We arrive at the conclusion or the bitter harvest that the [Islamic] nation has reaped as a result of its stance towards the Qur'an, neglecting it, and dismissing it from its social reality.

The Islamic nation has fallen into the flow of universal and social laws, abandoning the conditions of its goodness by abandoning the Qur'an and dismissing it from its social and practical reality. After embodying the burden of carrying this noble Book and the great Reminder, as mentioned in the verse:

"The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah and then did not take it on is like that of a donkey who carries volumes [of books]. Wretched is the example of the people who deny the signs of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people." (Al-Jumu'ah: 5).

So, it no longer benefits from the Qur'an, and it has no share of it except the letters, writing, and sound. It has lost the trust of carrying its message, the trust of conveying it, the trust of adhering to it, and the outcome of honor by it, and guidance to what it leads to in terms of the goodness of this world and the Hereafter. Al-Tabari comments on this verse, saying: "Allah has made the example of the one who reads the Book and does not follow what is in it like the example of a donkey carrying a heavy book of Allah, not knowing what is in it."

The universal recompense is determined by Allah, as the Qur'an affirms this systematic law: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (Ar-Ra'd: 11), and similarly, this verse: "That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves." (Al-Anfal: 53).

These two verses clarify the rules of the major movement of change that occurs in history, civilizations, and nations. Humanity is the driver of history, and it is also the factor in the rise and fall of nations and civilizations.

The replacement of conditions necessitates the replacement of status: "And If you turn away, He will replace you with another people, then they will not be the likes of you." (Muhammad: 38); which means that turning away from the conditions of the goodness of the nation—commanding good and forbidding evil (in its civilizational sense)—which has its source and primary reference in the wise Qur'an, will necessarily be followed by a replacement in status, that is, in goodness. For goodness is not granted but rather depends on acquired and realized conditions in social reality.

Al-Qurtubi mentions in his commentary on the verse from Surah Muhammad:

"And If you turn away," meaning if you turn away from this religion that Muhammad, peace be upon him, brought to you and revert back from it, He will destroy you and then bring forth other people in your place instead of you. He then specifies the characteristics of these other people as follows:

1. They believe in him (the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Qur'an).

2. They act according to his Shari'ah (Islamic law).

3. They do not withhold what they have been commanded to spend in the cause of Allah.

4. They do not neglect anything from the limits of their religion.

5. They fulfill all that they have been commanded to do.

The core of the law of replacement is turning away; that is, the nation's aversion from what it was commanded to do, which falls under its function and the conditions of its comprehensive goodness, namely "commanding good and forbidding evil" in their broad Qur'anic meaning, that is, the civilizational and social meaning that makes this nation a source of goodness for the world and humanity, and activates these conditions in its movement and urban development. Abandoning the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil and the absence of the effectiveness of faith in the nation's reality is the very essence of turning away and abandoning adherence and obedience; and thus, turning away is contrary to submission to and acceptance of Allah's rulings, which is the essence of faith and Islam, through which the goodness of this nation and its empowerment in time and place are realized.

Have the Conditions of Replacement Been Met in the Nation?

Derivatives of the root "ولي" (wali) appear around 80 times in the Qur'an according to lexical tracking, of which 64 instances refer to the factors of replacement—for nations, peoples, systems, status, power, and strength—and clarify the pillars of turning away (the condition) for the state of replacement (the consequence). We attempted to preliminarily classify these tendencies, behavioral manifestations, and their outcomes, indicating the specific dimension/manifestation of "turning away" and its contexts in the Qur'an as follows:

1. Turning away from: This manifestation appears in 22 Qur'anic contexts distributed according to the tendencies and motives for turning away. The topics of this turning away are as follows:

• Turning away from adhering to God's covenant and promises: (Al-Baqarah: 64).
• Turning away from divine values: (Al-Baqarah: 83).
• Turning away from faith and guidance: (Al-Baqarah: 177), (Hud: 52).
• Turning away from Islam and its teachings: (Al-Imran: 20), (Al-Imran: 23), (Al-Imran: 32), (Al-Imran: 64), (Hud: 57), (Hud: 3), (An-Nahl: 82), (Yunus: 72), (Al-Ma'arij: 17), (Al-Anbiya: 109), (An-Najm: 33), (At-Taghabun: 12).
• Turning away from listening to the words of God: (Al-Anfal: 23), (Al-Anfal: 40).
• Refusing to disassociate from polytheists: (At-Tawbah: 3).
• Turning away from responding to repentance: (At-Tawbah: 74).
• Turning away from the remembrance of God: (An-Najm: 29).
• Turning away from the Hereafter: (Al-Mumtahina: 6). 

