Celebrating Eid-Ul-Azha
About Us | Contact Us | E-Paper
Title :    Text :    Source : 

Celebrating Eid-Ul-Azha

Looking at Qurbani in the light of Divine scheme of wealth circulation and its instrumentalities

Post by on Wednesday, July 21, 2021

First slide

 The purpose of creation has been amply explained in the Holy Quran. It is to test the human beings as to who among us are most righteous (11.7), namely contributing positively to make this world a better place for the fellow beings. The larger purpose of this principle has been plainly mentioned in the Book: "So that the wealth may not circulate solely among the rich" (59.7). 

 

Distribution of wealth and income is the basis of Islam’s economic system and a principal role of the State. After Hijrat to Madinah the Prophet (SAW) distributed wealth from the Ansar to the Muhajireen. He said to the Ansar: ‘If you wish I could ask you to share your homes and your wealth with the Muhajireen and divide among you the war booty. Alternatively, if you wish you could keep your homes and your wealth and I shall not have to give you anything from this booty.’ Moreover, the hoarding of gold and silver, the currency in the Islamic State, is strictly prohibited. Let those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend in the way of Allah know that a severe and painful punishment is awaiting them (9.34). 

 

It has been clarified that righteousness and piety do not result only from prayers (2.2-3). We are supposed to keep praying and, out of our provisions, to spend for the needy. Such giving may be in the form of money, food, clothes, physical assistance, imparting of education and the like. We have been cautioned (2.195) that failure to give adequately may result in societal self-destruction. And the giving so mandated should also result in funds, equipment and training - for creating the wherewithal for jobs and professional vocation for the masses (2.261-274). These acts of giving should permeate the total social edifice. Consequently, the general economic benefits multiply in quality and quantity. Thus, spending for the cause of God should become a social tradition across generations. The beneficiaries include non-Muslims also (2.272). All children of Adam deserve equal rights irrespective of their faith, race or gender (17.7). One is supposed to give to others what one loves and values for himself or herself (2.177). Obviously, the purpose of giving has to be God’s pleasure, not expecting social recognition.   

 

God has announced His scheme of having blessed some people more than others as far as material resources are concerned. Having said that, He renders the haves under obligation to ensure that the means of livelihood are equitably distributed among the human beings irrespective of their capacity to earn or personal economic status (16.17). In the context of the employer’s relationship with the employees this obligation becomes more severe; same is true in case of other similar payer-payee relationships. Among such list of recipients God includes the needy, the orphans and the ‘captives’ which term, in modern world, includes the domestic help. In fact, the giver is only a temporary trustee of God’s bounties (57.7). Sometimes, God shows the negative consequences of violating this injunction by withdrawing His bounties from the trustee even within the latter’s lifetime (68.17-33).

 

Not having an urge to feed the needy has been treated as equal to denial of faith (107.1-7). Such a person’s daily prayers may not be accepted. Thus, socio-economic parity is supreme virtue and the main purpose of creation of this world. Rituals like namaz (salah), fasting, qurbani and pilgrimage are not ends in themselves. These are the instrumentalities pointing towards the larger purpose of creation, i.e. striving for socio-economic equality (Masawaat).    

 

Dr Mohammad Hamidullah, in his book Introduction to Islam, emphasizes that Islam prohibits economic exploitation of the less blessed by the more blessed. In order to ensure the implementation of this injunction what God has prohibited is termed as Riba. About this term Caliph Umar (RA) had wished that the Prophet (SAW) would have defined it. In Anglo-Saxon terminology the closest possible translation of Riba has been accepted to be usury. In some parts of the world the modern day concept of interest has been considered as equivalent to the divine concept of Riba. Yet the scholarly opinion converges around the bottom-line that economic exploitation is a necessary and major concomitant of Riba. 

 

Profit-making is permitted provided there is equality of the rights and obligations of the parties concerned. Conversely, Riba gives an undue edge to the person who receives it while the payer of Riba bears the brunt of timely payment of the principal as well as the additional amount. The latter keeps on increasing with time till the final repayment. Thus, the Riba-receiver’s additional earning is a factor of the Riba-giver’s necessity to borrow and incapacity to pay back. That is what is prohibited in Islam. Therefore, all those portions of usury and interest that emanate from such exploitative tendency are covered under the definition of Riba and are un-Islamic. Such practices entail mutual acrimony and undue temptation jeopardizing gross universal product and social disharmony (2.275-6). In fact, in cases of justifiable claims to receive back in time what a person had earlier given to a needy by way of financial bailout, God likes generosity in the form of not penalizing delayed refund or even writing off the loan (2.278-281).

