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Poverty linguistically means need. So the verb Faqara (he became
poor) is the opposite of Istaghna (not in need of). The verb
Iftaqara means needed. The singular noun is Faqir (poor) and the
plural is Fuqara'a (poor people). Afqarahu (made him poor) is
the opposite of Aghnahu (made him wealthy). Al-faqr (poverty)
is opposite to Al-Ghina (richness), which means that the person
became needy i.e. he does not have that with which he satisfies himself.
Faqir in Shar'a is the needy one, who is in a weak situation and who
does not beg. It was narrated by Mujahid who said: ''The poor is the one who
does not beg.'' Ikrimah said: ''The poor is the weak.''
Allah(s.w.t) the Supreme said:
''My Lord I am (in need) for whatever good You send
down to me'' [Al-Qasas: 24]
i.e., I am Faqir (needy) for anything good, whether little or great
that you send to me.
Allah(swt) said:
''And feed therewith the unfortunate (al ba'is), the
poor.'' [Al-Hajj: 28]
The unfortunate (Al-Ba'is) is the one who is afflicted with Bu's
(hardship), and the Faqir (the poor) is the one who is weakened
because of need. The verses and the narrations from the linguists indicate
that Faqr (poverty) means need. It is necessary to explain in detail
what is meant by 'need'.
What is meant by 'Need' ?
In the Capitalist economic system poverty is considered to be a relative
matter, and not a name for a specific thing which is constant and does not
change. So it is said that poverty is the inability to satisfy the needs
with the required commodities and services. And since the needs increase and
renew as urbanisation progresses, the satisfaction of the needs accordingly
differs between people and nations. In declined nations, the needs of the
citizens are limited, so they can be satisfied with the minimum necessary
commodities and services. But in the materially progressed, highly urbanised
and civilised nations, their needs are many, and thus their satisfaction
requires more commodities and services; so the poverty there, is considered
differently from that in the declined countries. For example, the
non-satisfaction of the luxuries in Europe and America is considered as
poverty, while the non-satisfaction of the luxuries in Egypt and Iraq, once
the basic needs have been satisfied, is not considered as poverty. This view
in the capitalist economic system is wrong, because it views the issue in
relative terms rather than real terms. This concept is wrong because the
matter at hand has a true reality, so it
has to be identified by its reality. It is also wrong because the
legislation revealed to man does not make the system differ according to
individuals as it came for man as a human being and not as an individual.
Accordingly, if the State governs citizens in Spain and others in Yemen, it
is inappropriate that its view towards poverty in one country differs from
its view in another country, because the individuals in each country are
human beings for whose problems solutions were laid down. Islam considers
poverty as one matter for a man in any country and any generation. Poverty
in the view of Islam, is the non-satisfaction of the basic needs in a
complete way. Shar'a has defined these basic needs in three things, which
are food, clothing and accommodation.
Allah(swt) said:''The duty of feeding and clothing nursing of
mothers in a seemly manner is upon the father of the child.'' [Al-Baqarah:
233]
And Allah(swt) said:
''Lodge them where you dwell, according to your
wealth.'' [At-Talaq: 6]
Ibn Majah narrated from Abu Al-Ahwass that he said, The Messenger of Allah
said: ''Beware! Their right upon you is to provide
them their clothes and food seemly.'' This indicates that the
basic needs, whose non-satisfaction is considered as poverty, are food,
clothing and accommodation. With regards to the other additional needs,
these are considered as luxuries. Thus, one is not considered poor if after
satisfying his basic needs, he did not satisfy the luxuries. Poverty as
defined in Islam, which is the failure to satisfy the basic needs, is
considered one of the matters that caused the decline and destruction of the Ummah. Islam made poverty one of Satan's promises.
Allah(swt) said:
''The devil promises you destitution (poverty).''
[Al-Baqarah: 268]
Islam considered poverty to be a weakness, and it ordered the caring for the
poor people.
