SOCIAL WELFARE IN ISLAM

SOCIAL WELFARE IN ISLAM A LL human beings, according to Islam, have been created by one and the same God; and for this reason, they belong to one great brotherhood. All being descendants of the same progenitors, they should naturally be each other’s well-wishers and should willingly come to one another’s assistance, like members of the same large family. Charity, an important way of bringing justice to society, has been preached by every religion of the world. And justice being the essence of religion, Islam has made charity obligatory and binding upon all those who embrace the faith, laying the greatest emphasis on the support of the needy and destitute members of society. It is thus a sacred duty of the affluent to give part of their wealth to fulfil the needs of deprived members of the community. Charity is an important way of bringing justice to society. A society can flourish only when its members do not spend all their wealth on the satisfaction of their own desires, but reserve a portion of it for parents, relatives, neighbours, the poor and the needy. As the saying goes: Charity begins at home. A true believer, after meeting the needs of his family, is thus always prepared to assist other people in need of his help. Charity, in its broadest sense, has been called Sadaqa in Islam. Such great importance is attached to charity that the month of Ramazan has been fixed for individuals to be trained in the practice of charity. It has therefore been made into an institution in order to give it permanence and regularity. The law of Zakat, i.e. to take from the wealthy and give to the poor, rotates wealth in such a way as to balance social inequality. There are two forms of charity in Islam—obligatory and voluntary, which are respectively called Zakat and Sadaqa. Zakat, from the verb Zakat, which signifies 'to thrive'; 'to be wholesome'; 'to be pure'; means purification. Giving up a portion of one’s wealth, which is in excess of what one needs for one’s own sustenance, is a purifying process which legitimizes the use of the remainder by the donor.