The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 54
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 54 virtues such as feeding the hungry, clothing the bare, freeing those who are burdened by the affliction of debt, arranging for the cure of those who are ill, assisting poor travellers reach their destination and saving orphans and widows from being disgraced, etc. Furthermore, the personal example of the Holy Prophet sa himself in this regard was such that during the month of Ramaḍān , which is a special time for fulfilling the needs of the poor followed by the celebration of ‘Īd, 1 the hand of the Holy Prophet sa worked in the assistance of the poor and needy as swiftly as a whirlwind, which knows no stopping. 2 Therefore, by means of the compulsory system of Zakāt and the voluntary system of other alms, Islām has established a wonderful mechanism by which the wealth of the rich can be given to the poor and the wealth of the country distributed. 3. Thirdly, is the Islāmic law of commerce, wherein transactions of usury have been prohibited. Today, the intellectual class has realised that it is usury which is primarily responsible for utterly destroying the balance of national wealth, because through it, the money of the poor slowly but surely accumulates into the depository of the rich. 3 Moreover, if one reflects, it is the curse of usury which is the greatest agent in the birth of capitalism in reality. If today usury was stopped, the outcome would be that firstly, the large corporations of the state would either be taken over by the government, or they would be divided into smaller and more appropriate mid-sized businesses and automatically the country’s wealth would be distributed. The opportunity for other wealthy people to usurp the hard-earned labour of the poor would no longer exist. The concept that without an interest-based system trade would become impossible is completely erroneous and false. Such an ideology is only born due to the current environment, whereby the snare of usury has become so prevalent as a result of the imitation of European and American capitalists. Otherwise, 1 An Islāmic festival which is celebrated twice a year (Publishers) 2 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābuṣ-Ṣaum, Bābu Ajwadu Mā Kānan-Nabiyyu sa Yakūnu Fī Ramaḍān, Ḥadīth No. 1902 3 * Al-Baqarah (2:275-281) * Sunan At-Tirmidhī, Kitābul-Buyū‘, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fī Aklir-Ribā, Ḥadīth No. 1206