Social Welfare

Dr Afifi al-Akiti is a theologian and philologist and the Kuwait Fellow in Islamic Studies at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, United Kingdom.
Strengthened with sincere devotion to God (Allāh), the Prophetﷺ was committed to overturning the oppressive status quo of his society in seventh century Arabia. Among his main priorities was to stand with the marginalized and to raise them in dignity by setting a new order of existence. As a social activist of his time, he fought for a fairer society by reframing attitudes towards its poorest members and shifted power structures through implementing reforms at every level.
Uplifting the underprivileged
The wellbeing of society was paramount to Prophet Muhammadﷺ who strove to establish equality and social welfare at a time when such concepts were entirely absent. He grew up in pre-Islamic Arabia where there was no rule of law and no structures in place that supported the most vulnerable members in the community.
The wellbeing of society was paramount to Prophet Muhammadﷺ who strove to establish equality and social welfare at a time when such concepts were absent.
After receiving the Quran’s (Qurʾān) divine revelations via the Angel Gabriel (Jibrīl), in the seventh century, the Prophetﷺ embarked on his transformational mission. One of the biggest challenges he faced was changing deep-rooted attitudes that abused the poor. It was only through tackling mindsets and reframing power that real change could be implemented. For example, when he heard news of the mistreatment of an elderly woman in Abyssinia, hundreds of miles away, he was appalled and declared, “How would God bless a nation that does not protect its underprivileged from its powerful?”
Equating one elderly woman’s welfare with the welfare and success of the entire nation sent a strong message: protect the vulnerable and God will strengthen your society. The Prophetﷺ again spoke of oppressed people when he mentioned God’s favor, saying: “Beware the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and God.” Such notions conferred dignity to the downtrodden, whose status was raised up through his influential words.
Under the equalizing principle that all humans were entitled to the same rights and privileges, the Prophetﷺ empowered the disempowered and enabled a new values-based society to break through and shape the course of civilization.
The distribution of Zakat (alms) was established by Prophet Muhammadﷺ to tackle poverty and nurture social welfare.
The social welfare of Zakat
A truly remarkable feat of Prophet Muhammad’sﷺ mission was establishing more equitable distribution among his community, bridging the wide gap between the rich and the poor. God directed the Prophetﷺ through the Quran to build an ethical tax system through the form of Zakat (Zakāh)– a powerful collective way of tackling poverty which created a more just society.
Literally meaning “purification” in Arabic, Zakat was a duty on every adult Muslim which amounted to 2.5% of their amassed wealth annually, if they could afford it. The Prophetﷺ told his followers that Zakat was a pillar of Islam and one that enabled the poor and needy to gain financial independence. In a society that wanted to maintain a stratified economic system, this was a radically brave and principled move that shook the capitalist structure of the pagan elite.
The Prophetﷺ explained to the Muslims that their wealth was not truly theirs; it was only given to them in trust from God. As trustees, they must ensure there was a circulation of this loan of wealth for the needy in the community. Such an idea removed a sense of superiority, ownership and greed, and inspired his followers to give with humility.
By encouraging the community to reassess their wealth, and by combining spiritual acts for God with service to society, the Prophetﷺ as directed by divine decree, instituted a social welfare ethic that would overturn the oppressive status quo and in its place build a fairer and more selfless society.
Supporting those of other faiths
Such was the vision of the Prophetﷺ, that he coupled sincere belief with total empathy for others.
After surviving the persecution of the pagan elite in Mecca (Makkah), Prophet Muhammadﷺ moved his community over two hundred miles away to safety, where his people could build a new nation. The Prophet’sﷺ city state in Medina (Madīnah) became a unifying model of inclusion for the various tribes and different faith groups in the area that had previously been fragmented.
As a leader who embodied the Quranic message of pluralism, the Prophetﷺ imparted a core social ethic: when it comes to supporting others, there is no discrimination. He said, “Donate in charity to people of all faiths.” Indeed, he placed care of the community within spirituality itself, saying that being good to neighbors is a sign of faith, and that hurting neighbors shows a complete lack of it.
The Prophetﷺ himself regularly sponsored a Jewish household and his followers continued the practice after him. One of his companions, Abdullah ibn Amar (‘Abdullah ibn ’Amr) ensured his own Jewish neighbor would be given food, as he held firm to the Prophet’sﷺ words when he said, “Angel Gabriel kept advising us to be good to our neighbor, so much that I thought he would inherit from us.”
Such was the vision of the Prophetﷺ, coupling sincere belief with total empathy as exemplified in one of his famous sayings: “None of you truly believes until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself”.
Challenging notions of superiority with statements like, “People are as equal as the teeth of a comb”, the Prophetﷺ overthrew the pre-Islamic attitudes that neglected those in need by implementing a remarkable model of justice for all.