The Economic System of Islam — Page 86
86 action can make these factors equal for everyone. Our near and dear ones are a great source of happiness, but no regime can guarantee that wives, children, parents or friends of each individual would live equally as long. The presence of children around the hearth satisfies the deepest needs of human nature, but no one can guarantee that all married couples will have children, or have an equal number of children, or that the children will all live equally long, be equally healthy, or achieve equal success in life. The pangs of separation from a loved one can be a source of great pain. A mother who has lost her only child will not relish a sumptuous meal, whereas a poor mother who holds her child in her lap will enjoy even a simple meals more than a feast. The intensity of emotions in regard to dear ones may be judged from the following incident in Lenin’s life. The Russian Communist Party split into two groups at an early stage of its history because of some fundamental differences in viewpoints. The Mensheviks, who were led by Martove, held the view that on gaining political power, the Communist system must abolish capital punishment, but Lenin, who led the Bolsheviks—while accepting the principle—wanted to delay its adoption until after the Czar had been executed. The basic reason for Lenin’s tougher stance was that the Czarist government had previously ordered his brother—to whom he was deeply attached—to be hanged in connection with a crime, and Lenin wanted to have his revenge on the Czar. The suffering of our friends and relatives thus profoundly af- fects our happiness, and no one can take out an insurance against such suffering. It is therefore beyond the power of man to remove or level up inequalities in the countless aspects of human life, and