How Can We Achieve Social Justice?

 

 

Today, there are people living on streets in every country from the richest to the poorest. This circumstance that discomforts consciences is an indication of unfair income distribution suffered across our earth.

Hundreds of millions of people are living in a way deprived of basic needs such as food and sheltering. 80 percent of the world resources are consumed by 17% of the world population; approximately 5 billion people are obliged to make do with the remaining 20%. Total assets of the richest 100 people are equal to total assets of half of the world population … Consequently, nearly one billion people sleep hungry.

So, what is the solution? How can social justice be achieved in the real sense?

The bright promises of capitalism and communism might have seemed credible at first sight. But they definitely failed in ensuring social justice and equality. Indeed, this was a natural consequence of materialist philosophy, which maintains that life began by chance. According to this ideology, the purpose of life is just eating, drinking and consuming. As required by the permanent struggle for survival in the nature the strong ones are supposed to oppress the weak. Of course, social justice is not possible in the communities consisting of individuals who think along the lines of this ideology.

The source of social justice is the life style defined in the Qur’an. Social justice and equality are experienced perfectly in a community that acts in accordance with the morality of the Qur’an. But what is meant here is the true Islam and morality of the Qur’an; it is not non-Qur’anic beliefs, superstitions, or radical ideologies. There is no place in the Qur’an for a loveless bigoted model.

Savage capitalism is criticized in the Qur’an. God has forbidden the accumulation of world’s wealth in the hands of a very small segment of the society with the verse “… so that it does not become something which merely revolves between the rich among you” (Surat al-Hashr, 7).

The Qur’an advises to give away, to spend in God’s way without detailed calculations. The measure of giving away is “Whatever is surplus to your needs” as stated in the Qur’an (Surat al-Baqara, 219). This model of solidarity is the key of a rich economy, and a society of welfare.

Solidarity and sharing are encouraged on all occasions with various verses in the Qur’an. Furthermore, those who shall be helped are not just limited to Muslims; the social justice in the Qur’an also covers Christians, Jews and idolaters. Therefore, there won’t be any poverty, hunger or economic collapse in a community in which Islamic moral values prevail.