Poverty alleviation: Islamic perspective

Abstract

The paper examines poverty and its alleviation from Islamic perspective. In doing so, the intention has been to first investigate the dimensions and factors leading to poverty, and to second link this up with the Islamic teachings on poverty and how to contain its menace. Poverty comes in multiple ways and so are its effects on the individual, the community and the country at large. Such effects must be contained so as to improve livelihoods for the greater majority of the people. Islam is a development-oriented religion that urges its adherents to aspire to excellence in all human endeavours not excluding, of course, the spiritual dimension. Poverty, at certain degrees, challenges all development efforts including one's faith. The blue-print that Islam has provided its following regarding poverty and its alleviation mechanism, and how far that has been adhered to in the fight against poverty, particularly in the Islamic countries, constitute the subject-matter of this paper.