Q134 :I have been asked to put this question to you:
While Allah has promised to feed each and everyone born in this world,
why do hundreds and thousands of people die of starvation in Africa and
other parts of the world? What about their promised provision?
A134 : Yes, Allah has guaranteed that every living
creature will have his, her or its provisions. He says in the Qur’an:
“Every living thing on earth will have its provisions given by Allah.”
(11;6). But what does this promise mean? Does it mean that what is
assigned to every creature will nete to that creature wherever he is
and whether he works or not? To believe so is to be exceedingly naive.
With the population of the world now exceeding five thousand million,
it will take a planet which is hundreds of times bigger than ours to
provide all these people with their sustenance, let alone what animals
and other creatures will need. Besides, what would be the point to
provide all these creatures with their sustenance if they do not need
to work for it? The least that can be said is that it would transform
human beings to lazy creatures who expect to be fed without making an
effort. The whole purpose of human existence, which is building human
civilization on earth, would be totally negated. But Allah tells us in
the Qur’an, referring to the earth that He “has apportioned in it
provisions (for its living beings).” How can we link the two aspects
together? The Islamic view is that Allah has given the earth the
potential, enough agricultural and animal resources to feed all those
who live on it netfortably. People need to work in order to get what
the earth can give. Everyone realizes this. If we were to leave fertile
lands without proper cultivation, irrigation and general agricultural
attention, we will make of them either barren land or land which
produces wild plants, most of which are inedible. When a farmer takes
good care of his fields, pulling out the weeds, using proper
fertilizers, using good seeds and ensuring adequate irrigation, he gets
a good harvest. He is able to sell his produce to his fellow countrymen
or export it abroad. The same applies to every aspect of agriculture
and animal resources. British fishermen, for example, are renowned for
the way they preserve their fisheries to ensure continuous supply of
fish throughout the year. Other countries which do not follow a similar
pattern, have their fishing resources depleted or at least experience
sharp seasonal fluctuations in their catch of fish. We often hear that
the population explosion will bring an unparalleled disaster for
mankind. Predictions that the earth will not be able to support those
who live on it are heard very often. Such predictions are
short-sighted. They are similar to predictions that were made two
centuries ago, when the population on earth was perhaps one fifth of
what it is today. At that time, people tended to think that the earth
would not be able to support many more human beings. How was it able to
support five times that number? The fact is that man has been able to
tap more resources by using new discoveries, such as electrical power
and innovative methods. I am not suggesting that population increase
should continue unchecked, but I am saying that the earth has far more
untapped resources than what human beings now utilize. For this reason,
man can enjoy a far greater degree of affluence, if only he would care
to tap these resources and put them to proper use. Let us consider the
following two examples. When the population of Egypt was in the region
of 15 million, in the late forties and early fifties, the country’s
agricultural produce was sufficient to feed all its people netfortably.
Now, the same agricultural land has to feed more than treble that
population. Although Egypt has the Nile running the whole length of the
country, it relies for its agriculture on a very narrow valley
extending all the way from its southern borders to Cairo and on the
Nile delta. Yet the Nile waters can be used to reclaim vast desert
areas. Besides, Egypt has a wealth of underground water. There have
been some attempts to reclaim desert land particularly in Sinai which
has now good agricultural produce in certain areas. Moreover, a
fantastic project of drawing Nile water to irrigate Sinai desert land
has already started to pay good dividends. Much more can be done in
this area and Egypt can easily treble or quadruple its agricultural
produce. Until recently, Sudan was considered a country with enormous
agricultural and animal resources. It has abundant water resources in
the Nile and the Blue Nile provides an easy, cheap method of
irrigation. Only recently there were projects which aimed at making
Sudan the breadbasket of the Arab world. Nevertheless, now why Sudan
suffers this miserable state of affairs is not for the lack of
resources, but the mismanagement of these resources. There are many
more examples like this. If we add to such examples causes like
ill-advised policies, based on wrong priorities, dictatorial
governments which allow corruption to spread, wide-scale mismanagement
and the work of these forces which want to preserve the present
situation which concentrates wealth in the hands of the few, you have
an unfailing prescription for continued poverty in potentially rich
countries. If we look at the world situation, we find far too many
situations where potentials are not realized and people continue to
suffer as a result. What we conclude from this is that Allah has given
us the means to feed ourselves properly, but we have not used those
means in the right way to benefit by the potentials. The fault is with
man and not with Allah. Many people ask why does Allah allow people to
perish of starvation in Ethiopia? If we look at the situation in
Ethiopia over the last sixty years, we find that the miserable
dictatorship of the former emperor has been replaced by the Marxist
dictatorship of Mengistu. It is the policies of these governments that
had brought Ethiopia to the point of collapse. It may be asked why
people should be left to suffer if the government is not following
proper policies. The answer is that the people are also responsible for
allowing such a government to continue without trying hard enough to
either cause the government to reform its policies or bring in a
different sort of government. Islam does not only make it an essential
part of man’s role on earth to realize the potentials of the planet on
which man lives, but also to ensure fair distribution of wealth. Its
system which regulates the use of agricultural produce, the break up of
wealth through inheritance, help to the poor through the zakah system,
are just few aspects of the Islamic system which bring about justice
for all and guarantees everyone a decent standard of living when it is
properly implemented. Man, however, must work to implement the Islamic
way of life. Otherwise, injustice will continue and man’s suffering
will be perpetuated. Without hard work man cannot expect to reap any
fruits. We cannot blame Allah for our lack of efforts. He has given us
the means to increase human wealth, but we have to utilize those means.
Unless we do that, the present ills of human society will continue.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )