Recall that the main objective of the Islamic political economy is to satisfy the basic needs of each individual and to enable each individual to satisfy his luxury needs. From the Islamic perspective, the basic needs of any human are the same irrespective of the place or the time era the people live in. These needs are directly related to the survival and the well-being of people. Islam recognizes these needs and makes them a right for each and every individual. Essentially, the basic needs of a human are the food and water, clothing, secure housing, and health; some may argue that health is a by-product of the other basic needs (food, clothing, and housing). Beyond these needs, human strive for more comfortable and luxurious life, which is perfectly all right in Islam.

In a reference to the basic needs of individuals, it is reported that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said, “Whoever ends his day, with security at home, splendid health, and enough food, is a person who obtained all that he needs in life.”146 This narration by the Prophet indicates that food, secure shelter, and health constitute the essentials of life which each and every individual must attain. A reference to clothing as a basic need is found in Surah Albaqara (chapter 2, verse 233): “The father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother’s food and clothing on a reasonable basis.” Although the reference is to a family type responsibility, but the context is related to the needs of an individual. Thus Islam makes it a must that each and every individual in the society receives sufficient food, sufficient clothing, secure housing, and health protection. Beyond these basic needs, each individual should have access to the tools and resources which enable him to seek more of the luxurious needs.

The Islamic approach to the complete satisfaction of the basic human needs differs fundamentally from the approach taken by the socialists or capitalists. The socialists focused on the equality of property ownership, rather than the requirement to fulfill the basic needs of the people. The socialists would still consider the objectives of the political economy achieved even when the people in the society fall short of satisfying their basic needs while they enjoy equal ownership of the means of production. In theory, one can expect that this equality of ownership naturally leads to the satisfaction of the basic needs; however, practice proves otherwise. Under the leadership of socialists in the Soviet Union, the public ownership of the means of production did not guarantee the satisfaction of the needs of individuals. The Soviet Union suffered a great deal of poverty and millions of people lacked some of the basics and essentials of life such as food, health care, and shelter. We have to always remember that these needs are needs of specific individuals and it is the right of each to attain these needs. And these needs must be addressed directly; they should not be treated as the by-product of another objective. In the case of socialism, it was assumed that the equality of ownership of the means of production automatically caters for the needs of individuals. The practice of socialism in the Soviet Union and China proved this assumption wrong.