Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 289
289 be divided and sub-divided in each generation, in the course of three or four generations even large estates are parcelled out into small holdings and even a labourer can purchase a small piece of land and thus have an interest in the soil. Thus no permanent division is cre- ated among the people by a monopoly of the ownership of the soil. ( b ) Islam prohibits the giving or taking of inter- est. The possibility of raising loans on interest enables people with established credit to go on borrowing to any extent they please. If such borrowing were not possible they would be compelled either to admit other people as partners with them, or to restrict the scope of their business, so as to leave room for other people to start similar undertakings. The huge trusts and syndicates which at present monopolize the sources of national wealth, would not be possible without interest, and wealth would be more evenly distributed among the people. The accumulation of wealth which we witness today is fatal to moral advancement, and spells ruin for the middle and lower classes. ( c ) Excessive commercial profits are kept in check first by the Islamic institution of Zakat, which is levied on the rich for the benefit of the poor. This levy on capital does not leave enough to the capitalist to enable him to attempt to monopolize the wealth of the nation. Secondly, Islam lays down that the proceeds of this levy should, among other objects, be applied towards fur- nishing those people with capital who possess the necessary business capacity but are unable to start in business owing to want of funds. Thus fresh intelligence