 

For all those who have been blessed more than many others, it is a must that their assets and resources should be utilized without prejudice to the general socio-economic welfare. If a wealthy person is, however, incapacitated, for some reason, to properly utilize what he owns and possesses, it is the duty of the honest civil society to play a constructive role to ensure the correct utilization of such individual’s assets and resources. Thus, public interest has been elevated to supersede erratic private enterprise (4.5).          

 

God denounces the tendency to devour one another’s possessions by way of transgression. He prescribes mutual agreement in legitimate trades. By not doing so, “do not destroy yourselves”, He warns (4.29). Socio-economic fair-play is the cornerstone of social order.

 

Zakat and Sadaqah are, respectively, obligatory and optional charities. Zakat has been mandated to be paid annually @one-fortieth of one’s wealth plus savings. For the quantification of Sadaqah, there is the directive principle of social policy. Retaining what is and would be needed for proper family upkeep, the balance saving deserves to be given away as Sadaqah (2.219). Heads of Zakat payment have been enumerated (9.60) while Sadaqah heads are not prescribed. These have been left to the community’s and individual’s decision from time to time within, of course, broad scriptural contours. The collection and utilization of charity is the responsibility of the persons who have competence – mundane, state, spiritual, scholarly, social, etc (9.103 read with 4.59). 

 

Self-indulgence in excessive luxury has been discouraged (6.141, 7.31, 11.16, 21.13). It isolates the person from society and God and stops intellectual and social dynamics. Squandering of wealth has also been prohibited (17.26-27). It is the duty of persons of virtue and righteousness to periodically speak out against the spread of corruption and invite people to the right path (3.104, 110, 11.116-117).  The games of chance are described (5:90) as satanic and are prohibited as these give rise to temptation for quick gain without hard work.

 

For streamlining the matter of inheritance, Islam prescribes (a) obligatory distribution of the belongings of a deceased person among his close relatives and (b) restriction on the freedom of bequest. The legal heirs inherit the property of the deceased in the proportions determined by Shariat. The first charges on the property left by the deceased are the expenses of his burial. The balance passes to his creditors. Repayment of debt has precedence over the rights of inheritors. The spouse, parents, descendant daughters and sons are the first heirs who inherit necessarily.  

 

In order to carry forward and institutionalize such multifaceted tradition of philanthropy, with the larger intent of circulation of wealth in the society, a well known instrumentality is prescribed as the annual sacrifice (Qurbani) on the occasion of Eid-al-Azha. Its genesis goes back to the spirit of sacrifice displayed by Prophet Abraham (AS) who had dreamt of the divine command to sacrifice what is most loved by him. Thus the larger message of that genesis is to give away to the needy, out of one’s possessions, whatever is the most prized for the possessor. It is also important to note that during the Abrahamic era the number of sheep possessed was the yardstick of one’s wealth and meat was the desert’s staple food.  

 

Now, couple this with modern world scenarios. For millions of Muslims living in non-Muslim societies like in New York’s Manhattan, Ottawa’s Manotick, London’s Knightsbridge, Berlin’s Mitte, Melbourne’s Toorak it’s not easy to physically sacrifice a goat and find people to be fed, nor meat is necessarily the staple food. In some countries Muslims may not find it easy to perform the traditional sacrifice. Observance of hygiene may also be a big issue. On the other hand billions of world citizens continue to live at below poverty levels continuously requiring financial help for food, shelter, health and education. Shouldn’t the mandatory Qurbani be quantified in terms of weight of gold - like in the case of Nisab in the context of Zakat?  Shouldn’t money equivalent thereto be allowed to be given in charity on the occasion of Eid-al-Azha? 

 

The four Righteous Caliphs’ era had ended by the middle of seventh century AD. Thereafter, the four well known theologians Abu Hanifa, Malik Ibn Anas, Abu Abdillah Al-Shafe’i and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal thankfully came up with their respective schools of thought during the eighth and ninth centuries. A full millennium has passed since then during which humanity has undergone tremendous developments. The prescriptions of those great leaders need to be reappraised and reconstructed. 

 

Thus, it is the duty of the world’s Ummah to engage in Ijma and cull out the instrumentalities of faith in their modern day manifestation, surely within the four corners of the scriptural injunctions, so that the crux of God’s message is fully implemented by the people even in the current millennium. Simultaneously the capable individuals must read and understand the divine scheme with the help of multiple exegeses and act thereupon. Professor Emeritus of Al-Azhar University Dr Fathi Osman says in his ‘Concepts of the Quran’ that the real worth of prayers (namaz-salah) regularly performed in congregation lies in what the believer does when s/he is out of the mosque between two consecutive prayers. 

 

(Author Is President, Zakat Foundation of India, New Delhi. Feedback: zakatindia.org, info@zakatindia.org)

 

Box: It is the duty of the world’s Ummah to engage in Ijma and cull out the instrumentalities of faith in their modern day manifestation

Latest Post