Allah(swt) said:
''If you reveal your almsgiving, it is well, but if
you hide it and give it to the poor (people) it will be better for you.''
[Al-Baqarah: 271]
And Allah(swt) said:
''And feed therewith the unfortunate (al ba'is),
the poor.''[Al-Hajj: 28]
Islam made the satisfaction of these basic needs and their provision a right
for the person who cannot afford them. If the person provided himself with
them then it would be well, but if he could not do that because he did not
have sufficient property available to him or because of his inability to
obtain the required property, then Shar'a made helping him a duty upon
others until all his basic needs are satisfied. Shar'a has explained in
detail the ways in which an individual may be helped to satisfy his basic
needs. Shar'a made this help a duty on his unmarriageable relatives (Mahaarim).
Allah(swt) said:
''The duty of feeding and clothing nursing of
mothers in a seemly manner is upon the father of the child. No one should be
charged beyond his capacity. A mother should not be made to suffer because
of her child, nor the father because of his child. And on the father's heir
is incumbent the like of that (which was incumbent on the father).''
[Al-Baqarah: 233]
That is to say that the inheritor (the heir) is like the father to whom the
child is born, in regard of provision and clothing. What is meant by the
inheritor is not the one who really inherits but rather the one who is
entitled to inheritance. If he had no relatives who are obliged to
financially support him, then his financial support (Nafaqah) will be
carried out by the Bait ul-Mal from the Zakah. Abu Hurairah (ra) said, The
Prophet said: 'Whoever leaves after him a wealth,
it belongs to his inheritors and if he left weak (Kall), they will be of our
responsibility''', narrated by Muslim. Al-Kall, is the one
who has no son and no father.
Allah(swt) said:
''The alms are only for the poor and the needy...''
[At-Tauba: 60]
If the alms in the Bait ul-Mal are not enough to meet the needs of the poor
and the needy, the State is obliged to spend on them from the other revenues
of the Bait ul-Mal. If there were no funds in the Bait ul-Mal, the State
would have to impose taxes upon the wealth of the rich people and collect
from them in order to spend on the poor and the needy.
Spending (Nafaqah) is the duty of the relatives, if there were no
relatives then the Nafaqah is a duty on the revenues of the alms
(Bait ul-Mal). If there were no alms revenue then it is a duty on other
revenues of the Bait ul-Mal. If there were no revenues in the Bait ul-Mal
then it is a duty on all Muslims. The Prophet said, ''In
any local community, if there became amongst them a hungry person, Allah has
nothing to do with them'', narrated by Ahmed.
The Prophet said narrating from his Lord, ''He would
not have believed in me, the one who slept with his stomach full when his
neighbour on his side was hungry and he knew that'', narrated by
Al-Bazzar from Anas.
Allah(swt) said:
''In their wealth is a due right to the beggar and
the deprived.'' [Az-Zariyat: 19]
And the Prophet obliged the helpers (Ansar) to spend (Nafaqah) on the
poor emigrants (Muhajiroon), which indicates that it is a duty upon
all Muslims until the needs are satisfied. Regarding the duty placed on all
the Muslims, the Khalifah, as the one responsible for looking after the
affairs of the Ummah, has to collect the property from Muslims in order to
implement that which is a duty upon them. Thus the duty is transferred from
the Muslims to the Bait ul-Mal which performs it by feeding the poor and
needy.
This is in regards to the poor and needy person who requires Nafaqah.
He is originally obliged to acquire it by himself, if he cannot, then his
Mahram (unmarriageable relatives) are obliged to spend upon him provided
they are of that degree of relative mentioned in the Qur'an for bearing the
duty of Nafaqah. If the relative was unable or there was no relative,
then nafaqah becomes a duty upon Zakat from the Bait ul-Mal, then
upon all revenues of the Bait ul-Mal, then upon all Muslims until revenue
sufficient for all the poor and needy is collected.
