Imam Ali’s View about Poverty
In a series of sessions, sociologist and religious researcher Emad Afroogh tries to introduce the thoughts of Imam Ali (AS). In the 11th session, he talks about Imam Ali’s views on poverty. Here is a summary of his remarks:
Following our discussions about social justice and how sensitive Imam Ali (AS) was regarding Bait al-Mal and the importance he attached to paying attention to the deprived and destitute people in society, today I will point out some other parts of Nahj al-Balagha in this regard.
Imam Ali (AS) in Letter 45 of the Nahj al-Balagha, written to Othman ibn Hunayf who was the governor of Basra and had attended a party thrown by one of the city’s wealthy men, says: “O Ibn Hunayf, I have come to know that a young man of Basrah invited you to a feast and you leapt towards it. Foods of different colours were being chosen for you and big bowls were being given to you. I never thought that you would accept the feast of a people who turn out the beggars and invite the rich. Look at the morsels you take, leave out that about which you are in doubt and take that about which you are sure that it has been secured lawfully.”
Imam (AS) elsewhere describes poverty as a big death, which shows the effect of destitution and poverty in society.
In Wisdom 319, Imam (AS) tells his son Mohammad al-Hanafiya, “O my son, I fear lest destitution overtakes you. So, you should seek Allah's protection from it, because destitution is deficiency of religious belief, perplexity of intelligence, and it is conducive to hatred of obstinate people.”
This means we should pay special attention to the destitute in society and strive to tackle destitution. Regarding this, Imam Khomeini (RA) says, “Do not imagine that the world arrogance is against you because of your anti-arrogance culture but it is hostile to you because of policies to eradicate destitution. That is, if you abandon this policy of fighting poverty, the arrogant powers will no longer be your enemy.”
In Wisdom 328 of Nahj al-Balagha, Imam Ali (AS) describes the relation between the wealthy and the poor: “Allah, the Glorified, has fixed the livelihood of the destitute in the wealth of the rich. Consequently, whenever a destitute remains hungry it is because some rich person has denied (him his share). Allah, the Sublime, will question them about it.”
In social life where all people and all groups are related to one another, how can one imagine the rich have acquired their wealth without relations with other parts of the society? Social life is one of mutual interaction in which some gain wealth and some don’t. Clearly, it is a responsibility of the rich to give the share of the destitute. This can be done through such tools as insurance, taxes, and other means.
