Headlines:
- The Khilafah will Encourage Local Investment rather than Be Dependent on Foreign investment
- Ramadhan Charity Confirms Good in Ummah and Neglect of Rulers
- Political and Military Leadership Scramble to Secure their Tool for Personal Wealth, Democracy
The Khilafah will Encourage Local Investment rather than Be Dependent on Foreign investment
According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) the outflow of profits and dividends from the country has increased to $1.773 billion in the first 10 months of FY18, Dawn reported on 2 June 2018. The inflow of foreign investments is not much higher than the payments being made on them, thus creating a serious problem for the country as it struggles to maintain its foreign exchange reserves. The SBP said the country has received $2.237bn as foreign direct investment (FDI) during July-April FY18 while payments on FDI were $1.521bn, compared to $1.234bn in the same period of last fiscal year. The net outflows during the 10 months of FY18 stood at 16.6 per cent higher than the previous year, indicating that the figure could reach $2bn in the remaining two months.
The capitalist system under the watchful eyes of the colonialist tool, the IMF, dictates concessions to attract foreign investment and funding. Concessions include ownership rights over local resources, waivers in taxation to increase competitiveness, ease of taking profits out of the country and high interest on loans, as is seen in the CPEC conditions. Local businesses and industries are already complaining that they have not been provided concessions which the Chinese companies are enjoying under CPEC, so they cannot compete with them. In fact matters are made more difficult for local investors to operate, forcing them to abandon projects to make way for foreign investors. Over time the Western colonialist hold over economy is growing alongside a new Chinese one.
The Khilafah will encourage local investors with all means at its disposal to strengthen the economy. It will mobilize revenues to ensure that there is state and public ownership of great chunks of the economy that is presently being handed over to foreigners. It will end the heavy, unstable and perilous dependence on foreign funds, franchises and investment. Hizb ut Tahrir in its Introduction to the Constitution, Article 165 adopted that, “Development and investment by foreign funds within the State are forbidden. It is also prohibited to grant franchises to foreigners.” It further stated, “As for the prohibition of development through foreign funds this is because it leads to Haram in agreement with the rule: “The means to something forbidden is also forbidden”, and the strongest possibility is enough to make something prohibited…”
Ramadhan Charity Confirms Good in Ummah and Neglect of Rulers
The magnitude of charitable giving in Pakistan this year is expected to touch a new peak of around Rs173 billion reported the Dawn on 4 June 2018. The estimate was worked out by hiking last year’s charity spending of Rs158bn by 10 per cent and the observers consider it as expected, as quoted by Mr. Nasrullah Abid who is associated with the sector, “In a country like Pakistan where philanthropy is said to be universal, a 10pc increase in the volume of charitable giving in Ramadan at over five per cent GDP growth is completely believable. For Muslims charity is not a choice. Islam ordains Muslim to pay Zakat on the value of accumulated wealth beyond a specified limit at the rate 2.5pc”.
Alhamdulillah, the good in the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is evident and recognized by all. Another study “The state of individual philanthropy in Pakistan,” released in 2016 by the “Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy” revealed that the total estimated magnitude of annual household giving in Pakistan was Rs239.7bn in 2014 a three-fold increase since 1998. Also, the Stanford Social Innovation Review in March 2018 commented on the trend of philanthropy in Pakistan that charitable giving in the country is over one per cent of GDP which keeps Pakistan in the league of far wealthier nations such as United Kingdom (1.3pc) and Canada (1.2pc) and stands about twice at what India spends on giving in terms of percentage. The report indicates that about 98 per cent of people in the country give in one form or another – if not with cash, then with in-kind donations or by volunteering for needy causes. Fueling this culture of generosity is the Islamic emphasis on giving – in the form of Zakat, Sadaqa, and Fitrana – as is clear in the Hadith, «فَرْضُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ زَكَاةَ الْفِطْرِ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ عَلَى النَّاسِ صَاعًا مِنْ تَمْرٍ أَوْ صَاعًا مِنْ شَعِيرٍ عَلَى كُلِّ حُرٍّ أَوْ عَبْدٍ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ» “Ibn Umar reported: RasulAllah ﷺ made it an obligation to pay charity (zakāt al-fiṭr) of a portion of dates or barely at the end of Ramadan upon every freeman and servant, every male and female among the Muslims.” Also the deeply rooted sense of compassion towards Muslims fuels this generosity as RasulAllah ﷺ said, «مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ؛ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى» “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.”
