between two types of poverty in order to ensure that the most needy are reached in good time. This distinction is between the poor and the destitute. The latter group is subject to more extreme poverty than the former, and is in greater need of help than the former. This distinction is important in terms of the form of poverty alleviation that Islam dictates.

A further aspect of poverty alleviation, according to Ahmed (21), extreme inequality in terms of either income or poverty is discouraged by Islam. Although individuals are encouraged to make every economic effort to meet their needs, it is also recognized that some simply to not have access to the means to do this.

The Islamic economic system, at least in theory, is concerned with creating "the eradication of poverty, socio-economic justice and equitable distribution of income" (Ahmed 22). Ahmed refers to this as an "unyielding" feature of the Islamic economic system.

Islam: Zakah and Awqaf

Alhabishi (6) notes that the concept of nisab is central to the Islamic drive towards poverty alleviation and elimination. Nisab means that a minimum of any good or wealth can be possessed, after which it is subject to zakah. Zakah in turn is a type of taxation system according to which money is collected for the purpose of alleviating various forms of poverty.

The author summarizes several Islamic systems that provide funding for the poor. Zakah, as already mentioned, is obligatory for every Muslim. It is a permanent source of revenue to alleviate poverty within the Muslim community. Charitable trusts are also known as Al awqaf, which means that a collective social trust is created to benefit the poor in society. This is not obligatory. Other systems include gifts; Al fay' (wealth from the enemy); Spoils of war, Treasure (buried wealth found on ownerless land); Obligatory maintenance by relatives; and a Minimum level of living for each citizen, as guaranteed by the public treasury.

Habib Ahmed (15) identifies zakah and awqaf as the most practical and necessary systems within Islam to alleviate poverty. As mentioned, Islam considers the former as obligatory and the latter as non-obligatory. Interestingly, however, neither system is systematically or legally enforced within Islamic countries and communities. This is central to the challenge of alleviating poverty in these countries.

African Islam: The Tariqa

Similar to the institutions of zakah and awqaf is the religious association tariqa, which originated from African Islam. According to Ian Linden (2004: 2), it is currently found throughout the world. In addition to functioning as a social system for meeting with the faithful, the tariqa also serves as a form of poverty alleviation. The tariqa is based upon a past paradigm, where pupils of a religious expert or holy man would gather in groups in order to pursue the pious life, knowledge of the Qur'an, and mysticism. Each group had a distinctive feature in terms of special prayers and practices. In the typical West African town, this concept developed into the da'ira or zawiya, the local lodge, where tariqa members could gather and practice their faith. Often this included collecting money to help the poor.

Collecting money in this way is based upon the Muslim conviction that the faith community is to serve its members through various forms of support; including financial aid where necessary. In this way, the tariqa functions in much the same way as the above-mentioned structures, the zakah and awqaf, although it is closer to the latter, in that financial aid is not an obligatory function.

The money collected is then used, often across countries, for economic and religious transactions, including the relief of poverty. According to Linden (2004:2), many Muslims in Africa for example belong to centuries-old groups such as Qadariyya or Tijanniya, which oversee a network for the modernization of schools.

Conclusion

Four main structures for poverty relief in Islam have been addressed: zakah, awqaf, tariqa, and Islamic Relief. The first two are particularly important, as they are part of a centuries-old Islamic tradition to care for the poor and the destitute. Indeed, of al the structures discussed, these two are closes in principle to the wholesale poverty relief of Islamic citizens. The tragedy is, however, that poverty remains are a social and political crisis throughout Islamic countries. The main reason for this, according to Ahmed, is a basic lack of formal structure in terms of contemporary political and social institutions, and how these relate to Islamic structures of poverty relief.

Ahmed (17) for example suggests that, while many developing countries have implemented poverty reduction strategies, these are mainly the responsibility of a minority group of politicians or social work professionals. The problem is that poverty is far too widespread to respond significantly to the isolated work of a few organizations or individuals. Instead, Ahmed suggests that the concepts of zakah and awqaf should be included in development schemes and poverty reduction strategies. The advantage of such inclusion will be the perpetuation of concepts that are significantly important to all Muslims. It is also likely to trigger a sense of solidarity among citizens, along with providing a structure for targeted charitable work. It will also provide a valuable structure by which to ensure that the goods received by means of zakah and awqaf reach their correct destinies. In this regard, the concepts of zakah and awqaf can be implemented to fund the work of organizations such as Islamic Relief. The concepts can also be integrated with organizations such as the tariqa in order to increase the impact upon poverty relief throughout struggling Muslim countries.

Another important point mentioned by Ahmed (17) is the need for laws and regulations to implement zakah and awqaf. While the concepts are indeed part and parcel of the law of Islam, it is not integrated into politics in terms of legal requirements. Hence, in many cases, the payment of zakah and participation in awqaf are generally non-regulated activities. In some cases where participation does occur, the funding gained is often not channeled towards the correct recipients. In such cases, a global organization such as Islamic Relief can play an important role, together with participation by politicians. In the political arena, regulation can be ensured by means of legal requirements. Zakah can for example be implemented in the same way as the Western revenue system. Organizations such as Islamic Relief can then act as the official receiving body of zakah and awqaf payments, with decision-making depending upon the reachability and desperation levels of the poor.

Islam requires the faithful to care for each other on all levels of basic human needs. Regulating the dispensation of such efforts is perhaps a good response to the still existing need.