Munazzah Chou, Farnham
All are agreed on UN Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25 of which deals with welfare: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services…
But we don’t have to look far to see that this remains an unmet ideal even in this country where stories surface regularly about families living in abject poverty, poor housing, malnutrition and even very recently a mother dying alongside her starving baby. These lives lost illustrate the gap between the goal of basic human rights for all and the reality.
At the beginning of human society it was laid down that all people shall be entitled to food, clothing and shelter. The Holy Qur’an states: ‘It is provided for thee that thou wilt not hunger therein, nor wilt thou be naked, and that thou wilt not thirst therein, nor wilt thou be exposed to the sun.’ (20:119-120). God has therefore, provided sufficiently so there is no reason that any part of society should be left wanting.
Islam pioneered the first effective concept of the welfare state centuries ago. Islam laid down that it was the duty of the Muslim State to ensure the provision of the average necessities of life for all its citizens as a minimum requirement. Islam regards the state as a shepherd put in charge of a flock, bound to protect and provide for all its needs.
On one occasion, Hazrat Umar the second Khalifa of Islam (may Allah be pleased with him), discovered that a woman and her three children had been left without proper provisions for two days. He immediately collected flour, butter, meat, and dates in a large bag and summoned a servant for assistance in lifting the bag onto his back. The servant protested and offered to carry the bundle himself. Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) declined his offer, observing: No doubt you can carry this bundle for me just now, but who will carry my burden on the Day of Judgment?
‘The term, ‘welfare state’ is sometimes used with negative connotations. Islam does not incentivise the acceptance of state welfare. Islam has dignified labour and exhorts a believer to rely on Allah alone for his needs. The Holy Prophet, on one occasion, held the calloused hands of a labourer between his own soft palms, and massaging them gently, observed: These hands are very dear to God. He once said, ‘It is better for one of you to take his rope, bring a load of firewood on his back and sell it, thereby preserving his self-respect, than that he should beg from people.’’
In early Islamic society not only was the state fully conscious of its duties towards its people but individuals would vie to perform their obligations towards their neighbours and all those in need. The Holy Qur’an urges Muslims to, ‘…show kindness to parents, and to kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbour that is a kinsman and the neighbour that is a stranger, and the companion by your side, and the wayfarer…’ (4:37) And the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) said that, ‘One who eats his fill while his neighbour is hungry by his side is not a believer.’ The import of these teachings is clear when we understand that according to Islam, the definition of a neighbour is extremely far-reaching to include at least the nearest 40 houses around us.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) had suggested that in case of extreme necessity it would be well to follow the example of the Ash’ari tribe ‘who, when confronted with shortage of provisions, collect all they have and divide it equally among themselves. So, they are of me and I am of them’.
The Qur’an bears witness that these exhortations were taken to heart by the Muslims. Of the Ansars of Medina and the early refugees who settled in Medina it says: ‘And those who had established their home in this city before them and had accepted faith, love those who came to them for refuge, and find not in their breasts any desire for that which is given them (Refugees), but prefer the Refugees to themselves, even though poverty be their own lot. And whoso is rid of the covetousness of his own soul — it is these who will be successful.’ (59:10).
The last part of the above Quranic verse illustrates how Islam treats social and economic values as complementary to moral and spiritual ones, and that is why the former have been expounded in such detail and how it came to be that the basic objectives of this article 25 from 1948 were achieved during the early golden era of Islam.
References
https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
Islam and Human Rights by Hazrat Chaudhry Zafrulla Khan Sahib p174-178
Voice of British Muslim Women 
Leave a comment