However, it is worth mentioning that almost all of this charity is managed by the Ummah itself. The people distribute it directly to the needy, instead of trusting the state as the financial corruption of the rulers is as clear as the sun in the sky. However, politics in Islam is looking after the affairs of the Ummah. RasulAllah ﷺ said, «الإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَمَسْؤولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ» “The Imam (ruler) is a guardian, and responsible (and will be questioned) for his subjects.” The Muslims must strive for the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood so they will again be ruled by those who care for them. The Khaleefah will utilize charity as well as other resources to eradicate poverty as occurred previously for centuries, such that there were times when there was none deserving in Zakah in regions.
Political and Military Leadership Scramble to Secure their Tool for Personal Wealth, Democracy
On 4 June 2018, the ISPR chief confirmed that the military leadership stood firmly by Democracy. “There is nobody else happier than the army over the completion of parliament and government’s tenure,” Major-General Ghafoor said, adding that, “If the ECP is in a position to hold elections tomorrow, let it be. The army has no role in any of this.” As for the political leadership, Model Town in Lahore, Banigala in Islamabad and Bilawal House in Karachi have become the centres of politics as aspiring candidates of the country’s three major political parties flock to their respective secretariats to secure tickets for the July 25 elections. The central and provincial parliamentary boards and committees of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have been in session for the past many days interviewing applicants for party tickets and trying to settle disputes.
The enthusiasm for Democracy that is seen in the political and military leadership is not seen in the masses, who have resigned to accept the best of the worst. Democracy is a tool for the political and military leadership to secure personal wealth because it is a ruling system that gives man the right to determine good by himself through national assembly and other entities. It means that democracy is trying to put man in God’s place by giving him the right to enact legislations, which consequently erases Allah’s (swt) role as Legislator from societal life. Allah (swt) said, الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلاَمَ دِينًا “This day I perfected you religion for you and completed My favour unto you and have chosen for you Islam the religion.” [Surah al-Maida 5:3]. By establishing the lordship of men over other men, it allows the rulers to manipulate laws to ensure huge personal wealth, whether they are political leaders such as Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, or military leaders such as Musharraf, Kayani and Raheel. It is commonly known that the corrupt in the military and political leadership sell their souls and trade with our security and armed forces in order to serve colonialist interests. In return, the colonialists grant their external support for their ruling, for they do not have the support of those they rule.
Enough of this circus of Democracy and rulers that are the worst of the Muslims! RasulAllah ﷺ, «سَيَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ سَنَوَاتٌ خَدَّاعَاتٌ يُصَدَّقُ فِيهَا الْكَاذِبُ، وَيُكَذَّبُ فِيهَا الصَّادِقُ، وَيُؤْتَمَنُ فِيهَا الْخَائِنُ، وَيُخَوَّنُ فِيهَا الْأَمِينُ، وَيَنْطِقُ فِيهَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ»، قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، وَمَا الرُّوَيْبِضَةُ؟ قَالَ: «الرَّجُلُ التَّافِهُ يَنْطِقُ فِي أَمْرِ الْعَامَّةِ» “People will face years misleading and cheating where the liar will be taken as truthful and truthful will be taken as liar; betrayer and treasonable person will be trusted and the trustworthy will be betrayed and the Ruwaibidha will speak, (the Prophet ﷺ was asked who the Ruwaibidha are, He ﷺ said: The worthless and virtueless who will take charge of peoples’ affairs.” (Narrated by Hakim). It is high time that Muslims rejected settling for the best of the worst and work earnestly for ruling by all that Allah swt has revealed.