Social Capital from the Angle of Islam

In Islam, a social capital is not a new concept or paradigm. It is one of centre-teachings of Islam which to maintain a good and peaceful relationship among people in the universe. That is why, one of the primary agenda of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) after the completion of Hijrah mission to Madinatul Munawwarah, was to hold hand between Ansar and Muhajirin, so that they lived as a brother in Islam who taking care and helping to each other.

Before we move on, let’s look at the general view of social capital which is defined as institutions, relationships and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions. It is metaphorically glue that holds them together which later leads to the social bonding of the society.

According to Putnam, Leonardi and Nanetti they defined the social capital as:

“…features of social organizations, such as trust, norms (or reciprocity), and networks (of civil engagement), that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating co-ordinated actions”

While, according to Narayan which was defined as:

“…the rules, norms, obligations, reciprocity and trust embedded in social relations, social structures and society’s institutional arrangements which enable members to achieve their individual and community objectives”

Now we are looking from the angle of economists and financial perspective, the social capital is interpreted along these lines:

“Social capital is best understood as the institutional dimension of transactions, markets and contracts. It determines the ways in which reliable, stable relationship and shared information among actors can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of both collective and individual interests. It is especially relevant to market imperfections where public goods are involved. Trust is defined formally as expectation about the actions of others that have a bearing on one’s own choice of action”

While from the angle of Islam, it is keeping more further by incorporating the essential elements of social capital such as taqwa (God-consciousness), ihsan (righteousness), sincerity (loyalty) to Allah, trust, ta’awun (mutual assistance), tabarru’ (mutual charity), cooperation, brotherhood, justice, commitment, consultation, leadership, unity and patience.

The ground of social capital in Islam can be clearly referred to the saying of ALLAH SWT in the Holy Qur’an as in the below lines:

“Help you one another in righteousness and piety, but help not one another in sin and rancour; fear God: for God is strict in punishment”[1]

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[1] Surah al-Maidah, verse 2