With regard to those of the relatives who are obliged to pay the nafaqah
of the poor and needy, it is not imposed except on the one who is not in
need of others. Such a person is the one of whom it is demanded to pay
Sadaqah (charity), while the one who is forbidden from paying Sadaqah
is not obliged to do so. Bukhari narrated from Said ibn Al-Musayyeb that he
heard Abu Hurairah (ra) say, the Prophet said: 'The
best sadaqah is that which (was given) out of sufficiency (Ghina).'
Sufficiency (Ghina) here means the amount which the person requires
to satisfy his needs. Jurists say Ghina (sufficiency) is that which provides
the livelihood of the person and his family to such a degree of satisfaction
as is enjoyed by those who are like him, together with their clothes and
accommodation, in addition to a mount (eg. camel or transportion) and a
uniform (outside dress) commensurate with those who are in his situation.
This is what is linguistically called ''sufficiency'', because he is not in
need of help from other people. Thereupon Nafaqah (financial support)
is not due to the poor and needy except from those who are better off i.e.
not in need of others.
Allah(swt) said:
''Let him who has abundance spend of his abundance,
and he whose provision is measured let him spend of that which Allah has
given him''. [At-Talaq: 7]
Muslim also narrated from Jabir that the Prophet said, ''Start
with yourself and make charity for it, and if anything is left give it to
your family, and if anything is left after that give it to your relatives,
and if anything is left after that, do it like that, and that i.e. to that
in front of you, at your right hand and at your left hand.''
Nafaqah (financial support) of the person upon himself is satisfying his
needs, which requires more than only feeding of his basic needs. This is
because Shar'a made it obligatory upon him to support his wife in a seemly
manner (Bil-Ma'rouf), which was explained as being according to her
situation and those who are like her.
Allah(Swt) said:
''The duty of feeding and clothing nursing mothers
in a seemly manner.'' [Al-Baqarah: 233]
So his support to himself would be also in an equitable manner (Bil-
Ma'rouf), and not only what is enough for him. The Prophet said to Hind,
the wife of Abu Sufyan, ''Take that which is enough
for you and your children in an equitable manner'', narrated by Bukhari
and Ahmed. He did not only say ''what is enough for you'';
rather he added the words ''in an equitable manner'' (Bil-Ma'rouf) which
indicates that what is meant is that which is enough for her according to
what is known of her and her children's needs according to their situation
and the situation of those similar to them. So his sufficiency (Ghina)
which must be fulfilled in order that he is obliged after that to provide
the due support, is not estimated as that which satisfies his basic needs
only, rather it is that which satisfies his basic needs and the other needs
which are accepted amongst the people as being of his needs. This
sufficiency is not estimated by a certain amount, rather it is left to the
person based on the standard of living that he lives by. Some jurisprudents
regarded that the needs beyond which a person is considered better off
concern five matters, which are: food, dress, accommodation, marriage and a
mount (i.e. transport) which he needs to ride in his distant
functions. But this was not mentioned explicitly in the texts, rather it was
of what was known as ''equitable manner'' (Bil-Ma'rouf). The
sufficiency (Ghina) is considered as that which exceeds the
fulfilment of his needs in a seemly manner (Bil-Ma'rouf). If his
wealth exceeded that, then Nafaqah (financial support) is obliged
upon him to the poor and needy, and if it did not exceed that, financial
support is not obliged upon him.
In conclusion the poor one who is entitled to Nafaqah (financial
support) is the one whose basic needs are not satisfied i.e. the one who
needs food, dress and accommodation. While the rich person, upon whom
Nafaqah (financial support) is due, and who is obliged of the financial
duties due upon all Muslims, is the one who owns in excess of what is needed
for satisfying his needs in a seemly manner (Bil-Ma'rouf), not only
his basic needs, and this is estimated according to his situation and the
situation of the people who are of similar circumstances.
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