2. Following desires and obeying Satan: (Al-Ma'idah: 43), (An-Nahl: 100), (Al-Hajj: 4).

3. Denying the signs and laws: (Ta-Ha: 48), (Al-Qiyamah: 32), (Al-Ghashiyah: 23), (Al-Layl: 16), (Al-‘Alaq: 13).

4. Failing to engage in jihad/fleeing from the battlefield: (Al-Baqarah: 246), (Al-Imran: 155), (Al-Anfal: 15), (Al-Fath: 16).

5. Abandoning the support of Muslims in their adversity: (At-Tawbah: 50), (At-Tawbah: 129).

6. Inclination towards moral decay: (Al-Imran: 82), (Al-Ma'idah: 49).

7. Engaging in corruption on Earth: (Al-Baqarah: 205), (Al-Imran: 63), (Muhammad: 22).

8. Disobeying God and His Messenger: (Al-Ma'idah: 92), (Al-Anfal: 20), (An-Nur: 47), (As-Saffat: 40), (Al-Fath: 17), (An-Nisa: 115).

9. Aligning with falsehood, the enemies of Islam, and hypocrites: (An-Nisa: 89), (Al-Ma'idah: 80), (At-Tawbah: 23), (Al-Mujadila: 14), (Al-Mumtahina: 9), (Al-Mumtahina: 13).

10. Evading spending in the cause of Allah: (Muhammad: 38).

11. Turning to conspire against the believers: (Ta-Ha: 60).

12. Engaging in great sins: (An-Nur: 11).

13. Attempting to escape God's punishment: (As-Saffat: 178).

14. Being preoccupied with worldly pleasures and desires: (An-Najm: 29).

15. Inviting others to deprive people of their rights: (Al-Hadid: 24).

The replacement of previous nations occurred through their destruction, as with the peoples of Thamud, Salih, Lot, and Shu'aib. This destruction was direct from God: "So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allah would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves." (Al-Ankabut: 40). Another form of replacement is the transfer of honor and dominance from one nation to another: "The Byzantines have been defeated. In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome." (Ar-Rum: 2-3).

The leadership mantle was then temporarily handed to the Children of Israel through Prophet Moses: "And We wanted to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them inheritors. And establish them in the land." (Al-Qasas: 5-6). This is the law of empowerment, the counterpart to the law of replacement. Whenever a people are replaced, another is empowered—each according to its conditions and laws—until they too deserve replacement due to their propagation of evil, distortion of God's law, and breaking of His covenants and promises.

The Muslims then took up this mantle, being the final nation, the witness, and the just nation over previous and present nations. Allah granted this nation its goodness with its conditions, which are:

1. Faith in Allah.

2. Enjoining good.

3. Forbidding evil.

4. Possessing the qualifications for empowerment to fulfill the role of witnessing over nations.

5. Clearly conveying God's messages.

The nation has lost many, if not most, of these conditions, retreating from its role as a witness, from conveying the message, and from enjoining good and forbidding evil within and outside itself. It has lost its civilizational witness, potential, and will. As a result, the law of replacement has been applied to the Muslims. The factors and conditions for replacement have been met, and turning away has flourished among its ruling classes, scholars, and collective conscience. The nation has retreated from the law of mutual contention and confronting evil and oppression, as evil has increased, injustice has spread, and evil has dominated its actions. Even some scholars and religious authorities have called for it, extinguishing the nation’s mission to be beneficial to itself and others. The human element within it has deteriorated, no longer capable of shaping history or conveying the message; it has become a sick, compelled, and unfree being, driven rather than a driver, a follower rather than a leader, an imitator rather than a civilization-builder.

