Al-Islām Yaqūd al-Ḥayāt (book)

abstract

Al-Islām Yaqūd al-Ḥayāt is an Arabic book, authored by Sayyid Muhammad-Bāqir al-Ṣadr, containing Islamic views about the Islamic government. This book is a compilation of six articles written by him in response to the questions of some Lebanese scholars about the laws of Islam regarding the government established by Imam Khomeini in Iran. The author believed in the necessity of establishing an Islamic government by human beings as God’s vicegerents on earth, and the supervisory role of jurists as representatives of the Sharia. Ṣadr explained their duties and laid out the Islamic economic program in line with governance. Muhammad-Bāqir al-Ṣadr believed that Islam’s economic program is derived from components that the religion has proposed as the wisdom behind fixed rules, and that laws should be determined based on these components. This author believed that the economic system of Islam is different to other economic systems in the world and that the bank plays an important role in economic development. Ṣadr considered the capitalist system of banking as facing many problems and therefore believed that the bank should be used for constructing an Islamic economy, according to the instructions of Islam.

Introduction and structure report

The book al-Islām Yaqūd al-Ḥayāt, written by Sayyid Muhammad-Bāqir al-Ṣadr, is a collection of six articles that discuss Islam’s approach about the government and its plan for it. In this book the author ruled the establishment of an Islamic government by people under supervision of jurists as legitimate. He specified the first article, titled “a brief look on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution,” to discussions around legitimacy of the Islamic government, duties of religious authorities (Marāgi‘) and differences between Islam and other governmental schools of thought. In the second and third articles, titled “an image of the economy of the Islamic society” and “detailed programs of the economy of the Islamic society,” he employed the concept of constant elements, meaning the rules of Sharia clearly written in religious texts, and used them to discover the Lawmaker’s intentions from establishing these rules, and believed that laws should be codified, regarding the issue of economy, that can be based on the Sharia. In the fourth article, titled “man’s vicegerency and the prophets’ supervision,” he investigated the position of people and jurists in the governmental system of Islam, and in the fifth article, titled “the sources of power in the Islamic government,” he examined the intellectual ideas of Islam for government. In the sixth article titled “general rules of banking in the Islamic society,” Ṣadr considered the bank as an important institution in the Islamic economy and offered a new way of banking with goals and a management style that are different from those of capitalist banks. These articles have been written after the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 upon the request of a group of Lebanese scholars. This collection of articles has been published in the form of a book by different publishers in successive years. A Persian translation of this book has been produced in 2014 (1393 SH) by Mahdi Zandīyi and published by Dār al- Ṣadr publication. About 20 years before writing these articles, a book titled Iqtiṣādunā was published by the author, in which the economic topics of this book are explained in more details.

A brief jurisprudential look at the Islamic government

The author believed that Imam Khomeini was able to create a new era in the Islamic world with his revolution. The selected image that is presented of the Islamic government according to Islamic jurisprudential bases is as follows (p. 24): 1) True guardianship belongs only to God. 2) According to hadith, in upcoming issues, the absolute Mujtahid (religious authority), who is just and in the same level as the Imam, is the Imam’s deputy and the one to whom people refer, to the extent that religion is implemented in life. 3) According to this principle, the [leadership] council acts on behalf of the Ummah (community) and people can intervene in their affairs with the supervision of the Constitution by the deputy of the Imam. 4) Revelation explains the law of human being’s life for man. In addition to the rules of Sharia, including what Islamic laws permit and prohibit, there is also a Manṭaqat al-Farāgh (area without any religious rulings) in the Sharia where the legislator is allowed to issue rulings and to enact laws that are not contrary to the Sharia. This power to legislate and execute that is bestowed on the Ummah is along the power of God (and originates from it).

