Bismillah al-Rahmaan al-Raheem

Praise is to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the trustworthy messenger of Allah and his pure family.

Almighty Allah states in the holy Qur’an

{He brought you into being from the earth, and made you dwell in it}[1]

{Give full measure and full weight and wrong not the people in their goods, and do not make mischief in the earth}[2]

{He it is who created for you all that is in the earth}[3]

It is also reported that Imam Ali said, “If poverty were to assume a human form I would have killed him.”[4]

What is Poverty?

In order to appreciate the grave consequences of poverty, we must define poverty in a precise and comprehensive way. Poverty does not mean material deprivation only, as imagined by many, but it has extensive and wide ranging manifestations.  Poverty means dispossession and deprivation and as such includes all of the following categories:

1. Emotional

Emotional poverty may be citied in various the prophetic hadith, e.g. “and is religion other than love?”[5], “have mercy on those on the earth, and He who is in the heavens will have mercy on you”[6], and in the supplication “and have compassion for me through your glory”[7].

2. Educational

Education deprivation, for both the material and religious needs. The significance of these aspects are referred to in the holy Qur’an, {and he (the Prophet) purifies them, and teaches them the Book and Wisdom}[8]

3. Comprehensive wellbeing

Deprivation of a comprehensive wellbeing for the body soul, and mind. These issues are given in the hadith “the sciences are four . . . and the knowledge of protection of the body.”[9]

5. Suitable housing

. . . where one can see to his physical, mental, and spiritual needs.  It is narrated in a hadith that “a spacious house is a sign of a man’s happiness.”[10]

6. Clothing

About which the Almighty states, {wear your adornment}[11] and {O Children of Adam! We have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame, and splendid vesture}[12]

7. Food and drink

By which one acquires his necessary nutritious requirement; as the Almighty states {let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them against hunger}[13]

9. Adornment and luxury

The Almighty states {Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has brought forth for His servants}[14]

10, 11, 12. Social, political and economic security

The Almighty states, {and gives them security against fear}[15], and fear includes all that threatens mankind politically, economically, and socially.  The Almighty states {He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them}[16] and these burdens and shackles that the messenger of Allah destroyed are all the fetters and restrictions that limit man’s freedom in all aspects of life, as in freedom of trade, agriculture, manufacturing, movement, travel, residence, and even freedom from repressive customs and traditions.

13. Primary and secondary rights

Such rights as freedom of expression, the right to travel and residence, the right to own land and property, right in conducting trade, business, investment, and thousand and one other rights in accordance with the legal principle derived from the teachings of the messenger of Allah, “the people are masters of their wealth and their souls”[17], and the principle “No (one may) harm (anyone) nor (be) harmed (by anyone) in Islam.”[18] And the Almighty states, {to you be your religion, and to me mine.}[19]

14, 15. Intellectual

The Almighty states, {We bestowed on Abraham his rectitude of conduct}[20] and {and he (the Prophet) purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom}[21]

16, 17. Social and Governmental

Poverty and dispossession is not limited to the individual, but it includes governmental poverty, and poverty of the society as a whole.  So among the visible manifestation of poverty is that of the government and society due to lack of constitutional establishments, fundamental infrastructure, and suchlike.

18, 19. Independence

Furthermore, we have the government’s and society’s deprivation of economical and political independence.

Poverty in the texts of Imam Ali peace be upon him

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib drew our attention to this expansive meaning of poverty.  He points to the intellectual poverty saying, “There is no riches like knowledge, and there is no poverty like ignorance”[22]. Ignorance in itself is a scientific and educational poverty, and it is one of the most important causes of economical poverty too.

He also points to poverty from the viewpoint of education, and intellectual awareness saying, “The greatest poverty is stupidity”[23].

Citing the lack of security from the social and political viewpoints, he addresses some of his companions, “And you are not pillar that can be relied upon, nor the needed supporters of honour and victory”[24].

He points to moral and spiritual poverty when he says, “The worst poverty is the poverty of the soul”[25], or in another text “the greatest calamity is the poverty of the soul”[26].

