The Effect of the Corruption of Western Economics on Humanity [Part 1]

The heavens and the earth are founded on truth and justice and they have been organised according to a divine and unique arrangement.
Allah (swt) said, “Who made all things good which He created, and He began the cre-ation of man from clay. Then He made his offspring from semen of worthless water.”[As-Sajdah: 7-8]
And He (swt) said, “This is the creation of Allah. So show Me that which those (whom you worship), besides Him have created. Nay, the Zalimoon (the wrongdoers) are in plain error.” [Luqman: 11]

Man within this universe is a creation distinguished from all His (swt) other creations
whom Allah (swt) gave honour, standing, eminence and high rank. He (swt) said, “Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould)” [At-Tin: 4] And He (swt) granted him the blessing that is the mind and thought. He (swt) said, “And He gave you hearing, sight and hearts (intellect). Little is the thanks you give!” [As-Sajdah: 9] And He (swt) said, “It is only men of understanding who will remember.” [Az-Zumar: 9]

As regards his life, relationships and outcome, in these as well, He (swt) has given him standing and dignity. Thus He (swt) gave him a system that is elevated and sublime, which befits the elevation of his nature and dignity. The system is elevated in that it organises his life in the best manner and way possible, completely and comprehensively, not leaving a matter whether small or big without giving a ruling for it. And it is sublime in the sense that man rises above the clay and dust and links him-self to his Creator in a spiritual and sublime bond. And He (swt) will place him in a high and sublime abode in high degrees in gardens of eternal paradise that Al-Haq (Allah (swt), blessed and exalted is He) has promised to His pious servants. Al-Haq (exalted and blessed is He) has revealed to this human being who is weak, limited and needy, a unique system that organises his relationship with himself, relationship with others and the relationship with his Creator who has blessed him with these bounteous benefactions. And He (swt) informed man that if he remained steadfast on this system then his whole life would be straight and correct in all its affairs, such as politics, social relationships, ruling and economy, and so on. He (swt) said, “Whosoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.” [Ta-Ha: 123] And He (swt) said, “If they (non-Muslims) had believed in Allah, and went on the Right Way (Islam) We would surely have bestowed on them water (rain) in abundance.” [Al-Jinn: 16] And He (swt) said, “And if only they (people of the Book)
had acted according to the Taurat, and the Injeel, and what has now been sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. There are people from among them who are on the right course (i.e. they believed in the Prophet Muhammad [saw]), but many of them do
evil deeds.” [Al-Maidah: 66]

This divine and sublime system has been applied in the world throughout a very long period of time, from the time of al-Mustafa (saw) after the establishment of the Islamic state in Madina al-Munawwarah until the final period of this state with the end of the rule of the Ottomans in 1924. The economic system was applied in this state and the Muslims did not know any system other than the Islamic system nor did they know any rule other than the rules of Islam. The Muslims during this period of time under the shadow of the Islamic economic system - regardless of the misapplication or deficiencies – enjoyed goodness, prosperity and a life of ease.

This system obtained justice, security and goodness for the whole of society. Nothing indicates this more than the remnants of old that can still be seen even today, like the orphanages, houses to look after the wayfarer, the public rest houses on main roads and places to feed the poor, which are still present in major cities such as Baghdad, Damascus, Istanbul, Khalil, Jerusalem and others. Not to mention the thousands of volumes of the major Fiqh books which talk of the nature of public life and the rules of the sys-tem that governed them.
Our discussion in this article is not the merits of the Islamic economic system to start with and the way in which Islam deals with this subject, rather we want to discuss the systems set down by man from his own mind.
Then we shall discuss the method of Islam in solving problems after looking at the injustice, crookedness and deviation of man-made systems. This should serve as an incentive for the Muslims generally and specifically for the da’wa carriers such that they hasten towards re-establishing the correct system in the position which Allah (swt) wanted it to be in; i.e. the position of ruling and authority, so that they may discard the systems which are decaying and rotting from within and from the outside.
 

