The law for the purification of the economy that Allāh has given to humanity through His final Prophet is founded on the principle that this world has been created as a place of trial. For this reason, Allāh has established its system in such a way that every human being is both dependent on others and serves as a support for others. In this world, even the most exalted individuals are in need of others to fulfill their requirements, and at times, they must turn to even the most ordinary people to meet those needs.
on others and serves as a support for others. In this world, even the most exalted individuals are in need of others to fulfill their requirements, and at times, they must turn to even the most or-dinary people to meet those needs.
Every individual has a role, and no one can live entirely inde-pendently. The Creator has endowed people with varying levels of intelligence, skills, preferences, and resources. Due to this di-versity, we find scholars and sages whose wisdom illuminates the world; writers whose words give lasting life to ideas; researchers whose groundbreaking discoveries are celebrated through gener-ations; leaders whose strategies shape the complexities of social life; reformers who awaken humanity to self-awareness; and rul-ers whose resolve shapes the course of history.
On the other hand, there are laborers, farmers, servants, por-ters, and cleaners whose hard work creates wonders: they turn soil into wealth, produce delights for the palate, make homes shine, pave paths ready to be traveled, raise buildings that reach the sky, and clear away filth before the first light of day.
By creating the world with these different ranks, the Lord ob-serves whether people of higher and lower status build a righteous society and civilization through mutual respect and cooperation, or whether they fall into conflict and harm one another, turning the world into chaos and thus bringing disgrace upon themselves in this life and deserving punishment in the hereafter.
This is the trial of humanity, in which God Almighty has provided guidance through His Prophets regarding economic activity and has given a law for its purification and refinement.
This law is as follows:
1.Illegitimate Consumption of Other’s Wealth
It is prohibited to acquire or consume others’ wealth through unjust or illegitimate means (akl al-amwāl bi’l-bāṭil). Usury and gambling are among the gravest offenses in this category. Beyond these, the le- gitimacy of all other economic transactions should also be evaluated based on this principle.
2. Public Properties
All wealth and property that is not privately owned or cannot be attributed to an individual should remain under state ownership. This ensures that national resources do not circulate exclusively among the wealthy, allowing the underprivileged to benefit as well. Moreover, such assets can be used to support various responsibilities associated with the collective system.
3. Documentation and Testimony
For lending, loans, wills, and other financial matters, doc-umentation and arranging for testimony are essential. Ne-glect in this matter sometimes leads to significant ethical corruption.
The directives are as follows:
•If the transaction of the loan is for a specific period, it is imperative to document it.
•This document should be written by a scribe in the presence of both parties, justly.
•The borrower is responsible for having the document pre-pared. The document should state: “I am indebted to the son of so-and-so in the amount of…”.
•If the person is of limited understanding, elderly, or unable to write, then his guardian or representative should have the document prepared truthfully and justly.
•The testimony should be recorded by two Muslim men who are reliable, credible, trustworthy, and known for good character and conduct.
•If two men possessing the aforementioned qualities are not available, then one man and two women can be cho-sen. The reason for requiring two women is so that if one woman feels overwhelmed or confused in the court’s envi-ronment, the other can support her to prevent the testimony from being clouded by confusion or doubt.
•Those who have been part of the testimony as witnesses should not refuse to testify when called upon.
•Casual transactions do not mandate documentation and testimony. However, for significant purchases or sales, wit-nesses should be appointed to settle any disputes that may arise.
•In case of disputes, neither the scribe nor witnesses should be harmed by any party.
•If someone is on a journey and unable to find a scribe, the transaction may proceed by offering collateral. This collateral is permissible only until the lender is assured of repayment. Once that assurance is established, the collat-eral must be returned.
•If someone is approaching death and wishes to make a will regarding their property, they should appoint two trust-worthy individuals from among their fellow Muslims to witness it.
•If someone faces death while on a journey and cannot find two Muslim witnesses, they may appoint two non-Muslims as witnesses out of necessity.
•If there is concern that the appointed Muslim witnesses might alter their testimony in favor of someone, to prevent this, an arrangement can be made for them to swear by God, after a prayer in the mosque, that they will not alter their testimony for personal gain or favoritism, even if the beneficiary is a close relative. They should be reminded that any deviation will render them sinners.
•Witnesses must realize that their testimony is indeed a testimony before God; therefore, even the slightest act of treachery on their part not only makes them betrayers of people but also of God.
•Nonetheless, if it is later discovered that the witnesses have shown favoritism or acted unjustly against the testator’s will, then two individuals from among those whose rights were infringed may stand and declare under oath that their testimony is more truthful than that of the original wit-nesses. They will affirm that they have not strayed from the truth in this matter and solemnly assert that if they do so, they will be deemed unjust before God.
•The benefit of this added layer of accountability for wit-nesses is that it encourages them to provide truthful tes-timony. Otherwise, they risk having their oaths nullified by the counter-oaths of others, leading to their testimony being rejected despite being the primary witnesses.
4. Distribution of Inheritance
After a Muslim passes away, their wealth must necessarily be distributed among their heirs in the following manner:
a. Firstly, if there are any debts owed by the deceased, these are to be paid from the estate. Then, if a will has been made, it should be executed. After this, the inheritance will be divided.
b. An heir cannot be given more than their legal share through a will, unless exceptional circumstances—such as their service, need, or specific situation—justify it.
c. After allocating shares to the parents and the spouse, the remaining estate belongs to the deceased’s children.
d. If the deceased leaves behind no sons but two or more daughters, they will receive two-thirds of the remaining estate.
e. If there is only one daughter, she is entitled to half.
f. If the deceased leaves behind only sons, the entire estate will be divided among them.
g. If there are both sons and daughters, a son’s share will be equivalent to that of two daughters, and the entire estate will be divided among them in this manner.
h. In the absence of children, the deceased’s siblings act as substitutes. After allocating shares to parents and spouse(s), these siblings become the heirs.
i. If both parents are alive and the deceased has children or siblings, each parent receives one-sixth of the estate. If there are no children or siblings, and only the parents are the heirs, then one-third of the estate goes to the mother and two-thirds to the father.
j. If the deceased is a man with children, his wife will receive one-eighth of the estate. If there are no children, the wife is entitled to one-fourth.
k. If the deceased is a woman without children, half of the estate goes to her husband, but if she has children, the husband receives a quarter.
l. If none of the primary heirs are present, the deceased may designate someone to inherit. If the designated heir is a relative who has only one brother or sister, that sibling receives one-sixth of the estate, and the remaining five-sixths go to the designated heir. If the relative has more than one sibling, they together receive one-third of the estate, and the remaining two-thirds go to the designated heir.
This distribution is based on beneficial kinship, with differ-ences in shares reflecting the varying degrees of benefit the heirs provided to the deceased. Since a daughter’s benefit typically transfers to her husband after marriage, and likewise, a husband provides both companionship and financial support to his wife, sons receive twice the share of daughters, and husbands receive twice the share of wives.