There is a piece of flesh in the body, if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it is corrupted the whole body is corrupted and that is the heart (Ibn Ismāʿīl, 2000). Yet all this (i.e. the roofs, doors, stairs, lifts, thrones etc. of their houses) would have been nothing but a delight of this world. The Qurʾān and the Sunnah of the Prophet have shown that the only Maqṣad on which Sharīʿah has based its existence: is to remove ḥaraj (difficulty) in the life of mankind and to provide ease.
Yet all this (i.e. the roofs, doors, stairs, thrones, etc. of their houses) would have been nothing but a delight of this world. The Qur'an says: Whoever practices righteousness, male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic monotheism), verily We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision) , and We will certainly pay them a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter) (Quran, 16: 97). The Quran was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to guide both humanity and the Jinn to success in this life and falah in the hereafter.
The elements of ISA are iman, tawakkul, dhikr and taqwa of Allah and belief in the Divine Decree, while the elements of IMA are zakat, sadaqah, khums and washiya. Verily, the eyes are not blinded, but the hearts that are in the chest are blinded (Qur'an 22:46). There is a piece of flesh on the body; if it is made good (reformed), the whole body becomes good, but if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted and this is the heart (Ibn Al-Hajjāj, 2000).
ISA is what distinguishes Muslims who believe in the Qur'an and Sunnah from unbelievers who follow secular or non-Islamic methods of solving problems. I heard Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wa sallam) saying: “The first thing that Allah created was the Pen. The Qur'an says: "In heaven is your provision and what you have been promised" (Qur'an, 51:22).
One of the most important elements in developing and sustaining contentment in the heart is tawakkul, a complete trust in Allah with all one's affairs. The Qur'an says: "And put your trust in the Ever-Living, Who does not die, and glorify His Praises, and He is Sufficient as the All-Knower of the sins of His slaves." (Quran, 25:28). Due to the great importance of this pillar in poverty alleviation, the word zakāt is mentioned more than 80 times in the Qur'an (Al-Qaraḍāwī, 2009).
On the Day when it (Al-Kanz: money, gold and silver, etc., if zakāt has not been paid) will be heated in the Fire of Hell and with it will be marked their foreheads, their flanks and their backs (and it will be told to them): "This is the treasure that you have amassed for yourselves. Encouraging charity through Waṣiyyah is one of the methods used to tackle the problem of poverty in the Muslim community. Some of the Companions would leave a house as waqf for any female relative who may be divorced in the future.
ACTIONS AND POLICIES THAT PROPAGATE POVERTY
One of the factors that has a negative impact on poverty alleviation is consuming other people's property without justification or their legal consent. The Prophet said: "The property of a Muslim is unlawful except by his will and consent." (Al-Albanī, 1988). According to this opinion, taxes can only be imposed if there are absolutely no funds in the treasury, or the needs of the army have increased beyond its capacity.
However, the imposition of taxes should not be burdensome, which could lead to the destruction of tax payers' work incentives. The Prophet (ṣal-Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “A Muslim’s property is unlawful except with his will and consent” (Al-Albānī, 1988). Situations where a part of the population would benefit at the expense of others should be avoided.
Ribā is strictly prohibited because it leads to the unlawful devouring of people's wealth, while also enriching the rich and increasing the poverty of the needy. One of the most important issues that zakāt institutions must take into account is the zakāt financial statements and accounts. If there is no vigilant separation, the rights of the eight categories may be unlawfully given to someone else, which is a sensitive issue because there is oppression.
This is to give more free time to collect zakat after knowing who deserves it. Furthermore, one of the areas where there is poor management in relation to zakat is the issue of investment. It is mentioned above that the collected zakāt must be paid immediately because this is the nature of amānah in Islam.
Allāh's saying (about the recipients of zakāt) shows that the ownership of zakāt belongs to the eight recipients, which should be given to them immediately. Therefore, there is no way that the zakāt collected can be an income for a business or organization because it is someone else's money. Mismanagement in the zakāt system can be found in its collection, preservation and distribution as mentioned above.
This is because, as mentioned earlier, the zakāt money does not belong to the institution and whatever they use it for should be permitted by the Sharīʿah.
AN APPLICATION OF THE TWO APPROACHES: CASE STUDY OF ‘UMAR IBN ‘ABD AL-’AZIZ
This injunction is a grace and blessing from Allah, and He gives it to those people who are sincere and love to serve Him, even if they lack the means. This also had a psychological benefit in the sense that it made the poor feel that they were a recognized part of society. Therefore, the ISA is of primary importance in any affair with Muslims as mentioned above, and the case of ʿUmar is proof of that.
Islam's material approach is unique because divine revelation is opposed to the economic models and policies of the world. It is reported that he asked Sālim ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar to compile a book on how Umar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb dealt with zakat so that he could imitate him. The positive effect of this was two-fold: the state was efficient in collecting zakat and it also reduced the state's zakat expenditure as a salary payment to zakat collectors.
The confiscated properties and land he had returned to their rightful owners provided a unique opportunity to collect zakat from them. This act of justice had created a sense of trust between the caliph and the people, so it was easy to gain access to them and to zakat from their wealth. The caliph ordered his governors to collect the zakat from its lawful sources and distribute it to the people whom Islam had given them.
ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd Al-ʿAzīz ordered the workers to ensure that the zakāt was first distributed to the poor people in the region where it was collected. Therefore, the wealthy in the region would pay zakāt, which would go directly to the poor people in the same region. Zakāt would go to the caliph only when the poor in that area were satisfied, and even then it would only be diverted to the poor people of another region, rather than being accumulated in the bait al-māl (Muḥammad, 2014; Tahir, 2015). .
These strategies created a situation where a man would have charity to give to the needy, but he would have to hand it over to karrem al-mal since there were no needy people to receive it. The caliph succeeded because he emphasized the defense of faith, deen, and religion, and he sequenced his reforms accordingly.
CONCLUSION
The Prophet (ṣal-Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: "O young man, I will teach you some words [advice]: Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. And know that if the nation were to gather to benefit you with nothing, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you.And if they were to gather to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you.
In another narration he said: “Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him before you. Recognize and acknowledge Allah in times of ease and prosperity, and He will remember you in times of adversity. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with trial and hardship with ease” (Al-Tirmidhī, n.d.).
Based on this, the focus should be on how people protect their Dīn and Īmān by accepting Allah's decree while remaining steadfast in efforts to alleviate their poverty. They should not despair of Allah's Mercy and should be content and not look upon those above them. This paper has carefully shown how the Qur'an addresses the issue of poverty by offering the Islamic spiritual and material approaches.
A valuable aspect of the paper is the Case Study of Umar ibn Abd Al-Azīz as an example of the implementation of ISA and IMA. The case also serves to reaffirm the correct belief that the Qur'an is sufficient even in modern times, without the need to reinterpret it or Islam to suit current economic trends.