For this reason, the nation has deserved replacement, not through its destruction but through its weakness and the transfer of the mantle of honor, elevation, strength, and leadership to other nations.

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The Quranic Universal Epistemological Vision Differentiates from the Western Positivist Vision, and This Can Be Illustrated Through Three Basic Systems: The System of the Worldview, the System of Nature and Humanity, and the System of Values and Ethics. These are Summarized as Follows:

1. Worldview:

The worldview in the Western system is based on the idea of inherent reference; meaning that the world is sufficient within itself and does not require any external explanation because it carries the elements of its explanation internally just as it carries the elements of its formation. Thus, the world is one and not two; it is all visible and tangible, and its measure is human. The center of the universe is inherent within it and not beyond it. This means that God does not exist and has no relation to epistemological, ethical, semantic, or aesthetic systems. The world contains within it what is sufficient to explain it, and all these systems are established and developed by returning to this world and this time only.

Additionally, the world is materially coherent and in a constant state of continuous movement. The world is composed either of scattered atoms (according to the mechanical vision of the universe), or a solid, cohesive organic entity (according to the organic vision), or a mixture of both. The world is characterized by complete solid causality, meaning that everything has a material cause ⁽¹⁾.

On the other hand, the worldview in the Quranic method is based on the distinction between the worlds of creation and the Creator, God Almighty, and does not combine them. There is a world of differences between Islamic humanity and other humanities. The Islamic conception is based on the principle of duality as the essence of religious experience. This epistemologically leads to the perception of two levels of existence, making it impossible to mix them in conception; there is the divine creative self, and then there is the world of creatures created by that self, among which is a being that the Creator intended to be distinguished to carry to the world the trust entrusted to him. That being is the human.

This conception leads to several branches: one of which is that the human is a moral being, meaning that he is obligated to achieve specific and defined moral values in his behavior. This is an individual responsibility that cannot be borne by one individual for another. This moral conception of the human is based on the assumption of the precedence of the moral principle over experiences. This conception also assumes the precedence of the standard by which behavior is measured in its correctness and wrongness ⁽²⁾.

2. Humanity:

Regarding humanity, we notice that the Western vision reduces humans to the material natural system of which they become an inseparable part. According to the contemporary Western model, the human is a natural (material) being wholly existing within the natural (material) system, living in, from, and upon nature, with no existence outside it, an inseparable part of it, subjected to what all other creatures are subjected to. According to this foundation, human goals are integrated into nature and have no goals independent of or above it according to the natural law that applies to all creatures, which interprets humans in its light through natural laws ⁽³⁾.

The contemporary Western civilization revolves around this natural human, who, according to its reference, only possesses the material side and is composed only of senses and the body, with no requirements except material satisfaction through seeing, hearing, and other devices that meet the needs of this natural view of humanity. All human satisfactions do not go beyond nature, which is capable, according to this material perspective, of fulfilling all his needs. Thus, humans derive their entire value system from nature, which does not go beyond the means and ends of satisfying those needs and providing them in the maximum form that achieves their happiness or, rather, their pleasure.

In contrast, the Quranic universal vision is based on the idea of duality in its perception of humanity. It sees that human nature consists of two elements: the material element and the spiritual element. In material formation, humans are composed of elements of nature: clay, sticky clay, soil, aged mud, and clay formed like pottery. God says: "(The similitude of Jesus) to Allah is like that of Adam; He created him from dust" (Al-Imran: 59), "(He) created you from clay" (Al-An'am: 2), "And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud." (Al-Hijr: 26), "We created men from sticky clay" (As-Saffat: 11), "He created man from clay like [that of] pottery." (Ar-Rahman: 14). As for the spiritual formation, it is the divine breath into these material elements that gave humanity a distinguished existence from the rest of creation. God says: "So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration." (Sad: 72).

