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Concept of Welfare State in Islam and in Western Welfare States Concept of Welfare State in Islam and in Western Welfare States AFKĀR Research Journal of Islamic Studies Volume 3, Issue 2, December 2019, PP: 1-18 E-ISSN 2616-8588 ; P-ISSN 2616-9223 www.afkar.com.pk ; www.iri.aiou.edu.pk Concept of Welfare State in Islam and in Western Welfare States: A Comparative Study Wing Commander Dr. Nasir Majeed Registrar, PAF Air War College PAF Base Faisal, Karachi. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT According to Britannica on line Encyclopedia ”A welfare state is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well- being of citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The first and foremost policy of a welfare state is to provide basic facilities equally to all its citizens. Post-modern world is trying to gain a selective mechanism to reinstate the system of welfare as a political and economic theory. Most of Western welfare states establish ideas of Marxism, while the Islamic welfare state is based on teachings of Quran and Sunnah. The major difference between a western welfare state and an Islamic welfare state is based on the economic factor. Western theory of a welfare state is the theory of economic progress, while in an Islamic welfare state, the economic factor is just a part of a comprehensive system. According to some critics, the idea of an Islamic welfare state is obsolete because they believe that the codes and conducts used to establish an Islamic welfare state are no longer active. They think that Islamic laws the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are no longer applicable to modern societies today. The aim of this research is to explore the differences between an Islamic and a Western welfare state and their socio-economic patterns, besides providing an answer to critics of the concept of Islamic welfare state. This study also focuses on the approach of orientalists and their critique on Islamic state theory and practice. This research is qualitative. Data has been collected through comprehensive research, that involved reading of research journals, History and other relevant material. Keywords: Welfare state, Islamic society, homo economicus. 1 AFKĀR (December 2019) (Volume 3, Issue 2) (Volume 2, Issue 1) Introduction The concept of the welfare state in Islam has endured as the most perplexing idea from the beginning until today. Defining a ‘welfare state’ is hard because several scholars believe that there is no such state as a ‘welfare state’; several others assert that if a welfare state exists, it changes from nation to nation and tradition to tradition. This is the major cause behind the lack of a standard definition of a welfare state. The human world comprises of states and state theories are many. These state theories can be distinguished as Western and Eastern. The concept of a welfare state is different from the modern states’ conduct. 1. Theory of Western welfare state system Following is the list of states which have nothing in common with a ‘welfare state’. (1) Socialist state (2) Nazi state (3) Democratic state (4) Political state (5) Social services state (6) Totalitarian state. These states don’t rely on individual’s responsibility to act as a sole member of the society, while a welfare state ruminates on an individual to participate in mutual charity among social circles and the equal distribution of economic factors1. 2. Islam and welfare state The concept of Islamic state stirred after the migration of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to the city of Madinah in the 7th century. He strived to build an Islamic society under the guidance of Allah’s book. His teachings shaped a society, later came to be known as a welfare state. An Islamic welfare state cannot be separated from an Islamic society. Western divisions of Public/Private Societies and States are unknown to Islam because Islam is comprehensive in teaching and a far-reaching way of life. The word ‘state’ in Islam is a political term for an Islamic society. If there is no Islamic society, there will be no Islamic welfare state. The existence of Islamic society is attached to Islamic ideology. The struggle to reinstate an Islamic welfare state needs to review the Islamic society. If there exist an Islamic society based on Islamic laws, then the system of government and the whole body of administration can be shaped according to the concept of Islamic welfare state. 3.Literature Review Chappra (1979) in his book ‚The Islamic Welfare State and Its Role in the Economy‛ provides a thought-provoking ground that makes the Islamic welfare and economic 1Gutmann, Amy. Democracy and the welfare state. s.l. : Princeton University Press, 1988. 2 Concept of Welfare State in Islam and in Western Welfare States system. This book provides a thoughtful distinction of a variety of economic systems and Islamic economic philosophies. It expounds the vital theme of the role of an Islamic state in the context of welfare and economy. The author pursues basic laws of an Islamic way of life to map out, in a learned and inspiring way, the compulsions, strategy and functions of an Islamic state and how it fulfils its commitment to the welfare and material well-being of man — as part of an integrated approach to human life. He proposed a thesis that Islamic welfare system needs an organised Islamic community which obey Islam as a complete way of life and following the codes and conducts of the Quran and Sunnah. Economic sources provided by God are the bounties of God and must be utilised to promote good in a society. Also, a physical and organised structure is needed to implement a better economic plan. Islam provides proper guidelines regarding economic system which leads to a better welfare state. El-Ashker (2006), in his versatile book ‚Islamic Economics - A Short History‛, discussed the problems of economic goals and their impact on modern society. This book intends to link the past with the present, to prepare for the future. Though a detailed study of Islamic economics has been carried out in this 450-page book, it progresses in chronological order. The initial part covers the development of Islamic economic thought from the emergence of Islam, long before economics became a separate discipline. The middle part highlights the concerns of economic issues predating the development of the analytical tools associated with contemporary economics and these concerns were evident in the writings of the early Muslim jurists. Some observations are made on the prospects of Islamic economics in the light of its history and a future that is in many respects full of promise2. -Soladatos, (2015) examined key factors of a welfare state in his book entitled ‚A Welfare State Approach to Islamic Polity‛. This study builds upon the critique on Islamic economics. This book discusses the factors, relating to the economy, concerning Islamic laws, in the form of a literal interpretation of Islamic theology. This book presents a critical theory based on the rejection of other Islamic theorists, claiming the western concept of welfare state in Islam under the homo economicus3. Conclusion of this study is based on providing the counter-arguments in support of the homo economicus system and rejecting the pseudo phenomenology of European economists of modern times. He presents a critique on Islamic economic system besides explaining the role of Islamic law in building a socio-economic system. He also explores the western economic system and its impact on society. Western economic system was mostly based on Marxian theory and the impact of the cold 2El Ashker, Ahmed. Islamic Economics; A short history. Brill : Rodney wilson publishers, 2006. 3Gitman, Soldatos. A Welfare State Approach to Islamic Polity. Athens, Greece : American University of Athens, 2015. 3 AFKĀR (December 2019) (Volume 3, Issue 2) (Volume 2, Issue 1) war on European states played an important role in shaping the whole as a mighty standard. Alexander Pacek and Benjamin Freeman in their research article ‚The Welfare State and Quality of Life‛ present a comprehensive view about a welfare state and its impact on the life of people in normal times. The Paper contemplates that while there is a vast and highly contentious literature devoted to understanding the economic, social, and political consequences of the welfare state, little attention has been paid to the fundamental question of whether social security programs actually improve the overall quality of human life. The Paper has made an attempt to present such an appraisal, using the extent to which individuals find the totality of their lives to be satisfying as an evaluative metric4. Considering national rates of life satisfaction in the industrial democracies from the 1970s to date, the study also finds that citizens find life more rewarding as the generosity of the welfare state increases, net of economic or cultural conditions. A thought-provoking debate was started by Ilyas Ahmad in his book "The social contract and the Islamic state" to discuss the background of Islamic welfare state and its comparison with western political theories. He discussed the overall impact of economy and historical background of Thomas Hobbes' theory of the state of nature and its comparison with the pre-Arabic society in the time of ignorance. He concludes that the economic and political theories in the western mind took their shape from early Arabic society5. Hobbes' state of nature is similar to the historical interpretation of Arabs living before Muhammad (peace be upon him), hence it is neither new theory nor beneficial because it contains ample immoral laws.
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