ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Sources of Rights WELFARE OF INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY: Man has a variety of needs and requirements and the total fulfillment of all of them is not possible in this materialistic world which is the house of contradictions and hindrances. Many a times there is the need to sacrifice some of these for the sake of others. This is the stage when the question of selection comes to surface.

Wisdom demands that the lower and the lesser requirement is sacrificed for the sake of higher one. However, all the human beings do not follow this principle. It may be due to feeble realization and identification or it may be due to being used to or attached with some of the enjoyments that the people prefer their lower and lesser requirements. It is in case of such people that it is said that they act against their interests.

Therefore, a prudent action is one which fulfils the more important requirements and achieves higher perfection. In reasoning. This is also true in regard to the clash between individual and group interests. That is to say that social life demands that certain individual interests be sacrificed for the sake of the society. Every individual should give away some of his individual benefits and desires in order to fulfill the interest of the society.

Clash between the interest of an individual and the society takes place in two ways. Firstly the sacrificing of an individual interest for the sake of society takes place such a manner that it fulfils the requirements of all the individuals of the society including this person who has given up his interest and that this person is granted another interest of the same value or greater that that. In this case his wisdom would call for such a sacrifice.

In other words his own interest demands such a generosity. The other case is that giving up of individual interest may not result in the achievement of equal or greater interest of the individual. That is to say such a generosity may provide him with no benefit or even if any benefit accrues to him it is lesser than the interest he has sacrificed. Can one say in such a situation that it would be wise of him to overlook his interest so as to enable others to achieve their own?

The fact it that a positive reply cannot be given to this question on the basis of materialistic outlook. It’s this outlook which explains the logic of profiteering.