Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 263
263 It does not approve of a dead-level equality in the distribution of wealth, as that would defeat the very purpose of the diversity, and would amount to denying “the favour of Allah” (16:72). It is obvious that if the incentive of proportionate reward for labour, effort, skill, and talent were to be removed, not only would initiative and enterprise be adversely affected, but intellectual progress would also be arrested. That is why the theoretical doctrine of equal reward irrespective of the diversity of skill, capacities, and talents that have gone into the production of wealth has never been maintained for long, even where it has been proclaimed as state policy, and has had to be modified through recourse to various devices designed to secure diversity in reward. On the other hand, Islam does not leave the principle of competition and of proportionate rewards to work itself out mechanically; that too would lead to hardship and injustice, and would retard the moral and spiritual development of individuals as well as of society as a whole. The principal economic obligation is the payment of the capital levy called the Zakat (22:79; 23:5). The word Zakat means “that which purifies” and “that which fosters. ” All original sources of wealth ⎯ the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the clouds that bring rain, the winds that drive the clouds and carry the pollen, all phenomena of nature ⎯ are the