Man’s vicegerency

The author believed that human kind is God’s vicegerent on earth, and this vicegerency is the source of his government and judgment. This divine trust must be exercised according to divine commands. In the meantime, human knowledge and supervision of prophets are divine helps for him. The main concept of this vicegerency is the implementation of government, judgment and, in general, the natural and social development of the world, for which man is made responsible. The vicegerent is obliged to provide the grounds in the society for values such as justice, knowledge, mercy on the weak and revenge against the oppressors. There is no right for the arrogant in this vicegerency, because vicegerency is a divine trust, and those who are unjust to their own souls are traitors to the divine trust (pp. 127-134).

Supervision of prophets, Imams and jurists

According to the author, alongside the line of vicegerency for man, God the Exalted has determined a line of supervision; because, man is not safe from lust and temptations. The responsibility of supervision has been entrusted to prophets and the Imams who follow the path of prophets, and so infallibility is a requisite for them. Supervision is entrusted to the Imam because of the closeness of the Imam’s training and conduct to the Prophet (PBUH). In the age of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), vicegerency fell into the hands of the caliphs and supervision was with Amīr al-Mu’minīn Ali (AS), until during his caliphate when the lines of supervision and vicegerency came together, and after him and with the domination of Mu‘āvīyah, the Ahl al-Bayt remained the epitome of eliminating deviance until their martyrdom. During the time of Imam al-Zaman (AS), things were in the same path until the end of the Minor Occultation. Since the beginning of the Major Occultation, the lines of vicegerency and supervision separated, and at this point, the religious authority (Marja‘īyyah), which is an extension of Imamate, became in charge of the line of supervision. The author considered the religious authority to be the supervisor of vicegerency, restorer of Ummah from deviation, expresser of Islamic rulings and ideology, protector of God’s favors, and the confuter of the intrigues and doubts cast by unbelievers and the wicked. The two lines of supervision and vicegerency are gathered in the person of the religious authority (Marja‘) when the government is tyrannical. In this position, the religious authority intervenes in the affairs of the government as much as possible on behalf of people. If possible, the Ummah should take caliphate out of the hands of oppressors and take the control within the framework of Islamic law based on the two Quranic rules of “consultation” and “guardianship of believers over each other.” They should resolve the differences by consultation and according to the majority vote (pp. 135-140). According to Muhammad Bāqir al-Ṣadr, the following are of the characteristics of the supervising jurist: absolute ijtihad, justice, knowledge of the Quran, wisdom and intellection and courage, awareness of surrounding issues, following the natural path toward becoming a religious authority, acceptance by and approval from other religious authorities. The author also believed that the aim of the religious authority inside the country is to establish social justice among the rich and the poor, preserve human dignity, culturalize the Islamic lifestyle and support the revolution. His aim abroad is to introduce Islam to the whole world, show an excellent example of Islam by supporting the truth in government issues, help the oppressed people of the world and resist against global imperialism (p. 22).

The role of religious authority in the Islamic government

Mohammad Bāqir al-Ṣadr considered religious authority as a way of attributing material issues to Islam; because, the religious authority is the Imam’s general deputy and, in line with these duties, is responsible for the following:

Holding the highest position of government and supreme command
Selecting a candidate or candidates for presidency and signing their candidacy decree, which means giving them the power and legal permission for making decisions and interventions.
Determining the position of the Sharia in the Constitution and making the final decision about the laws that the parliament proposes to fill the Manṭaqat al-Farāgh (area with no religious rulings).
Formation of the Supreme Court to monitor violations in the mentioned matters.
Establishing a judicial system in every city to follow up on complaints and execute judicial decisions.

