In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Islam agrees neither with capitalism nor with communism
Today we are caught up with two main trends: The moment one makes any mention of the rights of the oppressed and the downtrodden and speaks against the palace-dwellers and the usurpers of the rights of the oppressed, he is suspected of" communism"! The other trend is that when any opposition is raised against the arbitrary distribution of lands or the confiscation of private lands, you are accused of harboring" capitalistic" ideas! Notwithstanding the fact that Islam agrees neither with capitalism nor with communism! Islam follows a path and principles that are quite different from both these trends. I am sorry to find that there are people from among the first group that sometimes even resort to certain Prophetic sayings[ ahadith ]in order to validate their own claims. For instance, they quote from Imam `Ali's (`a) letter to Malik al-Ashtar in which he says:" Look after the revenue (kharaj or land tax) affairs in such a way that those engaged in it remain prosperous because in their prosperity lies the prosperity of all others". «1» First of all, these words of the Imam (`a) constitute an administrative decree which cannot be considered as the basis for a verdict. Secondly, it is in relation to zakat matters whereas the Islamic government is run through the collection of khums. The Imam (`a) issued such a decree either because of certain special conditions prevalent in that region or he did so because he was certain about the truthfulness and the trustworthiness of the people of that particular region. However, we also have a Prophetic saying upon which it is permissible to pass a verdict and act in accordance with that which says:" The poor have a share in the property of the rich". «2» If the property of the nation is a joint property, then the poor have a share in the property of the rich. A person who has not paid the financial dues of his property has to pay a share of the property that is in his custody in the form of joint property which has been increasing at a compound rate so much so that even if he pays his entire property he is still indebted!
The oppression of the land overlords and feudalists toward the poor
As regards the revival of the barren lands, there are certain conditions applicable to it. I am well aware of the tyranny and oppression that the land overlords and the feudalists committed toward the poor people and how they forced and pressurized the poor farmers to work for them. Under such conditions even if a barren land is made cultivable, an oppressive person who has forced farmers to work for him does not become the owner of the land. This is how they have collected their property and become the owners of tens and hundred of hectares of lands and even more. I do not say that if a person has two houses and lives in one and has rented out the other one to live on its rent he should be forced to give up his second house. I also do not believe that if a person has revived a piece of land through his efforts and hard work and lives on its income, his land should be confiscated. However, you should see how these huge properties have been amassed. I doubt if even one of these rich people has paid his religious dues. In some cases, even if all their property is confiscated they will still remain indebted in their religious dues.
While I was in Paris, a group of capitalists who had sensed the coming of the end of the previous regime and intended to be able to continue with their present life style even after the Revolution came to me and offered to pay their religious dues. I immediately understood their motives and told them to go and rectify the very basis of their businesses and that I would not accept any money from them. Even now there are some people who approach a certain person and pay him a small amount of say a hundred thousand tumans in the name of religious dues and procure a certificate of having paid all their dues, whereas in reality their actual dues could amount to say 50 million tumans and all they want is to protect all the property that they have collected (illegally).
Laws should be formulated to protect the rights of the poor
You should implement the divine laws. Your responsibility is to formulate such laws through which the rights of the poor and the oppressed can be restored. Unfortunately, however, although there are some suitable laws existing, they are not being implemented because our officials lack the necessary expertise. If the executive officers are trustworthy and skilled then no one would raise any objections. This is an important issue that needs to be
taken care of. I pray to God Almighty to grant you success in implementing the laws of Islam.
May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.