If you open the Quran and browse its chapters looking for a Surah on the Islamic economy, you will not be able to find any. The closest you will get is Surah Al-Anfal (chapter 8), which was named and revealed in relation to the proceeds of war and contains few rules on the distribution of the proceeds. Similarly, Prophet Mohammad did not issue specific statements, deliver speeches, or make public announcements totally dedicated to what we can call today an economic structure. The texts which include references to economic and financial issues were revealed over the course of twenty-three years (the life span of Mohammad as a prophet). Quite often a reference of economic substance may be made in relation to an incident that required a rule or judgment of some sort. One example is the rule related to the ownership of conquered land, which was revealed in conjunction with the battle of Khaibar.56 So the full picture of the economic system needs to be constructed from verses in the Quran, statements of the Prophet, and judgments on specific cases. The following subsections present and address four major principles deemed essential to the development of the economic system in Islam.

Essential to the development of the economic system in Islam is the concept of wealth known as Rizq in Islamic terms. What is wealth? And who is the provider of wealth? Islam maintains that the amount of wealth acquired by any human throughout his life is determined by Allah. People strive in this life to acquire exactly what Allah has prescribed to them. In his endeavor to acquire wealth, man has no knowledge of what could be allocated to him by god. But once he acquires any amount of wealth, it is essential that he believes that this wealth had been allocated to him by Allah.

It was important to engrave this concept in the minds of Muslims for several reasons. For one, Islam wanted to maintain a good level of humility in the society especially among those who would become rich and wealthy. Knowing that the wealth has been granted to them by Allah removes that sense of arrogance and self-centered feelings. Second, Islam was building generosity within the society, which would be deemed necessary for dealing with the poor. Third, Muslims will be required to spend voluntarily beyond what was required of them by the laws of the state. Fourth, the Islamic state was going to face multiple wars at its infancy, which required the financial support of its constituents.

In the Quran, there are more than one hundred references to the fact that Rizq (wealth) is provided by Allah. Following are few examples of these references. In Surah Al-Rum, there is a direct reference to the fact that Allah is the one who provides wealth.57 “Allah is He Who created you, then provided wealth for you, then will cause you to die, then (again) He will give you life (on the Day of Resurrection).” (Quran 30:40). In another place58 it states, “O mankind! Remember the Grace of Allah upon you! Is there any creator other than Allah who provides wealth for you from the sky and the earth? None has the right to be worshiped but Him.” (Quran 35:3)

Whenever the believers are asked to spend part of their wealth on the poor and needy ones, the Quran reminded them with the fact that this wealth was provided by Allah in the first place. The importance of this concept is evident by confirming it right at the beginning of the Quran. In Surah Al-Baqara (chapter 2), which is essentially the first and largest chapter after the opening chapter, it reads, “That is the Book (the Quran), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are pious and aware of Allah; Who believe in the unseen world and perform prayer, and spend out of the wealth We have provided for them.” So part of the belief foundation of a Muslim is to believe that the wealth he has gotten is granted by Allah, and thus when requested to spend that wealth under the command of Allah, he would comply without reluctance.

The Quran argues that one of the reasons that the disbelievers abstain from feeding the poor is that they do not accept the fact that the wealth they earn is given and provided by Allah. In Surah Yaseen (chapter 36, verse 47), which was revealed in Mecca before the establishment of the Islamic State, the Quran exposes the reason behind the Kuffar (disbelievers) refusal to contribute towards the poor and needy. It says, “And when it is said to them: Spend of that wealth which Allah has provided you, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Shall we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He (Himself) would have fed? Yo u are only in a plain error.” Evidently, the people of Mecca who have rejected the religion of Mohammad do not share the idea that the wealth they own is the providence of Allah. They argue, if it is Allah who provides the wealth, then he might as well provide the poor directly rather than asking us to do so.

At first glance, the argument of the disbelievers seems to be logical, except that it does not account for the fact that Islam seeks the purification of the human soul and its cleansing from greed, self-indulgence, and miserly behavior. In Surah Al-Tawbah (chapter 9, verse 103), the Quran says, “Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it.” The concept of Rizq in Islam and the subsequent motivation for spending in compliance with the commands of Allah lays down the foundation for a moral system in support of the financial and economic systems. Without a solid moral system, the economic system, no matter how sophisticated, is bound to fail. We have seen a clear example in the system of capitalism, which due to lack of a moral system is heading to a collapse.

While building a set of moral values, deemed necessary for the economic structure, the Quran exposed the antimoral values which characterized the behavior of the Meccan society. The most clear reference to moral defects in the financial behavior of Mecca came in Surah Al-Fajr (chapter 89, verses 17-20): “Nay! But you treat not the orphans with kindness and generosity. And urge not one another on the feeding of Al-Miskeen (the poor)! And you devour wealth all with greed. And you passion wealth with much love.” The implication is that Islam seeks to build a new society and systems, where greed will not be tolerated, orphans and poor will not be ignored, and wealth will not be accumulated for the sake of accumulation only.

