Economics: Guaranteeing The Needs

Islam is the only ideology that guarantees man's essential needs. Because this guarantee in itself is
one of the fundamental principles of the Islamic Economic System.
The Capitalist System concerns itself primarily with the accumulation of wealth not guaranteeing
the necessities. The production of surplus value is the chief object of capitalist production,
regardless of human misery. The capitalist system, in its pure form,.is reckless, and cares little for
the well being of the people unless under compulsion from society. The capitalist system
throughout the 19th century demonstrated itself to be unfair and damaging to the labourers and
working class as a whole. Accordingly with the formation of the trade union movement and
reforms such as those embodied in the 'welfare state', capitalism has sought to alleviate some of the
systema disadvantages. Today, the capitalist system in the West provides the basic necessities of
man. However, this should not be taken as an evidence that the system guaranteed the essential
needs of man as a fundamental principle. On the contrary, measures such as unemployment
benefit, council housing, supplementary benefit, pensions etc. are nothing more than alleviating
measures decided upon according to the prevailing circumstances. The proof of which is that under
the present Conservative Government such measures are being continually eroded.
As for Communism, the fundamental principle of its political economy is guaranteeing equality of
possession. This is not the same as guaranteeing the essential needs of every individual. Marxism
has always concerned itself with the adverse effects that arise when the means of production reside
in the hands of individuals. Therefore it concerns itself with the possession of the means of
production and not the guaranteeing of mans basic needs.
The right of every individual to satisfy his basic needs is the distinctive-feature of the Islamic
System. It is the fundamental duty of the Islamic State to ensure that every citizen, whether Muslim
or not, secures his basic necessities.
This responsibility of the State to guarantee these necessities is clearly spelt out in the following
speech of our prophet's companion Ibn Hazm, who said:
"It is the duty of the rich to meet the needs of the poor and the destitute of their village or town.
And if the treasury is not sufficient to meet their needs, then the State has the right to take their
surplus wealth, if necessary from the Community".
He further said that all the companions of the Holy Prophet are agreed upon this, that if there is
anyone hungry or naked or without shelter, it is incumbent upon the State to supply his needs from
its surplus wealth of the rich (in case its own treasury is insufficient).

Al-Fajr Magazine, December 1986