From a different angle, Imam Ali gives a general definition for poverty when says, “Many a dispossessed may be richer than all the rich”[27].  One may be materially dispossessed but rich and needless in his health, and thus he is richer than the rich in wealth but poor in health, or he who is deprived of his basic rights – such freedom of expression, travel, ownership, investment, and suchlike – even if rich in wealth, for the latter is worse than he who enjoys his rights even though he is destitute in wealth.

Furthermore, the Imam states in relation to religious deprivation, “Poverty is the shame of both worlds”[28].  This is meant the deprivation from the teachings of religion such as piety, abstention from wrong, moral values, and suchlike that result in loss in this world and the hereafter.  He who is deprived from religious teachings steals, usurps, transgresses, kills, and suchlike, and similarly a government that is deprived from moral and religious values suppresses people’s freedom, imprisons the free and the innocent, persecutes the masses, and in that is the shame of both worlds.

The Imam continues, “The most deprived of the people is he who is tight-fisted against himself when in affluence and prosperity, and leaves all that for his heirs”[29].  So deprivation is not just dispossession of wealth and riches, but it is deprivation from their use and facility to meet his needs; material and spiritual, social and political, educational and intellectual, the basic and the fundamental to the luxury and comfortable.  Thus he who owns billions [of dollars] but does not use them to defend himself and his people is ‘deprived’ or rather is ‘the most deprived of the people’ . . . and the government that possesses billions but does not invest them to create infrastructural institutions or support and augment constitutional institutions is a poor government.

Why Imam Ali?

Why Imam Ali is chosen as the starting point to address the means to combat poverty? He is chosen because:

1.     He is the most knowledgeable in the divine teachings.  The prophet Muhammad used to say, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate, whoever wishes to access the city should do so through its gate”[30],

2.     He was the real embodiment of the divine teachings in fighting poverty before taking the office of government and after ruling a country that encompassed some fifty of today’s countries,

3.     He left behind the greatest documents (heritage/legacy), wisdom, and theoretical and practical solutions to address the grave problem of poverty,

4.     In his speeches and teachings and especially in his covenant to Malik al-Ashtar – whom he appointed as the governor of Egypt – there are general guidelines depicting a clearly defined strategy for the fighting of poverty throughout time.

5.     He is distinguished by an exceptional perseverance and awesome will to fight poverty.  When he was forced into effective house arrest for 25 years for his opposition to despotism and to the coup d'état that was executed against the teachings of the prophet Muhammad, he used to spend prolonged periods of time reforming the land and educating the people in various aspects.

6.     He became renowned for his policies when the masses chose him as the head of state of an empire on which the sun never set.  He went on to establish a theoretical economic programme and implemented it practically, thus turning the country, within five years, into a utopia in which not even one dispossessed person could be found.  He used to say, abstaining from luxury and opulence, “Perhaps there may be an individual in the Hijaz or the Yemen[31] who has no hope of obtaining a piece of bread or has not satisfied his hunger fully”[32], and even in Africa there was no one dispossessed as mentioned by chroniclers[33].

His covenant to Malik al-Ashtar reveals some of his distinguished and innovative economic policies in addressing poverty.

Strategic Solutions

The solutions may be divided to two categories: those ‘preventative’ solutions that are in relation to the infrastructure or general policy that contain the problem of poverty, and those ‘curative’ solutions that address the problem after its occurrence.

1. Adhering to Allah’s philosophy on existence

A) This is in effect being in harmony with the declaration of the Almighty {He it is who created for you all that is in the earth}[34].  All natural resources are for all the people, and this means the government does not own the land, mines, seas, airspace, and suchlike, and all belong to the people directly, and whoever acquires something it is his, and the government’s role is to manage this process only.  This means that colossal expenses will be lifted from the shoulders of the poor.  Thus if a destitute person were to own a house, he does not need to buy the land to build the house, for the messenger of Allah states, “Land belongs to Allah and whoever develops it”[35], so it does not cost him other than the building cost.