A comparison between the law of government in Islam and other new social schools

The author believed that the Islamic government rejects theories such as power and supremacy, divine assignment of government to tyrants, social contract and development of the family by the government, from its historical origin and formation. He further believed that government is the result of prophets’ work and has been with them since the beginning of human life. In terms of the duty of the government, Islam rejects the doctrines of individualism and socialism and believes that the duty of the government is to implement the divine law that creates a balance between the individual and the society. He admitted that Islam supports the society, although not the society that is defined by Hegel, which means protection against the individual, but the society that is made up of individuals. From the aspect of governance, the law should be observed in the best way because the Sharia rules equally over everyone. Islam rejects the ownership system, the individual system and the aristocratic government and presents a plan that has some positive points of the democratic system with differences that are friendly to Islam. The Islamic system is similar to the presidential system in determining the relations between officials, but not in such a way that the executive office is separate from the legislative office (p. 26-24).

An image of the economy of the Islamic society

Ṣadr believed that the economic program of Islam consists of two fixed and non-fixed elements. The fixed elements are the rulings written clearly in Islamic texts about the economic life of Islam and the non-fixed elements are taken from the general Islamic indicators that are among the fixed elements. For example, the Lawmaker has established zakat in order to eliminate poverty from the society; however, if the Islamic ruler does not see this amount of money as sufficient to eliminate poverty, he must issue a ruling to eradicate it. In this example, payment of zakat is the fixed element, elimination of poverty is a general indicator derived from the fixed element, and the jurist’s ruling to pay wealth or establish zakat on more than the items prescribed in religious texts is a non-fixed element (p. 43). The derivation of non-fixed elements from general indicators requires several things: 1) Intelligent religious understanding of fixed elements and indicators. 2) Detailed examination of the economic conditions of the fixed elements and the goals determined by general indicators. 3) Jurisprudential understanding of the limits of the competences of the guardian jurist or Islamic ruler and achieving laws that place non-fixed elements within the framework of the responsibilities of the Islamic judge.

General indicators of the Islamic economy

According to the author, the general indicators of Islamic economy can be placed in several categories:

Indicators that are directed toward legislation: for example, 1) the Lawmaker does not accept monopolization of natural resources. Therefore, in order to own these resources, annexation is the condition. 2. Investing should not be with the intention of making a profit, without considering the labor system, the risk of work, and without assuming responsibility for all the negative consequences (p. 45).
Indicators, clearly written in religious texts, that inform about the Lawmaker’s fixed favorable matters: These indicators mean that if a religious ruling comes within a certain limit for a certain purpose, this purpose is important and the ruler must strive to achieve the purpose even outside that limit. For example, after understanding that zakat has been legislated to eliminate poverty, added to the fact that poverty elimination means reaching the level of prosperity in the life of the non-poor, the ruler does not suffice with the amount of zakat and strives to equalize the level of the members of the society (p. 47).
Indicators that are aimed at reviving and maintaining social values, for which Islam tries, such as brotherhood and justice: These values cause the establishment of laws that enable the ruler to fill the Manṭaqat al-Farāgh (p. 49).

Detailed programs of the full form of the economy of the Islamic society

Ṣadr believed that the rules of wealth in Islam are stated in the two forms of complete, that is, the social rules of wealth, and limited, which are the individual rules (p. 61). Natural wealth is divided into the two types of natural resources, such as land, mines and rivers, and resources such as plants, stones and animals, and movable properties that people can annex themselves. Islam does not allow individuals to own the first category of resources and they are only under the control of the government. The government, in order to generalize the benefits, provides the resources of the second category to the society only by practice and annexation. This circulates the economy and eliminates monopolization (p. 76). According to Ṣadr, production is divided into two categories of primary and secondary. Primary production is production from raw materials that no human being was involved in its formation, such as extraction from mines in industry and farming using seeds that were not the property of someone else. Secondary production is production from materials that were previously the property of another person and someone has taken possession of them, like the textile industry.

