Wealth within an Islamic Welfare Index
Wealth as an Indicator of Socio-Economic Development: Islamic Views
Developing a Framework for Maqasid al-Shariah based Index of Socio-Economic Development
Seminar/Workshop, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 30 April 2014
Asad Zaman, Arif Naveed, and Atiq-ur-Rehman,
ABSTRACT
According to western views, wealth is unambiguously good, and so human welfare is positive when wealth is in excess of needs, and negative if it is less. Islam has a substantially more sophisticated view of the relation between wealth and welfare. Excess wealth is a trial, which can bring great rewards if utilized correctly, and also bring great harm if utilized incorrectly. Similarly, poverty is a trail which can bring great rewards if borne with patience and prayer, and also cause great harm if it leads to begging from others. Thus there is no clear and simple relationship between wealth and welfare. This means that Islamic approaches to constructing an index for welfare must be substantially more complicated than those currently in use in the West. It is worth considering the reasons for undertaking the project of measurement and assessing what needs to be measured, and whether measurement itself is necessary, for achieving these goals?
Contents
1: Introduction: Three Goals for Constructing an Islamic Index.
2: Preliminary Considerations on Quantification and Measurability
4.1 Success in trial by Wealth
4.2: Failure in Trial by Excess Wealth
4.3: The Required Attitudes towards Wealth
5.1 Success in Trial by Poverty
5.2 Failure in the Trial by Poverty
5.3 Required Attitudes toward Poverty
6. Constructing a Measure of Wealth
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