The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 51
II - Brief Note on Islāmic Equality 51 in gatherings without making distinctions of rich and poor. If a rich man holds a banquet, he should invite those of poorer means as well, and if a poor man makes an invitation of food, the more affluent should not reject that invitation. 8. Finally, Islām commands that in matters of matrimony, the selection of a wife should be done on the basis of her personal qualities and goodness and not on the basis of her genealogy and riches and wealth, etc. Islāmic Perspective on the Division of Wealth After this, the question of the division of wealth arises, which amidst the mutual struggle of the communism and capitalism of today, has become the centre of attention. As such, although God-willing, the actual point for this discussion shall come up later, nonetheless at this point, it is necessary to state inasmuch that with relevance to this significant question as well, Islām has given such a lofty and moderate teaching that its likeness cannot be found anywhere else. In normal circumstances, where Islām has accepted the individual right to produce wealth, on the other hand it has also developed such a mechanism for the distribution of that wealth, which if employed, means that the wealth of any country or nation can never escape the hands of the common people and accumulate into the hands of a few. To be brief, I shall only mention four of the mechanisms of this machinery. 1. First and foremost is the Islāmic law of inheritance, whereby the property of a deceased person does not only go into the hands of one child, male children, or a person’s own children. Instead, it is divided between all the sons and all the daughters, the wife, husband, mother and father, and in some cases even amongst the brothers, sisters and other relatives, according to a very appropriate percentage. 1 If a Muslim landlord dies, his land is divided amongst his heirs. If a shopkeeper dies, the assets of his business reach all the heirs. If a factory owner dies, the portion of his factory is divided amongst his heirs as well, and so on and so forth. In this way, various natural hindrances or obstacles have been engineered after short intervals to prevent the (excessive) acquisition of wealth, and at the end of every generation a 1 An-Nisā’ (4:12-13)