Islam & Social Justice (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B)

Muslim Teachings About the Distribution of Wealth and Social Justice

The nature of social justice

• Social justice is the process of distributing wealth and opportunities equally, so that everyone has access to a good standard of living

• There is a lack of social justice in the UK with much poverty and unemployment. This has led to a vast divide between the rich and the poor

  • According to government statistics, there were 14.3 million people living in poverty in the UK in 2022-23. This includes 4.3 million children

    • This means that around one in six people in the UK live in relative poverty

  • Meanwhile, the UK’s richest 10 per cent of households have more than 43 per cent of the nation’s wealth, according to the Office for National Statistics in 2020

    • By 2023, the richest fifty families in the UK held more wealth than half of the population (33.5 million people)

  • The super-wealthy continue to get richer and richer, and the pattern of wealth distribution becomes ever more unequal

Muslim teachings about social justice

• Islam is a religion that focuses on equality

• The Qur’an teaches that from the very start of creation, Allah did not want anyone to be deprived of the essentials for life

• The story of Adam and Hawwa (Eve) records this, explaining that no one should ever be hungry, thirsty, or lack clothing or shelter:

• The Qur’an teaches about the importance of working for social justice

• The prayer of Musa (Moses) in the Qur’an shows that the prophet asked Allah for both spiritual and material blessings

  • Muslims today often use this prayer

  • It teaches that those who remember Allah and give Zakah will be the ones to receive Allah’s mercy

• Therefore Muslims should try to work for social justice today

  • They should try to ensure that everyone can support themselves with a basic standard of living and to help anyone who does not have their basic needs met

• Muslims believe that Allah is watching their actions and that they will be judged on the Day of Judgement, so they should try to work for social justice in the hope that they will be rewarded in the akhirah for their actions in this world

Ways Muslims Work for Social Justice

• Muslims work for social justice in several ways today and this responsibility is part of the Five Pillars of Islam

  • The system of Zakah, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is designed to promote social justice

  • Sawm or fasting, another of the Five Pillars of Islam, allows Muslims to express their solidarity with those who go without in society

• Sadaqah, voluntary giving to charity, also helps Muslims to make a practical contribution to help those in need

• Muslims will try to educate others about social justice.

• They may work in careers or in voluntary work to promote equal access to education, health, housing, employment, and more

• Muslim individuals and charities work towards greater social justice in the world

  • Charities that promote social justice include Islamic Relief

• Individuals who have sought social justice include the human rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai

• Malala stood up for education for girls in Pakistan and was shot by the Taliban for doing so

• In 2014 Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and she continues to campaign for the importance of education today

^{Malala Yousafzai at the 2023 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is licensed under CC BY 2.0}

Situation Ethics and Muslim Responses to Social Justice

• Situation ethics is based on the principle that in each situation, a person should consider the most loving thing to do. This is based upon the Christian principle of agape love (selfless, unconditional love)

• In each case of social injustice, a situation ethicist would say that the person ought to be helped out of the situation of injustice

• In practical terms, this would mean taking action to help the person overcome the injustice in each situation

  • This may be helping them out of poverty, but it may also be helping them to access education, housing, health care, or whatever is causing the injustice

• Muslims would say that this approach is what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) would have done and that they should follow his example