Indeed, we have at this point and way the best example in the Messenger of Allah (saw), and that we can see when he (saw) used to draw the straight line alongside the crooked so that the mind can witness this and the truth can become manifest.He (saw) with his noble hand took a Arak stick and drew, on the sand, some crooked lines and along them he drew a straight line and said: This is the straight path of Allah and these are the (different) paths; at the head of each path is a shaytan calling people to it.’Then he recited the saying of Allah (swt),
“And verily, this is My Straight Path, so fol-low it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may be al-Muttaqoon (the pious).” [Al-An’am: 153]

The corruption that is present in Western economics and in their economic life goes back to the basis on which this system has been built, and also in the branches that have been built on this faulty basis.
Thus, the basis on which western economics is built is a faulty basis due to the economic commodity and the way in which it is valued and the way its distribution in society amongst the people is dealt with according to an erroneous view. This due to the following:
 

First: the confusion that takes place with regard to the production of the economic commodity and its manner of distribution. Since their consideration of the solution to the economic problem and the economic problem itself before looking at the way it should be solved, goes back to material considerations in terms of the increase and decrease of production and not from the angle relating to the system that should distribute these goods in society. Thus, the economic problem for the West is the problem of relative scarcity. That is to say, the problem of insufficient goods and services to satisfy the new and diverse needs that arise every day. Hence, they started to increase production. By comparison we see that the problem has increased not decreased. The poor have increased in their poverty and the rich have increased in their wealth. So instead of solving the problem they have complicated it even further.
 

Second: the view of Westerners regarding the economic commodity. That is to say, what is the definition of economic commodity and what is the ‘thing’ that has a value according to their view. Here as well they fell prey to deviation that led them, in the end, to patch-work solutions far from the foundations that they laid down. So every want is considered in their view to be a ‘benefit’, which is the economic commodity, which satisfies a need irrespective of the effect it has on society. Thus, alcoholic beverages and hashish and the like are all considered to be commodities or realise an economic commodity because they are wants and in their view satisfy a need.
This erroneous view has caused destructive effects on the lives of Westerners that has
prompted them to stop, think and contemplate and consequently patch it up and pass
laws outside their very own principles, such as when they punish the trade in drugs or
prevent certain roads to be owned by individuals. The second danger, which this view has resulted in, is that the Westerner ignores the spiritual and moral values, which pushes person to exert effort and sacrifice. There is nothing to invite him towards this since he will not realise an economic commodity or in other words realise any benefits that will satisfy his material needs.
 

Third: their corrupt view regarding price.
The price according to Westerners is the only tool for production and distribution. That is to say ‘the price mechanism is the incentive for production and it regulates the distribution.Thus the one who produces expects material compensation. And the one who does not possess money cannot satisfy his needs or obtain services. This is a corrupt view; it is a danger to production and distribution at the same time. Thus the one who produces only does so from the material standpoint that he will get a material compensation.

The one who cannot pay the price the consumer - is not able to acquire to satisfy his wants. Hence they ignored the moral values that push man to produce. And as for those people who cannot afford to pay they are condemned by capitalism to death through hunger or from being deprived from material services. That is why they clashed with this danger and they started another system of patchwork solutions as reflected in the social insurance institutions, social services and charity organisations.
 

The other danger of making the price mechanism the regulator of distribution is the emergence of the policy of price fixing by companies inside the domestic markets and outside them. Within the market the capitalist exerts all his efforts in using all the styles of monopolisation and price fixing to get the highest price for his products. And outside the markets this idea has led to a policy of colonization which has destroyed the peoples of the so-called third world as reflected in the colonisation of their countries for the sake of raw materials. It should not come as strange when we say that the idea of colonialism originated here, hence its basis is economic.

This is a brief discussion of the foundations on which the Western economic edifice stands and its corrupt viewpoint which has affected, as we shall see, the economic structure and made it more corrupt than the foundation on which it is established.

Muttasim