B) This constitutes a great blow to [high] living expenses and inflation, for the abundance of the commodity reduces costs.

C) This also brings about an increase in the ability of the deprived to invest, for the capital required by a person of low income to set up farm, workshop, etc. is reduced significantly, for he does not need to pay the government for the land he needs to set up his business.

2. Giving priority to construction, growth, and investment in infrastructure

One of his policies was that he established a law stating that the absolute priority is for construction and development, growth and production, and it is not for taxes.  This is given in the covenant of Malik al-Ashtar:

“Your attention to developing the land must be greater than that for collecting revenues”[36] and the reason he gives for this reveals his penetrative strategic foresight, and holistic economic view: “for that cannot be realised except through development, and he who seeks taxes without seeking development, ruins the land and destroys the creatures of Allah, and his reign shall not survive except for a short while”.

So the governments make a double mistake when they concentrate on taxes, the first being the destruction of the ability of small farms and businesses, increasing the number of people on a low income or the unemployed, the results of which the government will face as the government will have reduced revenues. The second aspect of concentrating on revenues is the destruction of the creatures of Allah. This not only deteriorates the economic situation but brings about social commotion and upheaval, but also causes mental and psychological illnesses for those affected, not to mention subsequent physical ones.

3. Calculated Expenditure

Calculated expenditure in the government of Imam Ali was one of the most important aspects of a healthy economy and combating poverty.

There are many examples of showing the Imam’s endeavour to instil laws to prevent waste and extravagance.  It is needless to say that if such policies were adopted today, the billions that are wasted here and there could be saved.  To begin with they may seem trivial but collectively constitute a colossal amount that could be used for the benefit of the economy and the poor.

The Imam used to go to great lengths to prevent wastage, or avoid ‘illegal use of public funds’, for example he used to put out the lamp, that was lit using treasury funds, when a man came to him to deal with personal matter.  He was also conscious of and endeavoured to prevent his and his officials’ time being wasted, “prevent from me your unnecessary talk, and get to the point”[37], for officials’ time constitute a colossal wealth for the country and must be best used for strategic and fundamental issues.

4. Social security

Social security is one of the most important fundamentals that Islam defines and Imam Ali implemented in order to overcome poverty, and amongst the tenets that Imam Ali made and instilled in this respect were those in his covenant to Malik al-Ashtar:

“I urge you  by Allah!, to take [special] care of the lowest class who have no means [to care for themselves] – the destitute, the impoverished, and the disabled who are unable to work – for amongst them are those who ask for help and those who don’t – discharge your duty towards Allah in providing protection for them, and assign for them from your treasury and from the crops of the lands under your jurisdiction [i.e. public estates] wherever they may be, and the furthest should have the same as the nearest, for you are responsible for each of them, and let not the conceit of your position and vanity of wealth occupy you to lose sight of them.”[38]

And social security is provided for all including followers of other religions, as it is obvious from the reported event of the imam assigning benefit from the treasury for the old Christian man who had no source of income.

Islam has also determined that the treasury pay the debt of one who is unable pay it back. Furthermore, Islam has also determined that the treasury pay the expenses of a woman whose husband is unable to support her, or any children whose father is unable support them, or indeed any parents whose son is unable to support them.

5. Keeping the economic balance between urban areas and the countryside

One of the causes of economic imbalance and the spread of poverty is that the governments tend to support urban areas at the cost of the rural areas, which ultimately causes the migration of resources and expertise from the latter to the former, and consequently undermines the production and growth of the rural areas and increases unemployment and poverty. This of course has negative effects in terms of the educational and cultural development of the countryside, which in turn reflects on the economic growth of these areas.

Imam Ali was the first to call for keeping the balance between the two urban and the rural areas when wrote to Malik al-Ashtar: “. . . and the furthest should have the same as the nearest, for you are responsible for each of them. . .”[39] which means that the economic rights of the furthest, who are those living in the countryside and the rural areas, are the same as those living nearest, i.e. those living in the cities and urban areas, and the ruler is responsible for both of them and he may not favour either of them.

