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Religion Commands Us to Protect the Needy
and Orphans
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Those of you possessing affluence
and ample wealth should not make oaths that they will not give to
their relatives and the very poor and those who have left their
homes in the Way of Allah. They should rather pardon and overlook.
Would you not love Allah to forgive you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving,
Most Merciful.
(Surat an-Nur: 22)
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 Today,
poverty is no longer a problem restricted to some particular countries.
The world agenda is dominated by children who make their living on streets
collecting trash, who spend freezing nights out on the streets and have
dangerous jobs in return for which they receive little money, risking
their lives. So, much of the world is not safe from the child deaths stemming
from malnutrition and other poverty-linked problems.
Statistics on poverty and on street children alone reveal the serious
dimensions of the situation.
In 1982, UNESCO reported 200,000 street children in Istanbul, 10,000 in
Bogota, and 2 million in Rio de Janeiro. In Africa, this figure is estimated
to be 5 million and is steadily increasing. Civic dislocations and wars,
scarcity, AIDS and rapid urbanisation are factors increasing the number
of street children. Around the world, 30 to 70 million street children
are homeless on any given night.5
In America, the number of children living in poverty
tripled in only two decades. In 1989 one of every six children in America
were officially recognised to live in very poor conditions. In 1993, one
in every five children younger than 6 years old was living in very poor
conditions - more than 5 million children. In 1994, one of every four
children under three years old was estimated to be living on the breadline.
In 1980, this figure increased from 1.8 million to 2.3 million.6
As the statistics above suggest, even the developed world is not immune
from poverty. The unemployment from economic depressions and inadequacy
of social security systems are, by and large, responsible for this poverty.
The values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, however, demand the protection
of the poor and the needy. There are many hadith of Allah's Messenger,
the Prophet Muhammad (saas) that bid the believers to protect the poor.
One of them reads thus:
Love the poor and be near to them. If you love them,
Allah will love you. If you take care of them, Allah will take care of
you. If you clothe them, Allah will clothe you. If you feed them, Allah
will feed you. Allah will be generous to you if you are generous.7
In the former socialist countries we see another dimension of poverty:
the living standards of almost all individuals are low, independently
of particular conditions unlike as in developed and third world countries.
In these countries, there is a general poverty influencing almost all
the population. Consequences of poverty have an overall impact over the
whole country. The infrastructure of cities and the social security systems
prove to be inadequate, for instance. Food is scarce. Unlike most countries,
even if you can afford it, food and goods are not available in the marketplace.
...They will ask you about the property of
orphans. Say 'Managing it in their best interests is best.'
If you mix your property with theirs,
they are your brothers...
(Surat al-Baqara: 220) |
It is possible to list many reasons accounting for poverty. However,
it would be more helpful to discuss the impact of poverty on society and
ways to eradicate it. In the following chapters, problems pertaining to
poverty are dealt with under particular sub-topics.
Give your relatives their
due, and the very poor and travellers but
do not squander what you have.
(Surat al-Isra': 26)
  
Today, thousands of people sleep on the
streets. If everyone acted conscientiously, this poverty would end.
No one has the right to disclaim responsibility, saying, "Am I the
one who must help?"
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THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF POVERTY ON SOCIETY
No doubt, children suffer most from the consequences of poverty. Poor
children, especially the homeless, are often turned away by public schools
because they lack permanent addresses, proof of age and immunisation records.
They hardly find food to eat. Mostly, they are forced to work under difficult
conditions. In some countries, children are even sold by their families
to workplaces as "slaves".
For the most part, these children earn little money,
in the most health-hostile environments imaginable that can prove lethal
in some cases. The population of India is 940 million and there are 44-100
million child workers in the country - more than the total number of working
children in the rest of the world. In Pakistan, a country with a population
of 120 million, there are approximately 8 million working children.8
The sad state of poor children is no different in the rest of the world.
 
Not only Indian children shoulder great
burdens. All over the world, many people spend their childhood
working. |
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All over the world we are familiar with the situation
of underage children forced to work, and the harsh conditions surrounding
them in the workplace. Despite this, however, rather than bringing these
children the social services and educational support so essential to their
development, these countries are concerned about the competitiveness of
their economies with the cheap products produced by the child workforce.
In their meetings, they even discuss how to increase their competitiveness
and not how to save these children.9
Many countries in the world allocate important portions
of their budgets to defence. India and Pakistan, countries where education,
health and industry call for urgent reform, are no exceptions. For instance,
Pakistan allocates 60% of its budget to armaments and to defence spending.
That the majority of the public is blighted by poverty does not alter
the situation in Pakistan. Nuclear armament spending in the USA is 35
billion dollars a year. From 1946, the year when programmes linked to
the atom bomb were initiated, until the year 1996, approximately 5.5 trillion
dollars were spent.10
No doubt, these budgets allocated to defence and armaments could simply
be offered to bring relief to the problems of poverty-stricken people.
However, despite the fact that the lives of little children are at stake,
political concerns and calculations of vested interests have long hindered
the development of viable solutions to these problems.
One point deserves special mention here: under the following conditions,
defence spending is unavoidable. Because disbelief brings more conflicts,
chaos, outrages and violence, it seems that these problems will persist.
Therefore, a country will have to rely on her defence to maintain its
existence.
Children will be forced to work as long as people do not acquire
the wisdom and conscience the Qur'an brings. |
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However, misery is everywhere. Evidently delivering speeches on problems
will not produce any solutions. Nor will merely avoiding side-stepping
beggars and giving charity. Co-ordination of regular programmes addressing
the educational, health, shelter and clothing needs of poor people is
essential.
This is only possible, however, through the sensitivity people will develop
when living by the Qur'an. Again, Qur'anic values will ensure a peaceful
environment which will make countries sensitive enough not to violate
other countries' rights. Consequently, defence spending can be limited
and the resources allocated to them can be invested in related fields
to secure welfare, peace and quality education for the public.
Surely, defence spending is only an example. Many other similar solutions
can be provided. As in all other issues, it is essential to see that the
solution lies in living by the Qur'an and the Sunnah. That is because
only a person endowed with the values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah could
give his own share of food to the needy or an orphan when he, himself,
is hungry. By the same token, that person is the one who does not offer
things he dislikes to others, and he is the one who offers help without
demanding anything in return. Allah explains in Surat an-Nur how wealthy
people should conduct themselves:
Those of you possessing affluence and ample wealth
should not make oaths that they will not give to their relatives and the
very poor and those who have left their homes in the Way of Allah. They
should rather pardon and overlook. Would you not love Allah to forgive
you? Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nur: 22)
  
