Document Type : Review
Author
Faculty Member, Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Kermanshah University of Technology
Abstract
Wealth is one of the most significant shared concerns in both religious thought and economic theory. While economic Social Darwinism interprets wealth as the outcome of competition, individual capability, and a marker of merit—regarding inequality as a natural phenomenon—the Qur’an approaches wealth within a theological, ethical, and social framework. In the Qur’anic perspective, wealth is not a sign of superiority; rather, it is a divine blessing, a field of trial, and a trust accompanied by social responsibility.
Using a conceptual–comparative method and a descriptive–analytical approach, this study examines the Qur’anic understanding of wealth with particular emphasis on the story of Qarun and compares it with the foundational assumptions of economic Social Darwinism. The findings indicate that Social Darwinism links wealth with individual merit and poverty with weakness in competition. In contrast, while the Qur’an acknowledges the role of human effort, it ultimately attributes the source of provision to the divine and evaluates wealth in relation to gratitude, justice, and benevolence. The story of Qarun, as a Qur’anic case study, offers a critique of a self‑grounded understanding of wealth that severs it from God, morality, and society. Accordingly, the Qur’anic perspective provides a more coherent framework for understanding the meaning and legitimate boundaries of wealth.
Keywords
- Wealth in the Qur’an
- Economic Social Darwinism
- The Story of Qarun
- Ethics of Wealth
- Economic Inequality
Main Subjects
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