Deal with the issue of revenue with a view of the welfare and interest of its payers [i.e. the tax-payers] for the interest of the State relies on the interest of [the collected revenue] and them.

Deal with the issue of revenue with a view of the welfare and interest of its payers [i.e. the tax-payers] for their interest and the interest of the [the collected revenue] is the foundation of the interest of others.

6. Social Sponsorship

Imam Ali established the basis of Social Sponsorship, as Islam has defined the principle of social sponsorship in various dimensions, and this program is considered to be one of the most important factors in fighting poverty, as well being a contributing factor for Social Stability.

The messenger of Allah used to say to his followers, “He has no faith in me who sleeps with his hunger satisfied, while his neighbour is hungry”[40], and “he is not a believer who sleeps with his hunger satisfied, while his neighbour is hungry”[41].

One of the most eminent authorities on Islam in recent times, the late Ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi states in the book of Economics of his al-Fiqh series, volume 107, p298, “This hadith of the prophet is either limited to a moral concept in order to bring about a faultless faith, or it is a legal religious obligation for one to act upon it when necessary, for example at the time of famine, when it is permissible for him to take the amount he requires, and if he cannot repay it then it is the responsibility of the treasury.

The Almighty states {Help ye one another in righteousness and piety}[42] and one the most significant manifestation of righteousness is {to feed in the day of hunger, an orphan near of kin, or a poor wretch in misery}[43].

Then Islam made the husband responsible for the expenses of the wife, the father for the expenses of his children so long they are in need, and the son for his parents if they are in need.  All of this is to encompass poverty from all its sides, for the wives, children and parents constitute the majority of society.  All of these concepts were implemented at the time of the government of Imam Ali peace be upon him.  For more details please see “Amir al-Mo’menin – a sun in the horizon of humanity”, and “Economics” of the al-Fiqh series by the late Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi, and “Politics from the Islamic viewpoint” by Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Shirazi.

9. Revitalisation of wealth and preventing its hoarding

Revitalization promotes the economy and reduces inflation, whereas hoarding of wealth freezes the capital and slows down growth, and thus Islam contests fiercely . . . {those who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings of a painful doom}[44].

Of course the prohibition is not restricted to gold and silver, rather they are the most distinguished examples, and today governments practice this grave action – hoarding up wealth – in the name of ‘reserve’ by holding up hundreds of billions [of dollars], and the problem is exacerbated in that these colossal capitals are in the hands of bureaucratic administration. 

However, in the economic system of Imam Ali peace be upon him we find that it is mandatory to give to the people all the revenues that have been collected thorough taxes and suchlike immediately.  Therefore he would not amass the capital of the treasury even for one day, but rather he would distribute it in the same day, and he would then sweep the treasury on the same day.

This means that this wealth pours into the pockets of the general public, especially the poor and the deprived, which in turn limits poverty to a great extent, and secondly this would speed up the circulation of the capital in the system.  Furthermore the main effect on the people and the government is that by giving the all the wealth to the people, this would give them greater opportunity to invest and innovate.  This means a greater income for the people themselves, which in turn means higher rates of income for government revenues that ultimately pour in the pockets of the people, and so forth.

So if the Federal Reserve and other such institutions gave the people the wealth they hold, this would facilitate – directly and indirectly – a phenomenal opportunity to eradicate poverty, and enhance the ability of both the people and the government, for this would formidably boost GDP, which is indeed the real proactive reserve and it is this that constitutes greater economic support for the currency.

11. Flexibility in taxation

One of the main causes of poverty is harsh taxation . . . and as we mentioned in another section, “one of the causes of poverty is levying taxes on consumables rather than on profit”, and here we state that ‘as part of the solution [to the problem] in addition to the requirement of profits being levied rather than consumables, that the system of taxation should be flexible/considerate – such that the taxation rate take into account the profit rate’.  Imam Ali states “If they, in this case farmers to work the land pay taxes, suffer from disasters, natural or otherwise, reduce their taxes. This reduction should be such that it provides them opportunities to improve their conditions and eases them of their troubles”.

