| |
| Join Our Newsletter |
 Please Select sub-criteria |  |
|
|
|
|
| |
| Counting the Cost for Pensioners |
04 |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
In Islam, care for the relatives and especially the parents has been strongly emphasised. In the Qur’an, the rights of parents are frequently mentioned along with Allah’s Right to be worshipped. This is an indication that the importance of sustaining and caring for parents is such that it is almost at the same level as worshipping Allah.
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them ‘Uff’ (a word of disrespect), nor shout at them, but address them in terms of honour. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young.’”
One of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) narrated in a hadeeth (an authenticated narration of what the Prophet said, did or consented to) that he said: “‘May he be disgraced! May he be disgraced! May he be disgraced.’ It was said, ‘Who, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘The person whose parents, one or both of them, reach old age during his lifetime but he does not enter Paradise (by rendering the services due to them).’”
Thus the prime responsibility for care of the elderly falls on their offspring and other relatives. The motivating factor for undertaking this duty is that Islam has accorded its fulfilment a spiritual significance in the same manner as prayer and fasting.
The legal responsibility for care and provision usually rests with the individual, i.e. first of all they should make effort to secure their own livelihood. In circumstances where they are not capable of undertaking this, then their immediate family bear this duty and then relatives further on. This is exemplified by the hadeeth in which he stated:
“If any one of you is poor let him start with himself (i.e. provision) and if any one of you has surplus (wealth) let him spend on his family, and if any of you has further surplus let him spend it on his relatives.”
From this narration and others like it, it is understood by Islamic scholars that there is a clear order of priority in terms of the financial obligation to provide care and maintenance, the individual is responsible first of all for himself, then his immediate family, and then further on to other relatives.
The relatives who should bear this burden of provision have been outlined in the Qur’an, the Book of Allah, where it is stated:
“…But the father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother’s food and clothing on a reasonable basis. No person shall have a burden placed on him greater than he can bear. No mother shall be treated unfairly on account of her child, nor a father on account of his child. And on the (father's) heir is incumbent the like of that (which was incumbent on the father).” The ruling outlined in the verse of the Qur’an outlines some of the issues related to the maintenance of the wife and child by the father after divorce. However, the point at issue here is that when the father is incapable or not present to provide the necessary financial support, the duty is transferred to his inheritors (the rules of inheritance are also outlined and fixed in the Qur’an). The list of potential inheritors are thus understood to bear a linked financial responsibility to the person they inherit from, so that they must fulfil his financial responsibilities in his place. Also, if the people from whom one is in a position to inherit, such as the parent, cannot care for themselves, the inheritor must undertake this for them. From these and other evidences, Islam has laid out a financial network of support that is based primarily upon the family, and within that structure, whichever relatives are capable must undertake the burden without recourse to the state.
If relatives are unwilling to fulfil this duty then they must be compelled to undertake it by the state. As is the situation when a husband is compelled to pay alimony following divorce, or indeed, the way that the state appropriates the wealth of people to fund the benefit system. By similar means, the state ensures that families fulfil their particular responsibility. The elderly will have the right to extract their maintenance from unwilling relatives via the courts, if those responsible for them refuse to fulfil their duties. If necessary, in some cases of persistent neglect, the necessary funds can be taken from the relative’s salary on a regular basis, as happens currently with national insurance and income tax.
Inevitably, this cannot always happen, as relatives may be able to evade their responsibility by fraudulent means. Also, there may be no surviving relatives to provide support, or those present may be in need of support as well.
In any of these situations, the state must step in to provide care for those in need. However, the manner in which it raises the necessary funds must be undertaken from appropriate sources. As stated before, from the Islamic perspective, when it comes to the issue of care for the needy, the state is not considered an independent actor from the populace; it is rather considered a proxy, executing the general duties of society on behalf of the people.
| |
| |
| |
| |
« First < 2 3 4 5 >
Page 4 of 5 pages
| |
|
|
