| Islam Guarantees Economic Growth |
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| Written by abdul baqi | |
| Sunday, 13 August 2006 | |
 I came across an interesting research done by the Heritage Foundation on Religious Faith and Economic Growth. Knowing the views of Islam on the subject, I thought it might be a good idea to write down few points on this subject. Any researcher will get amazed by how simplified yet logical Islam is, when it solves pressing issues of the mankind.
Any discussion on Islam has a pre-requisite. That is to understand Islam as a solution and a way of life, rather than few religious obligations on personal life style. Islam defines the role of mankind on earth as a worshipper of Allah, and that he was created for that very purpose. Allah prescribed to man how to lead his life on earth in a way that Allah gets pleased. If man fulfills this worship on earth, he will be rewarded in the hereafter, otherwise, he will be punished. All actions of man is recorded and is well-known to Allah, and based on these recorded actions, man will get reward or punishment. Allah told man every detail of leading his life, either directly or through generalities which is within the cognitive capability of man to deduce and discover. Given all these utilities and guidelines, it is the duty of man to march forward. Now one of the essential activity of man on earth -being a social kind- is the financial transactions for the exchange of benefits. Islam has a list of ethics and rulings on how to proceed in this arena. All these ethics and rulings ensure growth of the money as well as human relations among fellow mankind. The western model -with one-eye closed practice- looks only on maximizing profit compromising the personal ethical relations with other men. Following the western un-ethical profit making approach will cause divide in the society, which will lead stress, enmity and un-productive attitudes of man, which will lead to a sluggish growth of economy. Islam encourages a strong balance between dependence on Allah in one hand and striving for income on the other. Man is asked to set early in the morning for work in various departments on earth. He is asked to work hard, and not to give up. He is asked to try every permissible way and do not get frustrated when one route of income or other is closed. At the same time, he is asked to depend on Allah, and to have a heart full of faith in the help of Allah. This wonderful combination between the physical exercise of energy in search for economic growth, and the mental satisfaction is a unique feature in Islam. Looking at the western model, physical energy is required with no emphasize on mental side. As a result, workers turn into a machine and a western person works while his mind is full of tension and anxiety, and this leads to low productivity down the road. Islam teaches man that the money he possesses is Allah's. Allah circulates money and property among the mankind, to test people and enable a smooth operation on earth. Allah sets a wonderful system for 'money laundering', that is Zakah. Zakah is an obligatory amount of money from the property of the rich on annual basis to the needy. Thus, when the needy gets Zakah, he uses this money and follows the same route describe above of exercising physical strength for alleviating poverty along with full dependence on Allah. In this way, this person might not need Zakah for the next year, because he becomes stable and self-sufficient. If this process continues, a time comes when it will be very hard to find suitable candidates of Zakah recipient. It happened at the time of Caliph Omar Ibn Abdel Aziz. Heritage Foundation noticed that the more religious a country is, the poorer usually it is, with the exception of US. Well, this exception might give clue to another exception which is Saudi Arabia, and if you like, you may include countries like Israel, and Iran. All these exceptions might question the finding itself. The researcher also refers to Adam Smiths observation that Religious states suffer from monopoly, poor service and the like. This is not true. Monopoly, poor service, etc. is a problem in a country where a corrupted and un-ethical authoritarian rule is established. In this case, 100% services of this state are offered by this corrupted group. When there is less authoritarian ruling (let's say 70%), then this country enjoys liberalization and good service in 30% of the sector. This illusion speaks in favor of partial liberalization from the grasp of a powerful authority. Now, Islam is a 100% noble authority for the mankind. So, if Islam rules a state, it gives 100% salvation for the mankind, 100% justice, 100% equal rights for all regardless of color, race or background, it gives 100% due rights for other religious minorities, and it guarantees 100% good service is all sectors. I am talking about real situation that was prevailing on earth centuries together. Just read history, and verify how Islam, when practiced on earth, ensured economic growth and welfare of a society.               
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