Production and how to properly distribute products

The author believed that primary production of wealth has two interconnected elements: labor and nature; because production is not creation from nothing, but modification and change of materials. Therefore, according to Islamic teachings, the owner of wealth is the worker, and the owner of tools only receives the remuneration for the tools and equipment. Also, a part of the production wealth should be given to representatives of the government as a financial obligation to be used to meet public needs. Secondary production and distribution are imaginable in two ways: 1) Primary production and distribution of wealth in the society have been in accordance with Islamic economic rules: in this case, secondary production is according to the primary production; that is, for example, the farmer owns the wheat and he is the one who sells the flour to the baker. 2) Primary production and distribution have not been in accordance with the Islamic economy: in this case the investors are the owners of the products and the government should intervene with correct pricing to avoid hoarding and maintain social balance (p. 92).

Exchange of goods and consumption

Ṣadr considerd the inflation in the capitalist system to be the most important harm of more production than consumption. He believed that, in the first place, there was the exchange of goods for goods, where each of the parties was consumer of the goods of the other. Although, in this type of exchange, production and consumption are balanced, lack of savings and the inability for new acquisitions are among the problems. In the meantime, the emergence of money made it possible to delay consumption, in addition to providing the possibility of keeping and saving without lowering the price of goods, and by having enough money in hand, new acquisitions became possible. However, with the emergence of money, negative phenomena such as hoarding, usurious loans and usury also appeared. Therefore, Islam condemned usury, totally prohibited usurious interest, abolished brokering without added value and selling goods before receiving them and presented the merchant with the concept of work and effort (p. 101-108).

General responsibilities of the government towards the economy

According to the author, the general responsibility of the government is to implement the fixed elements of the Islamic economy and fill in the gap of non-fixed elements according to the situation and in the light of the general Islamic indicators. Many subsidiary detailed responsibilities emerge from these two.

The responsibility of social guarantee with the premise of entitlement of all the people to use natural resources, according to which the government is obliged to guarantee a level of welfare (for example, by expanding work in the society) for people.
Responsibility for maintaining and developing public natural resources and properties.
Controlling the production process, guaranteeing the production of the general needs of the people, preventing waste in production.
Responsibility for controlling prices of goods in the market (pp. 111-118)

Difference between the Islamic, Marxist and capitalist economies

According to the author, the difference between economy in Islam and other schools is the following: 1) In Islam, the forms of production must preserve human dignity and human natural rights. Employing women and children with minimum wages is a method of the capitalist economy. 2) Production in the Islamic society depends on demands by individuals and is aimed at the availability of vital resources for individuals, regardless of market demand. 3. In Islamic economy, workers are the owners of capital and the very raw material as well as the profit of the work that is done on the commodity as a change that results in production. In the capitalist and Marxist economies, however, the worker is one of the pillars of production and a tool beside other tools in the hands of the capitalist. Workers only deserve wages for their work and do not own the capital (p. 92).

General principles of banking in the Islamic society

The author believed that the Islamic bank should move toward eliminating usury and unfair distribution of wealth, which are in contradiction with the Islamic economy and the Sharia. Whoever intends to design a plan for the Islamic banking system must establish these two missions in the atmosphere of the Islamic society, as well as in a society where usurious institutions continue to exist.

The nature of banking activity in Islamic banking

Consolidation of property should be done by the government so that wealth remains in public hands. The government should draw a plan according to the Islamic economic method, which means eliminating profit, eliminating accumulation of wealth and doing real buying and selling, eliminating poverty and creating a platform for loans. Collecting capitals in Islamic banking should be without promising any profit. The deposit should be made as a loan, or as a muḍārabah , and the money should be used in economic activities. The bank must be committed to maintaining the physics and value of money in case of deposit as a loan, and in case of a muḍārabah deposit, it must be committed to paying the interest of acting in a risky manner. Islamic Bank should use deposits, given to it as loans, to give loans to needy people or to carry out production projects that are of general interest. The bank is required to share the interests gained from the deposits left to it in the form of muḍārabah, that it uses in production projects, with the customer in a determined ratio. If the agent is someone other than the bank, the bank can only receive the commission and the partnership is between the agent and the customer (pp. 195-214).