In this sense, human nature in Islam is seen as dual, composed of two different realities: one spiritual and heavenly from God, and the other material and earthly, a fistful of clay, and the breath of God Almighty. This combination resulted in a set of qualities, some of which return to the nature of material formation, others to the nature of spiritual formation, and a third to the characteristic of this combination, through which the human nature is realized. Through this combination, coordination between material and spiritual forces in human life, and between the material and spiritual systems in his moral life, and directing behavior and achieving goals are realized ⁽⁴⁾.

According to this dual nature perception, humans in the Quranic vision always incline to another world other than the one they live in. They see that their perfection and happiness are not in obtaining temporary pleasure or benefit, although necessary for life, but remain temporary and fleeting happiness. They search within themselves for lasting happiness and eternal pleasure, which they feel in their hearts exist in another world, higher and more eternal than the one they live in. Thus, humans in the Quranic vision derive their value system from this world characterized by permanence, eternity, and continuity, which makes them a judge over this constantly changing material world. They live according to divine law: "But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world." (Al-Qasas: 77).

3. Values and Ethics:

Regarding the value and ethical aspect, we notice in the material Western vision the absence of sacredness and purposes from which ethics can derive the standard of its rightness and wrongness and the criteria for the value judgments of mature human behavior. The Western material system does not know sacredness, absolutes, or purposes. The goal of humans from the universe is only the process of accumulation and control. Ethical laws do not exist; there is only utility and pleasure and maximizing production to maximize consumption.

According to this vision, it is difficult to establish any ethical standards in this material epistemological system because reality has no direction, there is no constancy in the universe, facts are separated from value, and all matters are equal. Because of all this, no ethical standards can be established, and no general ethical systems can be founded. Instead, only limited legitimate agreements based on function and result can be established. The only possible ethics are pragmatic ones that take the form of the philosophy of power and dominance for the strong and the philosophy of submission and adaptation for the weak. There are no standards beyond humans, and no way to define injustice and justice ⁽⁵⁾.

On the other hand, the Quranic vision, based on the existence of one God who rules this universe as its creator and manager, affirms that God is the essence of the standard in this universe. He is the value foundation from which Muslims derive the rules and implications of their ethical behavior and value actions. God represents the supreme value in the value chain for Muslims, to which their value system ends. This divine will determines what everything in existence should be, even in cases where the actual realization does not entail an obligatory task arising from it. Despite this divine essence being absolute and unseen, it is not isolated from what is valuable or susceptible to being confirmed at its expense. If a Muslim were to use the expression of the value of knowledge here, their stance would say: The value of the unseen beyond is that it plays its active role as the source of the formative command, the generator of motivation, or the standard ⁽⁶⁾.

The Quranic vision also establishes the principle of innocence and purity of humans from sins and misdeeds. Humans are born with a clean slate: "Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it." (Al-Isra: 15). Thus, they are free and individually responsible for their deeds: "Whoever does righteousness – it is for his [own] soul; and whoever does evil [does so] against it." (Fussilat: 46). No one benefits or harms another: "You do not hold for one another [the power of] benefit or harm" (Saba: 42).

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The Qur'an presents a unique approach to psychological and social reform due to its understanding of the nature of the self, its ailments, and ways of treating them. It also establishes rules and laws for societal conduct and methods for addressing social problems throughout human history, encompassing rules for social conduct, warnings, and methods for dealing with potential issues.

The Qur'an does not oppose the individual for the sake of society nor elevate the individual at the expense of society. Instead, it outlines a unique map where the individual harmonizes with society, allowing the individual's potential to flourish to the fullest extent while organizing society under rules and limits governed by the rights of people, which are considered the rights of society and, in the Qur'anic law, "the rights of God" that no one has the right to waive or neglect.

Furthermore, the Qur'an does not abolish individual desires and aspirations nor call for asceticism. It acknowledges human desires and provides a framework for their fulfillment, ensuring that individuals do not transgress and disrespect the rights of society (which are considered the rights of God). The Qur'an aims to achieve psychological and material balance for individuals by permitting marriage to fulfill sexual desires, preserve the species, and build society.

