Rights of the Poor

Rights of the Poor

One of the important credentials of MUSALLEEN / MUTTAQEEN (مصلین، متقین), as given in the Quran, is that in their property or wealth there is a recognised/known right for those who ask for help and those who are deprived or impoverished although they do not ask for any help [51:19, 70:25].

وَفِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ

[Al-Quran Surah 51: Verse 19]

وَالَّذِينَ فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ

[Al-Quran Surah 70: Verse 24-25]

The word maal is used for ‘whatever one possesses’. It may be wealth, property, money, grains, cattle etc.

The word haqq means “a right”, “a due”, “a just claim”, “anything that is owed”, “a duty”, or “an obligation”. It is the singular of the word haqooq.

Quran calls this haqq as haqqun maloomun, which means that it is such a right or obligation that is well-known and well-recognised in a Quranic Society. Everymusalli muttaqi knows about this obligation and every asker and the deprived one knows about this right.

In a Quranic society, it is the recognised right of every deprived one and the one who asks for help that he is helped and it is an obligation of every musalli / muttaqithat he helps.

It must be remembered that what is given to the asker or the deprived ones for their help is not charity but it is their due RIGHT according to Quran.

Quran takes regard of the self-esteem or the self-respect of the deprived ones and it makes incumbent uponmusalleen / muttaqeen to help them not as a charity but as their due RIGHT.

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