Pakistan and India are only two of the countries where the majority
of the people are
blighted by poverty. |
Allah, in the Qur'an, explains how the wealthy should address the needs
of the poor. For instance, Allah says that some portion of the properties
of the wealthy belongs to the poor. Allah says that some people do not
disclose their poverty and that the rights of these people should be protected:
And in their wealth and possessions (was remembered)
the right of the (needy), him who asked and him who (for some reason)
was prevented (from asking). (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 19)
It (Charity) is for the poor who are held back
in the Way of Allah, unable to travel in the land. The ignorant consider
them rich because of their reticence. You will know them by their mark.
They do not ask from people insistently. Whatever good you give away,
Allah knows it. (Surat al-Baqara: 273)
THE SUFFERING OF THOSE WHO ARE FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR
COUNTRIES
One of the important consequences of world poverty is the refugee problem.
Hope for better job opportunities or better living standards or struggle
and scarcity have produced mass displacements, thereby causing serious
conflicts between countries.
The flow of refugees from third world countries was initially favoured
by many host countries, and was originally arranged through high-level
international treaties in order to provide a cheap supply of labour to
the west. The low wages paid to foreign workers and their readiness to
work under difficult conditions accounted for this ready acceptance. Indeed
for long, foreign workers contributed enormously to the economies of these
countries, but in time, as these countries attained economic stability
and welfare, they no longer required the foreign workforce and tended
to employ their own citizens.
Malaysia, for instance, forced veteran foreign workers within her borders
to leave. These people, who arrived in Malaysia with the hope of a better
life, had to return to their home countries after years of service.
The reasons for dislocation are not restricted to the desire for better
living conditions. Struggles between countries also produce dislocations.
In a country devastated by post-war poverty, a majority of the population
can be uprooted. Witnessing the plight of people fleeing from war, a few
countries show some willingness to accept refugees. In freezing cold,
refugees in need of resettlement walk for weeks toward a destination they
hope to be secure but are often not admitted.
In March 1998, the dislocation experienced by more than 300,000 Kosovar
refugees left almost all the cities of Kosovo desolate. Meanwhile, the
severe cold caused the loss of many lives during the flight.
In November 1990, Chechens who fled from Russian attacks on foot sought
shelter in neighbouring countries, but these countries tightened border
controls and set rules of transit, showing their reluctance to host any
Chechens. By the time the refugees arrived at the Turkish border where
they were finally admitted, many women, children and elderly people had
been lost due to the severe cold.
  
The values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah
lay the foundation of a totally different social structure. In this
structure, the rights of the poor and of those forced from their
homes are protected. All means are used to prepare better conditions
for them and to lessen their pain. For this cause, people do not
avoid making sacrifices. |
In Africa, conflicts between tribes are responsible for the flight of
tens of thousands of people. In Zaire, the conflict between Hutus and
Tutsis is an example. These displaced persons suffered from starvation
and epidemics. They tried to take refuge in other countries but they were
usually not admitted. (For details see chapter "Racism")
The values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, however, lay the foundation
for a totally different social structure. In this structure, the rights
of the poor and of those forced from their homes are protected. All means
are used to prepare better conditions for them and to lessen their pain.
For this cause, people do not avoid making sacrifices. During the time
of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, this
value structure was most apparent in the attitude of believers towards
those who left their homes for Allah's cause:
Those who were already settled in the abode, and
in iman, before they came, love those who have left their homes in the
Way of Allah and do not find in their hearts any need for what they have
been given and prefer them to themselves even if they themselves are needy.
It is the people who are safe-guarded from the avarice of their own selves
who are successful. (Surat al-Hashr: 9)
It is for the poor fugitives (muhajirun) who were
driven from their homes and wealth desiring the favour and the pleasure
of Allah and supporting Allah and His Messenger. Such people are the truly
sincere. (Surat al Hashr: 8)
As is obvious from the verses, the values depicted in the Qur'an are
far removed from those experienced today. In the Qur'an, a request for
help is always responded to with a generosity and benevolence. Believers
render the most thorough help to those in need. While giving assistance
to the needy, the Qur'an demands that the provider not display any moral
weakness such as expressing his own needs or to setting his eye on the
aid provided. These values will bring solutions to many problems.
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