Islam was preparing the stage for an economic system that does not allow interest or usury (called riba in Quran) to be gained as part of loans transactions. Before the rules of sanctioning usury were completely revealed, the Quran insisted that the usury should not be used as a means for increasing wealth. It further pointed out that usury allows the wealth of one to grow on the expense of the wealth of other people. In essence, usury leads to money growth without a corresponding growth of products. In Surah Al-Rum (chapter 30), the Quran reminds the people that it is Allah who provides the wealth in the first place, and that Allah wants those who have more wealth to spend and help the less fortunate. Then the Quran criticizes the usurious acts and praises the practice of charity giving.59

Without usury, it is feared that the loans may dry out and people refrain from giving loans. The Quran, in an attempt to motivate the people to continue giving loans to other fellow members of the society, charged that a loan given in goodwill without the expected usurious return is considered as a loan to Allah. Allah will multiply the rewards for those who give loans in pure goodwill and as a gesture of help and support to others. Verse 11 in Surah Al-Hadeed (chapter 57) says, “Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan (without interest): then Allah will increase it manifold to his credit, and he will be rewarded a good reward.” The belief that whatever wealth a person owns must have been provided by the will of Allah is a cornerstone concept in the economy and finances of Islam. More wealth in the hands of a person should not lead to arrogance and haughtiness of the rich. In the meantime, it should not create a feeling of envy and jealousy in the hearts of the poor towards the rich ones. This is essential for preventing the development of a class system with the rich and wealthy forming one class and the poor and needy forming the other one.

Furthermore, the concept of Rizq leads to the conclusion that the current wealth status of any one in the society is not permanent. A poor is not destined to remain poor, and a rich is not guaranteed to remain rich. Thus, the poor will never cease striving to acquire wealth, and the rich will never stop thinking about preserving his status. This type of thinking is critical and vital for continuous productivity.

Contrary to the “scarcity of resources” principle advocated by capitalism, Islam advances the principle of “abundance of resources.” In numerous locations in the Quran, the idea that Allah has created abundance of resources and created in them benefit for the people is repeated time and again. Islam wants to propagate the belief that the core resources in the world are not scarce, and that god has created more than enough for all the people to enjoy. Islam wants to create a mind-set which appreciates the abundance of resources and remembers at all times that these resources had been provided by god, the creator, in a manner that people can utilize them and make something good out of them.

In Surah Al-Nahl (chapter 16), the Quran enumerates many of the wealth resources and reminds of the fact that these resources were originally created by Allah. In verses 5-8, it says,

And the cattle, He has created them for you; in them there is warmth (warm clothing), and numerous benefits, and of them you eat. And wherein is beauty for you, when you bring them home in the evening, and as you lead them forth to pasture in the morning. And they carry your loads to a land that you could not reach except with great trouble to yourselves. Truly, your Lord is full of Kindness, Most Merciful. And He has created horses, mules and donkeys, for you to ride and as an adornment. And He creates other things of which you have no knowledge In the midst of the production cycle, people tend to forget that the very animals they raise (cattle, sheep, horses, camels) had existed in this world independent of man, and they have been created in a manner that man can tame these animals and utilize the benefits in them. In order to appreciate the inherent benefits of these animals, one can compare them with other animals in the wild, which cannot be utilized for food or transportation, for example, the lions, tigers, wolves, hyenas, and others.

The Quran continues the list of resources and the benefits created within them. In verses 10-13 in the same chapter (Al-Nahl 16), the Quran turns to water as a major resource used for irrigation, plantation, and drinking. The verses read thus:

He (Allah) Who sends down rain from the sky; from it you drink and from it (grows) the vegetation on which you send your cattle to pasture.

With it He causes to grow for you the crops, the olives, the date-palms,

the grapes, and every kind of fruit. Verily! In this is indeed an evident proof and a manifest sign for people who think. And He has subjected to you the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; and the stars are subjected by His Command. Surely, in this are proofs for people who understand. And whatsoever He has created for you on the earth of varying colors and qualities from vegetation and fruits (botanical life) and from animal (zoological life) Verily! In this is a sign for people who remember.

Along the same lines, the Quran reminds of the abundance of resources created in the seas, oceans, and rivers. These resources include the fish, the precious stones, and the ability to sail ships in the seawater. In verse 14, chapter 16, the Quran says,

The Islamic view on poverty is best summarized by the statement “If poverty were a man, I would kill it.” This statement was made by Umar Bin Al-Khattab, the second caliph in Islam, and repeated by Ali Bin Abi Talib, the fourth caliph. Islam, over the course of its revelation, developed a categorical intolerance to poverty and hunger. Abu Dhar Al-Ghafari, one of the companions of the Prophet, is reported to have said, “I am most shocked by a poor man who cannot find food at home and does not come out with his sword in his hands.” The statements of Umar Bin Al-Khattab, Ali Bin Abi Talib, and Abu Dhar signify the level of intolerance for poverty and hunger in Islam. This view stems sequence from the fundamental thought established by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the Quran.