Similarly, the Qur'an recognizes the human instinct for ownership but stipulates that acquisition should be lawful, spending should be neither wasteful nor stingy, and one must fulfill God's rights, which are the rights of people. It does not forbid enjoyment or adornment in life and does not regard the world as inherently sinful. Instead, it views the world as part of the eternal hereafter, considering human work and efforts in this world as sacred as long as they adhere to the Qur'anic methodology for benefit and reform while avoiding individual and social harm.

Thus, the Qur'an does not deprive individuals of any desire or aspiration but places it within the framework of individual and social benefit and reform.

The Qur'an has established clear rules for individuals and society, applying them to everyone without exception, except in cases of physical or financial inability. This equality surpasses that found in contemporary laws, which are often created to be circumvented. These rules represent a clear map of social values, established not by any individual or group, nor favoring any power, authority, person, or group, but serving all humanity—especially the weak before the strong, the poor before the rich, the subordinate before the superior, the young before the old, and women before men.

Muslims—and indeed the contemporary world—have lost much by abandoning the Qur'an and removing it from their social, cultural, and educational lives. They have failed to present a contemporary model that embodies the Qur'an, demonstrating its unique ability to reform societal dynamics, cultural movement, educational philosophy, and educational building. This failure stands in contrast to the Western Darwinian principle of conflict that governs both individual and societal dynamics.

The modern person has lost a comprehensive methodology integrating material and spiritual life, where there is no need for conflict, tension, or disruption in choosing between them. The modern person has also lost a methodology that harmonizes individualism and collectivism without sacrificing one for the other, integrating worldly life with the afterlife without needing to separate them.

In addition to the Qur'anic methodology seamlessly merges the visible with the unseen without discord, aligns the absolute with the realistic without contradiction, and integrates the ideal with the practical without intellectual or emotional conflict.

The absence of a Qur'anic model in the cultural and social fields has given rise to the dominance of conflict as a principle in individual and social life, established by the contemporary Western model influenced by Darwinian and Zionist thought. This has led to the spread of psychological disorders at the individual level and social conflicts at the societal level, such as class struggles, generational conflicts, and cultural clashes, promoted by Samuel Huntington and implemented by the United States and its Western allies. Consequently, conflict has become the main feature of the contemporary world, where a tangible Qur'anic model is absent among its adherents, leaving the world without a guiding example.

Unfortunately, Western value systems have permeated modern society, including the Islamic world, where sacred principles and ultimate goals, which could provide moral standards for right and wrong and ethical judgments, have been sidelined. As a result, the nation has become dependent on a social and moral value system that does not recognize the sacred or the absolute. Human objectives have become focused solely on accumulation and control, with no room for ethical laws, and only utility, pleasure, and maximizing production for the sake of maximizing consumption prevail.

The principle of conflict as the basis for social order and history inherently carries the seeds of self-destruction for societies. These societies remain under the fire of conflicting ideas, known in modernity as endless dualities—such as the worldly and the hereafter, the material and the spiritual, the individual and society, the religious and the secular, nature and nurture, religion and politics, and so on. These dualities drain the energy of individuals, societies, and civilization.

In contrast, the Qur'anic methodology builds social values on a divine foundation. However, with the Qur'an sidelined, the nation has constructed its value system through the influence of wealth, power, and desires. As Nietzsche said, people have given themselves all their good and evil; they did not receive them from a higher power nor descended from the sky. Their daily life and physiological and social needs drive them to attribute certain values to things. Therefore, ethical values are neither eternal nor absolute but relative, dependent on the changes in their biological and social motives. This purely materialistic perspective dominates modern social ethics ⁽¹⁾, which has replaced the Qur'an in the nation's social structure.

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(1) Mohammed Abed Al-Jabri: "Issues in Contemporary Thought," p. 48.

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The desire for ownership is an innate instinct with many positive aspects, such as working, seeking to acquire, and safeguarding wealth from loss. However, legislative guidance in this area provides important direction for how an individual should handle wealth in their worldly life to avoid deviating from justice in ownership. This guidance reveals the true relationship between the individual and wealth: that humans are not the ultimate owners but rather stewards of it. This stewardship comes with conditions and rules outlined by various legislations that guide human behavior and social activity. To adhere to these behavioral guidelines, one must internalize the Quranic perspective on wealth and one's relationship to it, as expressed in the verse: "In which He has made you successors" (Quran 57:7).

