al-Shuyu'iyya fi al-Mizan
- Author died
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- Editions
- al-Jāmi‘ah al-Islāmīyah bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
al-Shuyuʿiyya fi al-Mizan (Communism in the Balance) is an ideological critique and treatise authored by Muhammad Ali Abd al-Sami, a scholar affiliated with the Faculty of Daʿwah and Usul al-Din, examining and refuting the core theological and socioeconomic tenets of Marxist communism from an Islamic perspective.
Historical Background and Theoretical Foundations
Abd al-Sami begins by asserting that human beings are innately predisposed to religious belief and to acknowledging a supreme creator, an inclination preserved throughout history despite recurrent deviations. Tracing the historical circumstances surrounding the rise of communism in Russia, he notes that corruption and tyrannical rule under the Czars, coupled with the moral decay of religious figures who allied with the ruling class, fostered public resentment. Exploiting this widespread discontent, Karl Marx and his followers rallied the populace against the monarchy and simultaneously proclaimed religion to be an illusion, violently suppressing the clergy and instituting a materialist regime.
According to the author, the creedal foundation of communism rests primarily upon two premises:
- Denying the existence of God.
- Claiming that the universe originated either through pure chance (al-ṣudfah) or through spontaneous material interaction (al-tafāʿul).
Critique of Marxist Materialism
The work refutes the Marxist premise that existence is restricted solely to what can be perceived empirically by the physical senses. Marx and Vladimir Lenin inferred the non-existence of God from His imperceptibility to human sight in this world, thereby subjecting the divine to the rules of physical matter. Abd al-Sami counters this argument by citing unseen realities whose existence no rational person disputes, such as the human soul (al-rūḥ) and the intellect (al-ʿaql). Since both exist without being physically seen, the inability to see God does not negate His existence, as affirmed by the Quranic verse: لا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ ("Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted" [6:103]).
Abd al-Sami also addresses the materialist claims regarding cosmic origins. He argues that blind chance cannot produce the intricate order and deliberate design evident throughout creation. Furthermore, explaining the universe through material interaction necessitates an external, all-knowing designer who established the laws of interaction and differentiated the elements; otherwise, uniform chemical interactions would yield identical, undifferentiated results rather than the vast diversity observed in nature. The author concludes this theological refutation with an extended didactic poem reflecting on the signs of divine craftsmanship across creation.
Socioeconomic Comparison with Islam
In evaluating the social and economic dimensions, Abd al-Sami warns against adopting socialist or communist doctrines within Muslim societies. He contrasts the repressive nature of the communist system—which suppresses natural individual ownership under the guise of state nationalization, fosters class antagonism, and relies on surveillance and coercion—with the balanced framework of Islam.
He explains that Islam avoids both the unrestricted exploitation of pure capitalism and the total dispossession of communism. It protects lawful private property, encourages industrious work, and prohibits usury, while institutionalizing social solidarity through zakat, charitable spending, and mutual welfare. The treatise concludes by emphasizing that while communism degrades humanity into mere cogs within a material machine, Islam nurtures both the spiritual and material dimensions of human life.
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