Prophet Mohammad, in a direct reference to poverty and hunger, rejected the slightest possibility that one person would go hungry while the neighborhood he lives in has plenty. In the words of the Prophet, “Allah and his Messenger will disown a community which allows one of its members to sleep hungry.” This strong resentment of hunger and poverty was demonstrated in another statement by the Prophet, where he said, “He who resorts to his bed with full stomach while his neighbor is hungry is not a true believer.” Note how the Prophet skillfully links the rejection of poverty to one’s faith and belief. He does not simply make an administrative rule asking to provide food for the poor people in the neighborhood. Rather, he relies on the intellectual foundation of belief which he spent more than thirteen years putting together, one brick at a time. Then, he turns to this intellectual faith foundation and utilizes it by saying, if you truly believe in Islam as you claim, then you cannot allow your neighbor to go hungry. So the faith foundation is used to build this sense of responsibility among the members of the society.

Statements like these coming from the Prophet, the leader of a movement, and the head of state assert an important fact: poverty is not to be allowed in the Islamic society. The successors of the Prophet, the caliphs, took the same stand and continued to emphasize the need to sustain a poverty-free society. Note that the emphasis of the Prophet and his companions, when dealing with poverty and hunger, was focused on the specific individuals rather than on the community as a whole. The fact that a community is doing well in terms of economic status makes its members more responsible for the well-being of every member of the community. Under capitalism, the economic well-being of the community is measured by the economic growth; an increase in the GDP is interpreted as a sign of a healthy economy. Alarms begin to sound in a capitalist society when the economic growth slows down or halts for an extended period of time. In Islam, the alarm sound goes off when hunger persists within a community despite the fact that the community as a whole may have abundance of food and goods. Islam does not allow the community to rest as long as there is at least one hungry man or woman or child.

Within the framework of capitalism, the material value is the only value that has weight and significance. And the materialistic value of a product is defined in terms of the benefit it carries to people and in terms of its exchangeability with other products or things. When the value of a product is measured in terms of money, then the value of the product is called the price.

Islam has a totally different approach for value definition. First, Islam recognized two broad categories of values, one category is related to the actions taken by people, and the other is related to the things and commodities. Within the first category, Islam recognizes four types of values which should be attained when the human performs an action. These values are the spiritual, moral, human, and the materialistic values. The value in this respect refers to the objective sought by performing the action.

Spiritual values are associated with acts whose only purpose it to please god, the creator. For example, the acts of prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage are ordained upon the Muslim and should be carried out in a certain order. These actions have no value except to please Allah, and consequently to satisfy the instinct of worshiping embedded within the human self. A Muslim does not perform prayer in order to exercise his back, although prayer may benefit the back muscles. Rather, a Muslim performs prayer for the sole objective of pleasing his god. The Quran says, “Establish the prayer for my remembrance.75” Similarly, a Muslim does not fast during the month of Ramadan in order to lose weight, although he may lose weight while fasting. But he performs fasting only to win the pleasure and satisfaction of Allah. It is reported that Prophet Mohammad had said, “Allah says: all your actions belong to you, except fasting. It is mine; and I am the one who provides the rewards for fasting.” The Quran confirms that fasting had been prescribed upon people so that they may have piety for Allah.76

The second category of values is related to moral values. Islam defines certain acts whose sole objective is to achieve a moral value. This is an attempt to create in the society the tendency to perform actions for the purpose of achieving moral objectives. For example, Islam urges a Muslim to develop kind character, honesty, trustworthiness, truthfulness, and generosity. Islam also urges a Muslim to get rid of certain morals such as being mean, miser, jealous, envious, and greedy. These moral values stand on their own merit and considered viable objectives which should be sought and achieved on their own. The value of kindness is extended to include animals. It is reported that Prophet Mohammad had told of a woman who brought on herself the anger of Allah because she locked up a cat without feeding her. He also spoke of a man who deserved the reward from Allah because he went out of his way to get some water for a thirsty dog. When he was asked whether a Muslim can be rewarded if he is kind to an animal, he replied by saying, “If you are kind to any living being, you will be rewarded.” When a Muslim says the truth, or returns the trust to whom it belongs, or stands up for what is right, or rejects the oppression, he does so for the very reason that these values are good values and he has to maintain them. Why would a Muslim comply with these moral objectives and try to achieve them? Of course this goes back to the main intellectual foundation, which tells the Muslim that these objectives are defined by Allah, and therefore by complying with them, a Muslim in essence is obeying Allah.