It is a fact that most citizens all over the large Muslim world suffer from the problem of price rise. In fact, it is a crisis that spared no Muslim country and had a negative impact on everyone. Actually, intellectuals and analytics as well as officials dwelled on the logical reasons behind and suggested solutions for price rise.

Moreover, government officials frequently assert that the problem of price rise is a universal, rather than local, one and that tremendous changes that befell great world economies led to the disaster.  Undoubtedly, this is one factor causing the problem, bearing in mind that capitalist countries, such as USA and western European countries, make huge gains out of price rise. Astonishingly, such countries may throw away thousands of tons of wheat and other food crops into the sea in order to keep their prices high.

In my opinion, I admit that this is one reason but, at the same time, it is the least in importance among all reasons. This is because countries of powerful economies, high level of productivity and real development will withstand changes here and there. An evidence of this is the fact that, in spite of price rise, Western countries do not suffer in view of their powerful economies and availability of the minimum standard of living for most citizens.

Accordingly, government officials should search for other reasons behind the catastrophic problem.

An important reason behind price rise, in my viewpoint, is the fact that Muslim world capacities are stolen. Unfortunately, they are stolen by neither Western occupation nor global capitalism but mainly by officials charged with safeguarding them against theft and plunder. In this regard, the Egyptian proverb goes, "Its protectors are its thieves." Sometimes, theft and plunder are committed in the name of law without any trace of punishable infringe. A prominent example is the exaggerated salaries of many officials.

It is widely acknowledged in all "respectable" world institutions that the ratio of CEO pay to the lowest employee salary should be 15-to-1. No doubt, the higher this ratio goes up, the more caste is reinforced in society and consequently the more prone to instability it will be. Taking the Muslim world into consideration, the ratio of CEO pay to the lowest employee salary is 1000-to-1! Saying so, I am not exaggerating; rather, I am only stating the bitter truth the Muslim Ummah lives. In fact, many government officials in the Muslim world receive a monthly salary perhaps of more than 50.000$ (without exaggeration), a salary which exceeds the salaries received by officials in the greatest world countries!

We need not mention here allowances officials receive such as cars, travels, state-sponsored medical treatment, parties, entertainment, gifts, and awards and so on. In brief, it is beyond the scope of this article to make a thorough presentation of examples of plundering in the name of law.

This is in addition to acts of plunder as considered infringement to the law.

Let us now differentiate between steal and plunder.

As for plunder, it stands for taking over properties of others in broad daylight and in public. An example of this is the tax imposed on microbus, transport vehicle and taxi drivers. Other examples are taxes imposed on obtaining a building, upper floor or electricity licenses as well as bribes for getting acceptance in military faculties, for employment in senior offices, for running elections and the like.

As thus, plunder is such a heinous act as warned against by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Hadith that reads, {The fornicator who fornicates is not a believer so long as he commits it and no thief who steals is a believer as long as he commits theft, and no drunkard who drinks wine is a believer as long as he drinks it. No plunderer who plunders a valuable thing that attracts the attention of people is a believer so long as he commits this act.[1]} The last part of the Hadith refers to a person who plunders a certain property in public while people cannot stop him being afraid of his tyranny.

As for steal, it denotes taking over public properties and capacities behind the scenes. Examples of steal can be found in embezzlement practices, bribery and rigging the budgets of large enterprises. In this regard, we read daily on newspapers in Muslim countries about an official who fled the country having stolen public money.

No doubt, this rampant corruption widespread in most Muslim countries can swallow any increase in production and miss any opportunity for any way out of the crisis.

However, there has to be a halt for pondering!

Why the Muslim Ummah is afflicted with such systematic corruption? Actually, it is so rampant to the effect that some officials said we should stop speaking about administration corruption and should start to speak about "administrating" corruption, which inspires the notion that corruption became an unavoidable actual fact and that we should work out a way to administer and legalize it.

Obviously, the Muslim Ummah committed a great mistake that led to the occurrence of such systematic corruption. Ultimately, it is a frequently and constantly committed mistake that gave corruption a frequent and constant occurrence too.

In my opinion, the grave mistake is that we turned away from the religion.

