The Status of the Support of the Deprived in Social Justice: An Islamic Approach

A wise support of deprived people and the necessity of giving financial support to them by the political governing system and the wealthy is one of the essential principles in the realm of social justice from the Islamic perspective. Though this principle and its wide scope of application is taken by some advocates of liberalism to be inconsistent with human dignity, but from the Islamic perspective and according to certain philosophical foundations which provide support for justice, taking care of the deprived not only is not against human dignity but also is essential to human dignity and centrality of the truth and justice. Having adopted an analytical approach to the issue in question and citing some religious sources, the article seeks to make a critique of the various views in this regard. The article puts the claim that, according to certain philosophical foundations, all human beings are created by God and all the wealth on the earth belong to all human beings as the objects of all-encompassing mercy of God and so worthy of having the opportunity to enjoy the situation in which they can take the voluntary course of human evolution, that the human destiny is a matter of interdependence since all members of a society are, in fact, the organs of one single body and that, according to the QurÞÁnic texts (verses) and the hadiths transmitted from the Infallible Imams, the deprived have a share in public treasury as well as the wealth and possessions of the rich, and it is incumbent upon the ruling power and the rich to give them their rights. Thus, the just ruling power has to pave the way for all citizens to earn their living and for the deprived to demand and gain their own basic rights. This not only is not in contradiction with human dignity but also is an effort to strengthen it.