Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 200
200 islam’s response to contemporary issues He concluded that the existence of this caste system rendered India the least likely country to turn to communism. From the Islamic point of view, the creation of classes in a society begins to hurt only when there is no code of ethics governing the way money should be spent. Imagine a society where people live a simple life, with no lavish expenditure on their clothing, food or accommodation and where the contrasts in the style of life are not so distinctly marked. No matter how much wealth may have accumulated in a few hands, it is the expenditure, which hurts rather than the accumulation of wealth in a few hands. It only begins to hurt when it is unevenly or imprudently spent or wasted. It is the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and all its concomitant flair, display, pomp and pageantry, which, when observed from the lowly vantage point of the miserable and suffering poor struggling for survival, the uneven distribution of wealth begins to create unbridgeable chasms between the two. Therefore, Islam does not unduly interfere with the freedom of an individual to earn and to keep. On the contrary, it promotes and encourages the private sector more than the public sector. It lays down a well-defined code concerning the style of life which when followed to the letter and spirit, would make life as a whole refreshingly simple for all. As this aspect of Islamic economic philosophy has been discussed earlier, we need not dwell upon it further.