The Quran prohibits hoarding wealth due to its detrimental effects on society. It encourages the circulation of wealth among as many members of the community as possible: "So that it will not be a perpetual distribution among the rich from among you." (Quran 59:7). Hoarding wealth can be harmful to society as a whole. The negative consequences of wealth concentration in the hands of a few capitalists, as seen in capitalist economic systems, reflect the Quranic objective of encouraging wealth circulation among a broader segment of society. Additionally, the Quran prohibits usury due to its impact on human development and social, economic, and spiritual relationships: "Allah has permitted trade and forbidden interest" (Quran 2:275). Usury exacerbates the concentration of wealth among a small group of capitalists, an issue that the world, including the Islamic community, continues to face today.

Examining the Concept of "Loans"

Secular economic systems impose borrowing with interest to increase the capital of the moneylender. This approach treats borrowing not as a solution to a social problem faced by many people in times of personal or general crises, but as a solution to the moneylender's issue of wanting to grow their capital by any means, including exploiting human need and social vulnerability. Consequently, the social and human relationships that connect members of society are absent from the lender's considerations in the secular economic system. The lender exploits the urgent need for money and imposes conditions for repayment with interest, disregarding the concept of a united community, where if one member suffers, the rest should come to their aid. This is contrary to the Quranic principle for the Muslim community being "They are a [single] structure joined firmly" helping to alleviate each other's crises.

Economists state that the impact of usury on social security is severe: in loans to those in need, the usurer seizes the majority of the low-income earners' gains, who are often workers. Consequently, these individuals struggle to sustain themselves and their families, having spent their days and nights working to earn an income that the usurer appropriates through their laziness and inactivity. This leads to a decline in their moral character, driving them to commit crimes and sins, and deteriorates their standard of living, education, and upbringing of their children, among other personal, social, and national consequences ⁽¹⁾.

In the field of productive loans—loans taken out by manufacturers, farmers, and traders to finance their economic activities due to insufficient personal resources to provide the necessary investment funds—the harms of this type of loan become evident. The lender is unconcerned with the borrower's profit or loss, viewing them merely as a debtor. Therefore, the lender does not strive to improve the productivity or performance of the project. Even if the project fails or incurs losses, the lender seeks to recover their money from the remaining scraps of the ruined project. This incorrect approach to capital investment through usurious lending establishes a relationship between capital and real, wealth-producing economic activities based on hostility, animosity, and conflict, which harms the community's economic development and leads to the backwardness of its economic activities ⁽²⁾.

The "Benevolent Loan" in the Quran

The Quran emphasizes the importance of benevolent loans for achieving security and stability within the Muslim community and maintaining the integrity of social relationships. This is highlighted in the verse: "Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He will multiply it for him and he will have a noble reward?" (Quran 57:11). Other relevant verses include (AL-BAQARAH:245), (Al-Muzzammil:20), (Al-Hadid:18), (At-Taghabun:18), and (AL-MA’IDAH:12).

Al-Razi mentions that a loan is considered "benevolent" if it meets ten criteria ⁽³⁾:

1. It must be from lawful sources: "Indeed, Allah is Good and accepts only what is good."

2. It should be from the best of what one owns: "And do not aim toward the defective therefrom, spending [from that]" (Quran 2:267).

3. It should be given with love and need: "Gives wealth, in spite of love for it," (Quran 2:177).

4. It should be given to those most in need.

5. It should be given discreetly: "but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you," (Quran 2:271).

6. It should not be followed by reproach or harm: "Do not invalidate your charities with reminders or injury" (Quran 2:264).

7. It should be intended for the sake of Allah, without showing off: "But only seeking the countenance of his Lord, Most High." (Quran 92:20).

8. It should be considered small even if it is substantial: "And do not confer favor to acquire more" (Quran 74:6).

9. It should be from what you cherish the most: "Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love." (Quran 3:92).