The Imam knows, given his foresight, that it is difficult, if not impossible, for the governors and the governments to reduce taxes, so he adds:

“Decrease in State-income due to such reasons should not depress you because the best investment for a ruler is to help his subjects at the time of their difficulties. They are the real wealth of a country and any investment on them even in the form of reduction of taxes, will be returned to the State in the shape of the prosperity of its cities and improvement of the country at large. At the same time you will be in a position to command and secure their love, respect and praises along with the revenues.”

“Not only this, but your benign rule and humane treatment will so affect them that they will come to your help at the time of your difficulties and you will be able to rely on their support. Your kindness, your clemency and your justice will be a kind of moral training to them, and the contented, happy and prosperous life, for which they will be grateful to you, will be the best support, strongest protection and the greatest treasury for you.”

“Later if such circumstances arrive that you find yourself in need of their support, their help, their confidence, their wealth and their man-power, then they will have no grudge against you.”

“If a country is prosperous and if its people are well-to-do then it will happily and willingly bear any burden.”

“The poverty of the people is the actual cause of the devastation and ruination of a country and the main cause of the poverty of the people is the desire of its ruler and officers to amass wealth and possessions whether by fair or foul means. They are afraid of losing their posts or positions and sway or rule and want to make the most during the shortest time at their disposal. They never learn any lesson from the history of nations and never pay any attention to the commands of Allah.”

12. Releasing the Freedom of the People

Freedom is a fundamental principle in Islam, such that the Almighty defined it as one of the most important aims of the mission of Allah’s messenger peace be upon him and his pure family; {He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them}[45].

Freedom is the main cause of economic growth and prosperity.  So we find the late grand ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi decreeing the prohibition of any act that brings about the reduction of productivity.[46]  In his book Globalization of the al-Fiqh series, he states, “It is [Islamically] unlawful to legislate any law or devise any plan that limits or curtails productivity – agricultural or manufacturing/industrial.  Furthermore, it is [Islamically] unlawful to legislate any law or devise any plan that harms mankind or undermines his dignity even through reduction of his daily income”.[47]

Freedom is the main cause for talents, ideas, and innovations to flourish, which in effect provides great ability in the way of science and technology in various fields such as agriculture, manufacturing, medicine, and suchlike, which in turn enable the eradication of poverty more strongly and speedily.

13. Supervision, not production

The government must occupy itself with the protection of the state, upholding justice, planning for the economic prosperity of the country, and suchlike, and on the other hand it must avoid playing any economic role as an alternative to the people – individuals or companies . . .

Therefore concepts such as nationalization, or State-owned industries are grave mistakes, and direct involvement in production is another mistake, all of which are some of the causes of exacerbating poverty.  Thus we see Imam Ali peace be upon him declares in his covenant to Malik al-Ashtar:

The Imam also said, “Seek counsel and advice from the people of business and industries and give sincere and good counsel and advice to them . . . survey, inspect and visit them . . . examine and review their affairs, whether they are in your vicinity or at remote locations of the country.”[48]

On another occasion the Imam states “examine and inspect the matter of [agricultural] land revenue in a way that improves its people”.[49]

The responsibility of the government is that of overseer, provision of economic security, caring for the proper progress of the production process, not of course manufacturing and production of services. Detail of this topic, which is beyond the scope of the paper, may be found in works such as al-Fiqh: Politics, al-Fiqh: Economics, al-Fiqh: Rights, al-Fiqh: Islamic Government by grand ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi.

