The New World Order of Islam — Page 102
New World Order 102 problem for which a new solution must be found. But the problem is as old as humanity, and we claim that Islam is the only religion which has essayed to bring about practical equality between the rich and the poor. It seeks to bring various sections of the community so close to one another that class distinctions should in practice disappear and all sections should be able to fulfil their needs with regard to food, clothing, shelter, health and education, in an adequate measure. That being so, the solution of the problem must be found within the Islamic teaching. If Zakat does not make adequate provision in this respect, we must be able to discover supplemental provisions in the Islamic teaching. Socialism has sought to find a remedy for the present disparity in the distribution of wealth by making workers’ share in the profits of industry and commercial enterprise; that is to say, it advocates that labour should be rewarded not by means of wages but by the distribution of a certain percentage of the profits of each industry and commercial enterprise among the workers. But this principle is bound to lead to various anomalies in practice. Some concerns may yield much larger profits than others, which means that for similar work, workers employed in one concern will be paid very much more than workers employed in another concern. This is bound to cause trouble. As under this system a worker’s wages will