As-Salama
Humankind as God's Khalifah,
Wealth and Zakat
A khalifah is a steward, or someone who looks after something for someone else. This idea of stewardship is very important in Islam. In the Qur'an, God calls Adam (the first human God created) His khalifah. This means that God entrusted Adam and all following generations to look after the world.
In ayat (verse) 30 of Surah Al-Baqarah in the Qur’an, “[Allah] said to the angels, ‘I am putting on earth a human successor to steward it.’” Thus being stewards of the earth, it is our life duty to worship God and live in obedience to Him, which is the essence of Islam.
Stewardship is important for humanity because it ensures the well-being and perpetuation of God's established structures. By maintaining a way of life that is conducive to the optimal performance of the earth's systems, people can faithfully steward creation and preserve its resources for future generations to enjoy.
The Qur’an regards all existing things on earth as means to satisfy legitimate human needs, and no more. Similarly, God wants wealth and money to play their natural role in a person’s life, gratifying all his/her natural needs. Wealth has an economic role, which it should play to keep life going on.
No group of people should monopolise wealth and profits or get rich at the expense of others, especially socio-economically disadvantaged people. Islam emphasizes this critical economic concept, which it works to instil in humanity to weaken greed and face up to exploitation and economic inequity. Allah says in the Qur’an:
​
“No! But you honour not the orphan, nor do you urge one another to feed the poor, and you devour heritage, devouring all, and you love wealth with exceeding love” (Surah Al-Fajr, verses 17-20).
​
“And in [humankind’s] wealth there is a recognised right. For the needy and the deprived” (Surah Al-Ma’aarij, verses 24-25).
Besides such verses, the Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad’s actions) explains the Qur’anic teachings and broadens the horizons of Islamic economic thought. One such tradition dealing with money and wealth states: “Zakat (alms) were certainly ordained to test the wealthy and help the poor. If all people pay the zakat on their wealth, no single person will remain poor. He will rather be independent of people, thanks to this Allah-ordained tax. People will not be impoverished, hungry, and clothe-less.”
The obligatory charity, zakat, is mentioned alongside solah (prayer) numerous times in the Qur’an. Its sheer importance such that it is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. In accordance with Islamic law, once a year Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need.
From these quotes it is clear that Islam views wealth as belonging to Allah. Humans are allowed to use it within what Islam considers lawful. Wealth is a means to serve life but not a goal unto itself, so that Islam disapproves of being overly covetousness of money.
People’s relationship with wealth is for the purpose of gratification of basic and legitimate human needs. Via zakat, the impoverished and downtrodden have a share in the wealth of the well-to do, ordained by Allah.