14. Combating all forms of poverty

There are many causes that bring about poverty, directly or indirectly, such as those that increase living expenses which in turn increase the number of the deprived and the degree of their deprivation.  The following are amongst the most important factors directly or indirectly contributing to the problem:

1. State ownership of natural resources

The land, mines, forests, waterways, and suchlike are taken over the government, which directly deprive the people from benefiting from such resources, and as a result bring about high living costs.  If the earth and other resources were made available free for all [as Allah has intended it to be] then a significant proportion of the living costs would disappear from the load of the deprived, and thus the ratio of the destitute would dramatically drop in society, while vast new opportunities and resources to will be facilitated for the less-well-off to become rich.  According to the teachings of Islam the earth and all other resources belong to Allah, and then to all the people, and the government has no right to prevent anyone from owning them.

Almighty Allah states, {He it is who created for you all that is in the earth}[50]

The messenger of Allah peace be upon him and his pure family states, “he who precedes to that which has not been claimed by a Muslim has more right to it”[51]

And indeed Imam Ali released the people’s freedom and gave them absolute right to cultivate the land as much as they wanted, or develop it as much as they wanted, or pasture as they wished, or procure the forests and mines as they wished, and suchlike.[52]

2. The excessive body of civil servants

Every one unnecessary civil servant constitutes a burden upon the deprived, since he lives without production or outcome while he consumes, and this is a common problem in democratic countries as well as others.  Some of the examples are as follows:

a)     the thousands of civil servants who work in the passport and border departments,

b)     the thousands of civil servants who work in the various other department that essentially limit the people’s freedoms,

c)     the thousands of civil servants brought by the mammoth bureaucratic systems

however, we see that Imam Ali came up with an amazing scheme in the justice department in order to eliminate the massive body of the civil servants, when through a comprehensive and complete political, economical, and administrative strategic planning was able to establish justice in the capital city of Kufa of four million with one judge!

(Compare that with the thousands of judges and their aides, assistants, and secretaries in the then Roman and Persian governments, and the governments of today, both the democratic and the dictatorial!)

Similarly, the messenger of Allah peace be upon him and his pure family, sufficed to appoint one person, called ‘Atib, as the governor of the city of Mecca, despite the fact that Mecca was a capital city opposed to the messenger for decades, raging in armed opposition to him.  (to find out more about the reason for the success in accomplishing that see “The New Order for World of Faith, Freedom, Prosperity, and Peace”, “al-Fiqh: The Islamic Government”, “al-Fiqh: Judiciary” by grand ayatollah Muhammad Shirazi, and “The Government of the Messenger”, by Dr Qazwini.

3. The Arms Race

The arms industry consumes hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute the world military expenditure in 2005 exceeded $1,100billion and obviously these colossal amounts that should have been spent to facilitate the people’s basic needs were spent on military machines and equipments for killing and destruction.  Military armaments have two negative features:

1.     Burdening the masses, for the government acquires them through the revenues it collects from the people, which constitute additional burdens on the poor and the deprived.  Or it may pay for them through sales of natural resources such as oil, but this is stealing the property of the people purely for bolstering its strength and to enhance its reign of dictatorship.

2.     Then the guns will find their way to war, but in fact the arms lords and government plan their plot to incite war; by proxy if necessary, in order to make sure their produce is sold, and war is the comprehensive destruction and one of the most important causes of the poverty and deprivation of the nations.

Grand ayatollah Shirazi points out in his work that Imam Mahdi, the hidden imam, may Allah hasten his reappearance, will revert the tool of war to the basics of sword and spear, which means pouring all that wealth – hundreds of billions of dollars as we saw – into the pockets of the people and destitute, and secondly minimising the danger and harm of wars – social and economical – to less than one in hundred thousand.  (See “Imam Mahdi”)

4. The robbery of the governments

The robbery can be convincing and plausible, or it could be otherwise, and this requires a lengthy debate that we will not get into.  We will suffice with one example that one of the disciples of Imam Ali, known as Abu Dharr argued against Mo‘awiyah when he built himself a palace at the cost of more than four million gold dinars, so he said to him “if you built this palace of yours with the money of Allah you have committed a sin and a prohibited act, and if you built it using your own money then you have committed extravagance and profligacy.

5. Unjust distribution of the wealth of the world

Almighty Allah created the earth and all its resources and He created all mankind and He put the earth and all its resources for all mankind declaring, {He it is who created for you all that is in the earth}[53], and so {all that is in the earth} is for {you} all.

