It is related that the Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab once berated a companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him, for spending money in ways that the Caliph deemed to be profligate. He asked the man, “Every time you desire something, do you buy it?” Profligacy in all religions is regarded as an evil trait and considered a sin. The Qur’an even equates profligate spenders with devils. Acceptance of one’s lot in life, patience and the control of one’s desires have been regarded as great virtues throughout human history.
In the present day, however, things have been turned on their heads. Today self-control in the economic sphere is regarded as utter foolishness. Nations whose people are thrifty, such as the Japanese, are regarded as unfortunate because their people’s thrift is blamed for their economic slowdown. Nations whose people spend as if there were no tomorrow, such as the US, are regarded as being advanced and dynamic and to be emulated by everyone else.
We witnessed after the tragedies of Sept. 11 that President Bush exhorted his people to... pray and remember God? No. Increase their charitable donations? No. To accept the Divine Will with forbearance? No. In fact, he asked the American people to shop! He asked them to stay in hotels and to eat in restaurants! Bush is no fool; he understands very well that the welfare of modern capitalist states is hostage to their citizens’ continued and relentless spending and consumption. Reckless or not, they have no choice.
This is why advertising has — for the first time in human history —become a science and it is taught in colleges and universities throughout the world. It is a tool for promoting avarice and the exploitation of the human instinct of acquisitiveness. It encourages dissatisfaction with people’s lot in life and encourages envy. All these things are supposed to be good for people?
Modern capitalist economics has turned everything upside down so that contentment, patience, acceptance of one’s lot in life and self-control have all become sins from which human beings or, as they are now called, “consumers” must rid themselves if they wish to attain economic prosperity. We are asked to use arbitrary economic measures such as per capita income and so on as signs of economic progress.
Of course no one bothers to tell us that in most capitalist economies with large per capita incomes, on the average 20 percent of the citizens enjoy 80 percent of the nation’s wealth —and all the others struggle over what’s left. In other words the 20 percent eats cake.
It is thus incumbent upon our scholars to develop an alternative to this immoral economic system, one that is based on the laws of the Shariah. The development of banks and finance companies based on Islamic economic principles is a step in the right direction but it is only a step. Much more needs to be done to develop a comprehensive system, capable of fulfilling human economic needs without sacrificing their God-given nobility.