First of all and before indulging in any analysis, I would like to tell my dear readers that I am not a dervish who suggest only making a Dhikr (remembrance) circle or offering a two-Rak'ah Qiyam (supererogatory night prayer) as the only way out of our crisis. I know that this runs counter to the Divine law of change, which necessitates, in addition to the great acts of Dhikr and prayer, hard work.

Islam is a comprehensive integrated religion, which we have to accept as a whole and not to be selective accepting certain aspects and not others. Only then Islam can represent a way out of all our crises.

Islam enjoins us to perfect our deeds and to excel in all fields. In this regard, we will be astonished by censuses telling us that Muslims work no more than half an hour per day taking into account vacations, exceptions, time-wasting activities, excessive manpower, disguised and undisguised unemployment and the farce of time attendance.

Islam also enjoins us to pay the Zakah (obligatory charity). In this regard, the actual fact tells us that it is neither collected nor given due importance. As a matter of fact, this leads to unlimited losses, not only on the economic level but also on both social and security levels. To clarify, this leads to sowing the seeds of discord between the rich and the poor. Wonderfully, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said about the problem of price rise, {Allah imposed on rich Muslims an amount of their money as may be enough subsistence for the poor. Surely, the poor will not suffer unless they starve and are undressed because the rich do not give them. Indeed, Allah will call them to a severe account and will punish them with a horrible torment (in Hell, in the Hereafter).[2]}

Moreover, Islam prohibits Riba (usurious transactions) as it increases the wealth of those wealthy, increases the need of those in poverty and represents a grave injustice to the needy. In this regard, Riba is so definitely prohibited to the extent that it is considered by Allah a war against Allah and His Messenger. Allah the Almighty said, {O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah and give up what remains (due to you) from Riba (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger…} [Al-Baqarah, 278, 279]

Furthermore, Islam enjoins equality of all before law, i.e. no discrimination on the basis of financial ability, authority or religion. Actually, this is the right position that has to be followed; otherwise, we should expect shame and ruin. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, {The people before you were destroyed because they used to inflict the legal punishments on the poor and forgive the rich. By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! If Fatimah (daughter of the Prophet) stole, I would cut off her hand.[3]}

In this regard, we can notice astounding discrepancy in the judiciary decisions all around the Muslim world. How a great paradox that those who seek reform were sentenced to imprisonment on the same day a tycoon charged with distributing contaminated blood bags was declared innocent.

In fact, it is beyond the scope of a single article to enumerate all examples indicating that we turned away from the religion. Moreover, Allah will never set right the affairs of a nation who revolts only for breed and do not turn a hair for non-enforcement of Allah's law.

Obviously, Allah draws a clear conjunction between His affluence and price fall on the one hand and showing obedience to Him and following His commandments on the other. To this effect Allah said, {And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa (piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the Messengers). So We took them (with punishment) for what they used to earn (polytheism and crimes, etc.).} [Al-A'raf, 96]

By the same token, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, {O, Muhajirin! (Immigrants to Medina) there are five calamities, that if you are tried with them, and I seek Allah's Refuge lest they should befall you. These calamities are: When obscenity and sin spread among people, Allah will punish them through plague and unknown of diseases that never appeared in the time of their forefathers who passed away. When they refuse to pay Zakah, they will be denied water from the sky and they will have rain only for the sake of their animals. When they break the Covenant of Allah and His Prophet, Allah will give power to their enemies over them and let them take some of their property and fortune. When their rulers do not adhere to Allah's Book and attempt to preach and choose of His Laws, Allah will make their rivalries great among themselves.[4]}

Because of such degrading status of faith we live, it is not strange then that prices rise. Actually, we will refer to such many reasons as tyranny, widespread of corruption among officials, foreign occupation, greedy capitalism, earthquakes, locust attacks and many other forms of Divine wrath.

Nevertheless, the main reason behind the crisis will be that we turned away from our Creator and Sustainer. Hence, the only solution is unconditionally turning in repentance to Him. By doing so, not only our worldly life will be set right but also our afterlife.

I ask Allah to glorify Islam and Muslims.

Dr. Ragheb ElSergany

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