Philanthropy in Islamic Civilization

It is not possible for a person discussing our immortal civilization and its impressions, to lose sight of one such peculiarity of our civilization in which it stands out among civilizations. This peculiarity is the love of man. Our civilization ridding mankind of hatred, malice, dissention has taught it the lesson of love, generosity, co-operation and equality. In keeping with the Islamic law and the Islamic social principles, no question of superiority on the basis of race, class, or nationality arises. This principle is conspicuously at work in the bases of our civilization and its finer details.

Where the Islamic principles and elements are concerned it has declared that all men have been born from a single pair, Adam and Eve: {O mankind! reverence your Guardian- Lord, Who created you from a single Person, created, of like nature, His make, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women}

So humanity comes from the same origin. And it was from this common origin that people got divided into tribes, countries and classes. Their example is that of different brothers and sisters born out of the same parents. Such being the fact, the variations of classes and nations should only be a means of mutual recognition in good deeds. The Qur'an says:  {O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that ye may despise each other}

After that some individuals advance in life and others lag behind. Some become prosperous and others indigent. An individual becomes the ruler and a nation becomes subjugated. Some are white skinned and others get tanned or even become black.
And now all this is in accordance with the natural laws and the unchanging system of life. But certainly it does not mean that these discrepancies and this uneven-ness should be allowed to become the cause of distinc-tions and dissentions. The prosperous have no superiority over the indigent, the ruler over the ruled and the white skinned over the black. At the basic level of humanity they are all alike. Superiority, if any, lies in Taqwa or the fear of God: { The most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you.}

They are all equal in the sight of law and the law equally holds sway over and is superior to them all.
Distinction shall be made on the basis of truth and just-ice only. The Qur'an says: { Then shall any one who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! and any one who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.}

In the collective form all have an equal position. The powerful of them supports the weak. And in this way the entire society serves every individual. A tradi-tion of the holy Prophet, says: "The example of the Muslims in the matter of mutual love and affection is that of a body. When one of its organs is affected with disease, all other organs suffer from fever and sleeplessness in sympathy." (Muslim and Ahmad)

Thus, Islam has been constantly proclaiming that humanity is a unity, and all its individuals are the off-spring of the same parents. Human society is like a tree that when the wind blows all its branches at all levels, high and low without distinction move to and tinction move to and fro. From this it can be easily understood that the Qur'an addressing mankind as "O ye men" or "O ye children of Adam", is for the reason that it wants to create and impress the concept of the unity of mankind. Similarly, the followers of Islam have been addressed as, "O ye who believe" and "O ye believers", and no racial or class ditinctions were allowed.