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--- Issue: "913" Section: ID: "1" SName: "Living The Quran" url: "living-the-quran" SOrder: "1" Content: "\r\n

Fair Opportunities
\r\n Ya Sin (Ya Sin) - Chapter 36: Verse 47

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"And when they are told: 'Give [in charity] out of what God has provided for you,' the unbelievers say to those who believe: 'Are we to feed those whom God could have fed, had He so willed? Clearly, you are lost in error.'"

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It is God who feeds and provides. All the provisions that people receive on earth are created by Him. They cannot create any of that; indeed, they cannot create anything whatsoever. It is God's will that people should have needs which they cannot attain to without hard work, such as planting the earth, extracting its raw material to manufacture things, transporting its produce from place to place, offering such produce in return for other products or for money, etc. It is also His will that people differ in their talents and abilities to ensure that everything needed to fulfil man's task of building human life on earth is available. The accomplishment of this task not only needs talents and abilities that earn money and produce wealth; it also requires others that can meet different human needs, without earning money. This makes for a complex human society, in which people have different lots in a bustling world, and across generations. However, the resulting differences of the means available to different people does not lead to the ruination of life and society. In fact, it is a by-product of life's movement.

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Therefore, Islam addresses the individual, requiring those who have plenty to relinquish a portion of their money, which is given to the poor to provide for their food and other needs. By doing so, Islam reforms a great many people, rich and poor alike. This portion is zakat, which, by definition, implies purification. Islam makes it one of its acts of worship, and uses it to establish cordial and caring relations between the rich and the poor in the unique society it establishes.

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Islam puts in place a system that ensures fair opportunities for everyone. It then allows varied human activities, which are necessary for the fulfilment of man's role on earth, to run their course. Furthermore, it deals with any negative side effects.

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Compiled From:
\r\n \"In The Shade of The Quran\" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol. 14, pp. 217, 218

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