Justice not based on stinginess and envy

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WHEN we contemplate the past and present conditions of our Arab world, we see many lessons that the leaders of several countries did not benefit from. They voluntarily went on to ruin their societies by withholding people’s rights from public money or offering them a small piece of a huge national cake, neglecting their duties, and taking took more than what they deserved, all of which led to the destruction of their systems.

There are lessons in history for ensuring justice among people, and the prosperity of states, as well as about the efforts of rulers and leaders to sabotage them.
The same applies to the last king of the Abbasid state. Out of his love for hoarding money and wealth, he collected concubines, gold and silver in his palace at a time when his army was suffering from hunger and lack of arms. This triggered resentment throughout his country because of his stinginess. When the Mongols attacked him, he said to their leader Hulagu, “Leave this maid and my money to me, and take the kingdom”. However, the latter executed him in the courtyard of the palace.

Abu Abdullah Al-Saghir, the last king of Andalusia, was not better than his counterpart in Baghdad. The young man ousted his father from power for refusing to pay tribute to Ferdinand. Ferdinand had promised to expand Al-Saghir’s trade and reap more wealth, but after a few years he pounced on the greedy king, and expelled him from Granada. The reason for his downfall was mainly his stinginess and greed.

On the other hand, there are leaders who worked on the prosperity of the state, and in two years managed to regain what the state had lost during decades of its strength, security and wealth. It reached the extent that no poor person remained in that sprawling Umayyad state. This is what happened during the era of the fifth Rashidun Caliph – Omar bin Abdulaziz.
One day, his son Abdul-Malik had asked him about the accumulated money in the treasury – “Who is all this for, my father?”

He replied, “This money is for the people. It is for helping them fend for their livelihood. We hold them accountable for it as they hold us accountable too. Hence, they can rally behind us or turn and rebel against us.
My son, the Lord Almighty has guided us to spend without favors, by the Almighty’s saying – “Those who spend their wealth in the cause of Allah and do not follow their charity with reminders of their generosity or hurtful words, they will get their reward from their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve”.
Justice is not based on stinginess”.

The prosperity of states starts from social stability resulting from an active economy that is based on a continuous development movement, and not on further weakening the state by making a limited class control the financial capabilities of the state. This unfortunately is what many Arab countries witnessed during the past eight decades. It had led to revolutions and civil wars that scattered its people.

If “Army’s crawl on their stomachs” was a justification for the invasion in the past centuries, stinginess and deprivation is the best fuel for revolution.
In both cases, the wisdom of a leadership that is capable of reconciling the needs of their people and the future of their countries is necessary.

When officials lack prudence in managing the affairs of the state, do not spend on the development of their societies, and neglect the legitimate make of their people, then the weakness of the state begins, as these are originally their rights. May God have mercy on Omar bin Abdul Aziz who said, “Justice is not based on stinginess”.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

This news has been read 24958 times!

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