ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Islamic Piety and the Issue of Wealth The capability of the Islamic worldview regarding wealth creation In parallel with the vision of introducing a wide, deep and progressive worldview and with the mission of constructing a world of prosperity by developing its potential in the best way, Islam provides an effective framework for positive activities. The main elements of this framework can be derived here as principles important for wealth creation.

The balance of Hope and Fear To live by the Islamic principles, a Muslim should weigh his expectations in the balance of hope and fear – hope for God’s mercy due to His Oft-forgiveness, and fear of God’s wrath due to our sins and a lack of value. Any imbalance might reduce an activity’s rate of return. For example, if a person is very hopeful for salvation, she will not feel a strong motivation to work because she feels that she is already guaranteed salvation.

Likewise, if a person loses her hope she will not be able to pursue her goal at all. Hence, Islam is a religion of works and it requires that its followers play an active role in their lives because: “Every soul is a pledge for its own deeds”. In other words, although Islamic piety originates from the bottom of the heart, it should be embodied in the believer’s deeds and behaviors as much as possible; otherwise it has no fruit and will perish gradually.

The Koran quite often states that “Allah is most merciful”; yet a Muslim, due to the Shiat doctrine of predestination, must still be mindful of the seeds planted by his actions. Since work is exalted as the means of pleasing God, the believer must labor zealously with no assurance of salvation.

Hence, God uses good deeds accompanied with faith in many verses in the Koran to show that the faith is only a necessary condition for salvation but it needs good deeds to flourish; so the adherence to both good deeds and a solid belief in God is the exclusive way to salvation. This incertitude of salvation, derived from the balance of hope and fear, provides a strong motivation for Muslims to do their best with regard to themselves and their society.

And since Islam is a comprehensive religion and relates to economic, political, social and cultural aspects of his life, the Muslim can pursue all these activities and feel that his work is pious and in the service of God.