However, due to his ignorance mankind divided the world and established geographical borders such that one country became rich with wealth and natural resource, and another face abject poverty.  Therefore, geographical borders have dual harm in that on the one hand they deprived the poor countries from the wealth they once had a share of according to the law of Allah, and on the other they prevented free trade across them, which is now governed by Custom duties that harm the poor of both countries.

So we see Allah’s messenger peace be upon him and his pure family, eliminated the geographical borders between the nine countries that were under his government’s jurisdiction . . . and similarly Imam Ali abolished the geographical borders between the fifty countries that had come under government jurisdiction . . . and Allah willing Imam Mahdi will abolish the geographical borders between all the countries of the world when he reappears at the end of time, when he will fill the world with justice after it filled with oppression and unjustness.  (O Lord! hasten for Your patron the ease of reappearance, health, and victory, Amen.)

6. Gambling

The Almighty states, {They ask thee about wine and gambling. Say: “In both is great sin, and some benefit for men; but their sin is greater than their benefit”}[54]

It is a main cause for the destruction of the social fabric for the destitute and for the ruin of family life, which in turn reflects on work performance and thus production, and secondly it is purely a consumption process, for the gambler is not producing anything but rather lives off the shoulders of others. For further details consult the specialist books.

7. Bribery and financial corruption

Imam Ali said, “Indeed [Allah] annihilated the people before you since they denied the people their rights so they resorted [or were forced] to buy them, and they lead them to falsehood [through false policies] and they followed it”.[55]

He also said, “It is not permissible for a governor . . . to accept a bribe for his decisions, so he would forfeit the rights [of others] and decide on them not according to the divine law”.[56]

Bribery exacerbates the deprivation of the destitute, and it is corruption, opportunism and falsehood.  The one accepting the bribe uses the need of the client, rich or poor, which intensifies the degree of poverty for both cases, and as for the rich they compensate their loss with higher charges for their products or services.

8. Monopoly

“You must put a stop to all practices of hoarding goods, because the Holy Prophet (s) has explicitly prohibited such practices.  Let trade be fair according to justice, and prices should not be unjust to either the buyer or the seller”[57].

9. Usury

Almighty Allah states, {Allah has blighted usury and made almsgiving fruitful}[58]

Imam Ali used to say, “O people! Learn [basic] Islamic law before setting up a shop.  By Allah usury in this nation is quieter than the crawling of an ant on Mount Safa”[59].  Here the imam is pointing to the prohibition of subtle usury, or cunning usury.

Usury is one of the main causes of poverty for the borrower who:

a)     Borrows money for an urgent need such as surgical operation, or medical treatment and he does not have the money himself, or he might need it for his son marriage, or to pay a debt or fine, etc.

Obviously this kind of person has a low income, and his income is barely sufficient for his basic needs, and by charging him interest, even at a low rate means exerting pressure on him, thus exacerbating his deprivation or moving him from the middle class to the poorer class.

b)     Borrows money for a business or extending his business

It is clear that charging him interest constitutes pressure on the deprived, for in order to make up for the interest payment he as to make, he must reduce the wages of staff/workers or/and increase the sale price of his goods and services, which the poor would have to pay.

Then the concept of usury creates a category of people who become non-productive, for many are attracted by the easy-to-get-rich way usury starting from a small village usurer through to the global one.  This category is not only non-producers for the community, but rather they get rich through sucking the blood of others which in turn results in widening the gap between the rich and the poor in that the rich get richer and poor poorer.  This subsequently causes a series of social disturbances in the short and long terms.  In the short term it is obvious that the economic pressure on the poor destroys their family life, increases their depression and perhaps many other diseases not to mention possible nervous disorders which altogether adversely affect their performance, all in all making the poor poorer.

Japan sustained heavy losses from usury such that it began reducing its interest rate close to zero and then set it at zero percentage point. 

On the other hand, prohibition of usury drives real production, such activities as investment in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and suchlike.