10. It should be given with empathy, not seeing oneself as superior and the recipient as inferior.

Social Benefits of a Benevolent Loan

In light of the ethical and legislative framework surrounding the concept of a "benevolent loan", we can identify a range of social and educational benefits and its applications in contemporary Islamic societies as follows:

1. Reconstructing the Concept of Money and Ownership for the Muslim Individual: The idea of a benevolent loan as presented in the Quran is based on a specific belief regarding money. This Islamic perspective differs from that offered by secular systems. The characteristics of benevolent lending—where the lender does not seek any profit or increase upon repayment (interest)—can only be practiced by those who embrace the Islamic view of money and ownership. This perspective includes the following aspects: ownership belongs solely to Allah, money is Allah's, human ownership of money is merely a figurative arrangement, using money to please Allah by benefiting others, and money is a means rather than an end.

2. Protecting Society from the Effects of Usurious Transactions: A benevolent loan, given that it should not involve any gain or interest, contributes to societal solidarity and prevents the borrower from falling into the hands of usurers—those who offer loans with interest. This protection is crucial because interest-bearing loans can lead to increased debt burdens on individuals, potentially worsening their financial crises and leading to additional problems.

3. Re-establishing Benevolence Among Social Networks: Benevolent loans promote the virtue of benevolence among individuals in society. Wealthy individuals are encouraged to assist those in need by providing what is necessary to meet their demands (through borrowing). This practice contrasts with usury, which undermines benevolent connections between people and can lead to estrangement and ill will between those with wealth and those in need.

4. Culture of Mutual Assistance: The concept of benevolent loans fosters a culture of mutual help and support among people. This is exemplified in practices like "sulf" (in Iraq) or "salam" (in Hijaz), where individuals exchange what they need for mutual benefit and agree to return it once the need is fulfilled.

Surah Al-Ma'un was revealed to condemn those who deny the exchange of essential items that people need. The term "Ma'un" refers to anything that provides benefit. It is a name given to items commonly asked for by both the poor and the rich, and withholding such items is attributed to bad character and meanness. Examples of such items include an axe, a pot, a bucket, a fire starter, a sieve, and a hammer. It also encompasses essentials like salt, water, and fire. This extends to situations like a neighbor asking to bake in your oven or to store their belongings with you for a day or part of a day ⁽⁴⁾. Some interpretations of "Ma'un" include obligatory alms (zakat), charitable donations, all types of rights, and benefits, as well as God's property that someone asks for but is denied (like a pot or a bucket).

Our community has suffered greatly by substituting benevolent loans with usurious loans, leading to increased poverty, need, and crime. This shift has resulted in divine displeasure and the fulfillment of the divine warning: "Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity." (Quran 2:275), and "Allah destroys interest and gives increase for charities" (Quran 2:276).

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(1) Mahmoud Aref Wahba: "Evaluation of Usury," Contemporary Muslim Journal, Issue 25, January 1981, p. 78.

(2) Same reference, p. 80.

(3) Al-Razi: "Mafatih al-Ghayb" (Keys to the Unseen), Vol. 29, p. 222.

(4) Refaat Al-Sayed Al-Awadhi (Editor): "Encyclopedia of Islamic Economics," Vol. 1, p. 361.

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The Holy Qur'an derives its fundamental strength from two main aspects: first, providing solutions to social problems; and second, shaping an individual capable of improving, developing, and transforming their reality, society, and world.

However, the social researcher has lost a true and effective connection with the Qur'an as a societal framework and as a source for creating suitable social solutions to improve and reform the reality of the Ummah. If this connection had occurred, the social researcher could have produced knowledge, created intellectual innovations, and contributed socially to developing a social theory that would rescue society from the disasters and critical civilizational turns it is currently facing, whose effects are increasing day by day.

The exclusion of the Qur'an from the ummah's activities and movements has burned away the ummah's energy and human and material resources, dissipated the system of ideas that drives life and society, and replaced it with a handful of ashes from this burning. This substitution no longer serves the truth.

