1. MAN IS A TRUSTEE OF WEALTH
From the Islamicperspective,all wealthbelongstoGodandman is onlya trustee.The Quransays,
“To Him (God) belongsthatisinthe heavensandall thatison the earth, andall that is between
them,andall that is underthe soil.”The Quranfurthersays,“… and give themsomethingoutof the
wealththatGod has bestoweduponyou.”(Quran24:33). Thismeansthat itis God whoownsthe
wealthandthat wealthhasbeenbestowedbyHim.Since Godisthe absolute owner,manisjusta
trustee andthisis evidencedinthe Quranicverse,
“Lo! We offeredthe trustuntothe heavensandthe earthand the hills,buttheyshrankfrombearing
it andwere afraidof it. Andman assumedit.Lo!he hathproveda tyrant and a fool.”(Quran33:72)
A contemporaryscholar, SheikhYusuf AlQaradawi,interpretedthe above versesthus,“Itisa part of
that greattrust whichAllahofferedtothe heavens,the earth,andthe mountains,whichthey
declinedbutwhichmanaccepted.Thistrustrequiresmantocarry out the dutiesplacedonhimby
AllahasHis vicegerentonearthandto assume accountabilityconcerningthem.Thisresponsibilityis
the basison whichthe humanindividualwillbe judgedbyAllahandgivenhisrewardorpunishment.
Because of thistrust, Allahgave manintellect,will power,andfreedomof choice;because of this,
He sentHismessengerandrevealedHisBooks.”Therefore,the firstrighttowealthisGodHimself,
but God doesnotneedwealthaswe perceive itandHe has prescribedconditionsastohow to use
the wealththathe hasbestowedonus.Muslimstherefore,shouldfollow the guidelinesand
injunctionsof Godintheirrespective professions.
As mentionedabove,Islamconsiderswealthasatrust and thusMuslimswouldbe accountable for
the mannerit has beencreated,how ithasbeenamassedandhow it hasbeenspent.Onthispoint,
Islamprescribeswaystocarry out the trust.For example,Islamprovidesguidelinesonhow Muslims
shouldspendtheirwealthwhiletheyare alive andhow itshouldbe distributedwhentheypass
away.In that sense,wealthwouldbe blessed.A blessedwealthinthiscontextiswealththatbrings
benefitstooneself andothers.
The ProphetMuhammad(pbuh) said“the upperhandisbetterthanthe lowerhand”.The upper
handis the hand that givesbenefitstootherswhereasthe lowerhandisthe handthatreceives.
Thus,in Islam,wealthisvital toenhance andtodevelopthe economicsystem.Withwealth,
Muslimswill able toserve Allahthroughgivingalms(one methodof wealth purification).
The Prophet(pbuh) said:“Blessedisthe wealthof aMuslimfromwhichhe givestothe poor, the
orphansand the needytraveler”.
Islamhas alwaysemphasisedthe significance of attainingAllah’sblessings(pleasures)bygivingto
others.
Thiswill be furtherexplainedinthe section1.2.1.2.
1.2.1.1 Man’sRights asa Trustee ;

2. Islamconsidersmanas the bestof God’s creationandtreats himas such.God has grantedhim
certainrightsand has prescribedcertainresponsibilitiesforhim.Asmentionedinthe previous
section,fromthe Islamicviewpoint,ownershiprestswithGod.However,Godhascreated
everythinginthe universe forthe use of mankind.Thisisevidentfromthe Quranicverse,“He its
Who createdforyou all that isin the earth.ThenturnedHe to the heaven,andfashioneditasseven
heavens.AndHe isKnowerof all things.”(Quran2:29) . The Quran furthersays,“Andhath made of
service untoyouwhatsoeverisinthe heavensandwhatsoeverisinthe earth;it isall from Him.Lo!
hereinverilyare portentsforpeople whoreflect.”(Quran45:13).Therefore,He hasdelegatedthe
proprietaryrightstomankindunderspecifiedtermsi.e.trusteeshipandmanistherefore subjectto
the termsof that trustand must notforgetthat the real ownerisGod and man’sownershipis
grantedby Him.ThisIslamicconceptof ownershipispartof thisgeneral view of trusteeship
(amanah).Inthisrespect,twokindsof productive assetshave beenreservedforpublicownership.
The firstis publicutilitiessuchaslarge streams,bridges,landaroundtownleftforcommonuse and
the banksof a stream.The secondare natural resourcesentrustedtothe societyatlarge.Foursuch
resourceshave beenmentionedbythe Prophet(pbuh) - water,herbage, fire andsalt.However,
Islamicjuristshave longarguedthatthese thingsshouldbe consideredsymbolic.Otherthings
havingsimilarpropertiesare alsoincludedbyimplication.Ingeneral,itmaybe concludedthat
anythingwhichdoesnotinvolve muchhumaneffortorcostto make it useful shouldbelongto
societyatlarge.Similarlyproperties,the private ownershipof whichmaycause hardshipsforthe
general public,shouldnotbe giventoprivate ownership.Natural meadows,forestsandsome
mineralsare examplesof the firstkindandrivers,embankmentsandpublicpathsof the second
kind.Otherthanthese two,Islamrecognisesprivateownership,athoughitisheldintrustforGod.
Private ownershiphastwoaspects:i) formal ownershiptitle,andii) exercise of ownershiprights.
The firstrelatestothe legal aspect,i.e.,the one whoholdsthe ownershiptitle,andthe second
referstothe authorityof makingdecisions.Asmentionedbefore,Allahhasbestowedthe rightsof
legal ownershipuponindividualsinsome casesanduponsocietyasa whole inothers.Where the
rightshave beenconferreduponthe individual,nobodycandeprive himof thatexceptincases
where Shariah(andnotthe state) providesexpresssanctionsforthat.The purpose istofulfil l the
needsof the poor.Islamachievesthisbyanarray of meansand througha graduatedmethodology
to minimise the negativeeffectsoninducementsandat the same time protectthe individual’s
rights.Whenitcomesto ownershiprights,Godhasclearlylaiddownthe termsof the trust. If one
violatesthese termsone isanswerable.If the violationisserious,the legal rightof ownershipis
suspended.Withintheselimits,the ownerisgivenahighdegree of freedomtomake use of the
objectof ownership andtoclaimthe benefitsresultingfromitsuse.These rightsare natural
complementstolegal ownership.Withoutthem, ownershipbecomesmeaningless.One of the terms
of the trustis that man mustuse the wealththatis bestowedonhimprudently.Inthis respect,the
Quran saysthat, “He itis Who producethgardenstrellisedanduntrellised,andthe date palm,and
crops of diversflavour,andthe olive andthe pomegranate,like andunlike.Eatye of the fruit
thereof whenitfruiteth,andpaythe due thereof uponthe harvestday,andbe notprodigal.Lo!
Allahlovethnotthe prodigals.”(Quran6:141).However,thisdoesnotmeanthatone must be stingy
inone’sconsumptionasthe Quran alsosays,“…Andthose who,whentheyspend,are neither
extravagantnorstingy…”(Quran25:69). A mufassirin(interpreterof the Quran),bythe name of Ibn

3. Kathircommentedthat,“Theyare not extravagant,spendingmore thantheyneed,norare they
miserlytowardstheirfamilies,notspendingenoughontheirneeds.Buttheyfollow the bestand
fairestway.The bestof mattersare those whichare moderate,neitherone extremenorthe other.”