In other words, usury transforms cash from being a proper means for the exchange of goods to a false commodity.

To this effect we have reports in Islamic traditions that Hisham ibn al-Hakam asked Imam Sadiq – the fifth imam after Imam Ali and his descendents – about the reason for the prohibition of the usury, the Imam said, “If usury were permissible then people would abandon trade, businesses, and whatever they need, so Allah prohibited usury to repel them from it to take up trade and business.”

15. Value added tax

This is an incredible mistake that today’s governments have fallen into, whereas Islam levies taxes on superfluous profits.  Tax on consumables (VAT) constitutes extreme pressure on the poor, and adds deprivation to their poverty, so whenever one buys some goods from the supermarket it product carries its tax with it which amounts to a great burden on the poor.

As for the taxes in Islam, they are Khums and Zakah, so no tax is levied except on wealth superfluous to one’s needs – such as food, drink, clothing, car, house, marriage, travel, etc. according to his own dignity.  Khums is levied on the superfluous amount at the end of one’s financial year.

And finally . . . recommendations and general solutions

Imam Ali has teachings and recommendations that if people acted on them poverty would be uprooted.  These are divided into moral, economical, social, some of which are as follows:

1. “O traders, fear Allah”[60] . . .

It is clear that fear of Allah prevents one from bloodsucking the poor through hoarding goods and raising prices that pressurise the poor.

2. “Bless yourselves with simplicity”[61]

For every administrative protocol, complication, or bureaucracy hampers the movement of capital increases the costs, and consumes considerable time, enlarges the bureaucratic system and increases the civil servants all of which have detrimental effect on the health and nervous system of the deprived.

Every transaction must be performed with utmost ease and without any complication; thus we see that some governments across the world are beginning to shed many of the bureaucratic routines and complications in registering companies, say, and other process.  In Islam there is no need for any of these at all.

3. “Get closer to the sellers”[62]

Increasing levels of middlemen leads to higher prices and inflation, for such middlemen live on increasing the prices to make profit, so by reducing or eliminating the middleman prices reduce, and thus less pressure is exerted on the poor . . . so it is upon the government to plan to reduce or eliminate the dealer to keep prices down, to prevent them from manipulating the market.

4. “Avoid lying”[63]

Lying and deception results in more pressure on the poor, for in this process a good is sold for false prices.

5. “Be fair to the wronged”[64]

In every transaction one must be fair to the wronged before he files a complaint, for if he files a complaint against the other party, be it a person or a shop or a company, they must retract immediately, for this not only means breaching his human rights, but it ultimately means higher prices for the poor, for the lawyers will get rich in the process and the one who has lost will attempt to make up his losses by increasing prices.

6. “Do not come near usury”[65]

We discussed this in another section of this presentation.

7. {Give full measure and full weight and wrong not mankind in their goods}[66]

This points to the prohibition of manipulating the market.

Social factors and those of the Unseen

1. Giving to charity

Imam Ali says, “If you become poor, trade with Allah by giving to charity”[67]

Giving to charity has its effect in combating poverty, as it is obvious.  It is also has an indirect but fundamental and strategic effect, for giving to charity strengthens the social fabric and the bonds between members of the community, which of course has a positive effect.

This is in addition to the Unseen factor that sustenance is in the hand of Allah, {For Allah is He Who gives all Sustenance - Lord of Power, Steadfast}[68].

Imam Ali said, “Wealth and poverty is allotted after being approved by Allah”[69]. Thus if Allah sees his servant give to charity despite being in need himself, the Almighty would open to him the doors of sustenance in ways he expects and through ways he never anticipated. 

This is a common factor that covers individuals and companies and organisations.  Furthermore, if the concept of giving to charity becomes common it will come to be beneficial to man when the circumstances change; one day one give to other and another the other gives to the first. It is an important and fundamental concept of Social Sponsorship.

2. Keeping the bond of next of kin

Keeping the bond of next of kin is an important factor in overcoming poverty – materially and metaphysically.