The Qur'an, indeed, and not merely figuratively, is "clarification of all things" (An-Nahl: 89), offering humanity two essential and necessary elements for its social movement: first, a revealing and motivating idea that clarifies the nature of the journey, its requirements, warnings, and preferences, serving as a reference, guide, motivator, and support, providing reassurance in the nature of one's striving and effort.

Second, it provides a standard to judge the phenomena and events encountered in this journey. The function of this standard is to enable a person to have a balanced and just measuring tool, allowing them to issue balanced and fair judgments: to accept or reject, to love or hate, to advance or hold back, to emulate or correct, to destroy or reform.

In its fundamental guidance, the Qur'an provides humanity with these two elements: the revealing, guiding idea and the balanced standard of measurement. Its verses are clear in their unique condensation of these two clarifications.

Work and Unemployment

The Ummah has replaced its reliance on the capitalist economic system with the Qur'anic economic system, which emphasizes maintaining employment levels and the necessary workforce to ensure the stability of commodity prices and control over production quantities. The capitalist system only increases production based on its own decisions, leading to rising unemployment, especially in resource-rich countries that could be self-sufficient. However, their subordination to capitalist dependency prevents them from deviating from prescribed work nature and workforce numbers, all within the framework of foreign investment, privatization, and franchises that mortgage the Ummah's economies to Western capitalism.

In contrast, the Qur'anic approach values all forms of work, whether manual or intellectual, and does not tolerate unemployment or idleness among its people. It condemns idleness and considers it a deviation from worshipping Allah on Earth, contrary to the principle of human vicegerency and stewardship, which are among the most important divine purposes of creation. Allah says: "He has produced you from the earth and settled you in it" (Hud: 61).

The concept of work in the Qur'anic vision encompasses the simplest forms of activity, from using the mind to employing hands and senses. This model laid the foundation for a civilization where work continues until the last moment, not only in an individual's life but in the life of the entire universe. This was encapsulated by Malik in his definition of work: learning three letters of the alphabet is work, teaching these letters is work, removing harm from the road is work, planting a tree is work, and utilizing our free time to help others is work, and so on. Directing work means harmonizing all these efforts to change the human condition and create a new environment ⁽¹⁾.

Directing work during the formative stage of society means aligning collective efforts in one direction, including the efforts of the questioner and the shepherd, the craftsman, the merchant, the student, the scholar, the woman, the intellectual, and the farmer, so that each of them places a new brick in the building every day ⁽²⁾.

Economic activity undertaken by a Muslim falls within the scope of worship in its essential sense, provided it meets two conditions: first, that the activity achieves the purposes of Sharia in creation and development, and second, that it is done sincerely for Allah's sake, followed by the necessary condition of ihsan (excellence) in the work, whether mental or physical.

The principle of faith in the Qur'anic model links belief with work. There is no faith without work, and work without faith is like a mirage in a desert. The combination of work and faith realizes the practical methodology of Islamic thought, imbuing the Muslim character with positivity. There is no monasticism in Islam, no withdrawal from reality or society, but participation, initiative, and daring to achieve development.

In this context, the Qur'anic model establishes several principles to connect humans with their reality and various social and humanitarian activities. These principles lie between human capacity and nature's adaptability through the Qur'anic principle of subjugation. Both the soul and nature are prepared for work and development. The monotheistic methodology encourages humans to work at all times until the end of the universe. If this end comes and a person can perform a simple act like planting a sapling, they should do it.

This appreciation for the nature of work and its sanctification is aimed at elevating human skills, developing life, and fulfilling one's role. Therefore, scholars have linked faith to two aspects: verbal acknowledgment and heartfelt belief, and the aspect of work or physical and bodily affirmation.

Moreover, the value of good or beneficial work, central to the Qur'anic guidance, is not limited to benefiting the community of believers who receive these works or enjoy their benefits. Instead, it is offered to all people in fulfillment of the goodness that the Ummah brought forth for mankind. Therefore, the welfare envisioned in the Qur'anic social system is not exclusive to the Muslim community, as the capitalist system does for capitalists and their social circles, creating two conflicting classes (the rich and the poor). Instead, the standard of sufficiency and self-sufficiency is the foundation of the Qur'anic economic view of society.

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