Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr fi al-Ahd al-Nabawi (Ahl al-Suffa Anmudhajan)

Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr fi al-Ahd al-Nabawi (Ahl al-Suffa Anmudhajan) (Means of Addressing Poverty in the Prophetic Era: The People of the Suffa as a Model) is an academic study in Islamic economics authored by Majid bin Mishan al-Muqid (Majid ibn Salih ibn Mishan al-Muqid) as a master's thesis submitted to the Department of Islamic Economics at the Islamic University of Madinah during the 1435–1436 AH academic year, under the supervision of Izz al-Din ibn Malik al-Tayyib Muhammad Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…. The book examines the economic mechanisms utilized during the era of the Prophet Muhammad to alleviate poverty, focusing on the institutional and social model of Ahl al-Suffa (the People of the Bench) following the migration (hijrah) to Medina Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1.

Subject and Scope

The study addresses the economic challenges faced by Muslims in Medinan society following the Hijrah, assessing how poverty emerged and how Prophetic governance addressed it Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1. The author frames Ahl al-Suffa as an economic and social safety model designed to manage vulnerability and resource scarcity Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1.

The investigation is defined by temporal and spatial limits focusing on the Prophetic period in Medina, exploring both the historical execution of this model and the potential for applying its principles to modern poverty alleviation, such as in refugee camps and community mosques Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1. Methodologically, the work relies on descriptive, analytical, and inductive approaches (al-manhaj al-wasfi wa-l-tahlili wa-l-istinbati) Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f….

Structure and Contents

The work is organized into an introduction, an introductory conceptual chapter, two primary analytical chapters, a conclusion with recommendations, and four research indices Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1:

• Introductory Chapter: Defines the primary terms of the study and surveys the economic conditions in early Medina. It covers the concept and causes of poverty in Islam, the general economic status of the Medinan community, and broader Prophetic measures for addressing poverty—including fraternal pacts (muʾakhah), obligatory almsgiving (zakat), voluntary charity, encouragement of manual labor, and religious endowments (waqf)—before defining the name, history, location, and residents of the Suffa Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1.
• Chapter One: Analyzes the economic resource base supporting Ahl al-Suffa, categorizing them into:
  • Self-generated resources: Labor and shares in war spoils (ghanaʾim) Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f….
  • Official public resources: Disbursements from the public treasury (bayt al-mal) and statutory zakat Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f….
  • Unofficial resources: Voluntary donations (sadaqat), personal gifts (hibat), and endowments Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f….
• Chapter Two: Evaluates the functional efficiency of the Suffa system across economic, employment, and organizational dimensions (including internal coordination represented by figures such as Abu Hurayra as supervisor), followed by an examination of contemporary applications in modern mosques and refugee shelters Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1.
• Conclusion and Indices: Summarizes key findings and recommendations, concluding with indices for Quranic verses, prophetic traditions and reports, bibliography, and a table of contents Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…+1.

Key Findings and Recommendations

The study concludes that the Suffa functioned as an efficient socioeconomic mechanism that met core objectives of Islamic law (maqasid al-shariʿah) by protecting religion, life, intellect, and property through learning, military readiness, and productive labor Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f…. It highlights that resource scarcity did not impede the realization of community objectives, but rather spurred alternative organizational solutions and optimal resource allocation Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f….

The author recommends further grounding of modern Islamic economics in Prophetic guidance, clarifying the distinction between asceticism or later Sufi institutions and the active, integrated role of Ahl al-Suffa, and exploring practical adaptations of the model in refugee relief centers, central markets, and correctional facilities Wasail Mualajat al-Faqr f….