Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 285
285 'God is not pleased with the proud and the vain who hoard wealth and compel others to do the same and hide that with which God has blessed them out of His grace. If they do not desist and continue to act in contravention of God’s com- mands, an humiliating punishment will overtake them. ' 140 That is to say, if they go on hoarding wealth and abstain from spending it, they and their people would be humiliated. (2) In order, however, to prevent people from spend- ing the whole of their wealth on personal gratifications, Islam has stopped all kinds of excess and indulgence. Islam prohibits extravagance in food, dress, building and furnishing of houses, in short, in every aspect of life. A Muslim, therefore, who follows the injunctions of Islam, cannot spend so much on his own person or personal gratifications as injuriously to affect the rights of others in his property or wealth. (3) As it might be apprehended that in spite of the direction to spend or invest money, some people would go on hoarding it, and thus deprive other people of their rights in it, Islam imposes a levy of 2. 5% on all money, precious metals and merchandise, etc. , which a man has been in possession of for a period of one year or over. The proceeds of this levy must be applied towards the promotion of the welfare of the poor and the needy. The Holy Prophet sa in explaining the object of this levy 140 Al-Nis a ’, 4:37,38.