188 Preface وَلا تَأكُلوا أَموالَكُم بَينَكُم بِالباطِلِ وَتُدلوا بِها إِلَى الحُكّامِ لِتَأكُلوا فَريقًا مِن أَموالِ النّاسِ بِالإِثمِ وَأَنتُم تَعلَمونَYusuf AliAnd do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that ye may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people’s property1.Besides the three primal physical needs of man, which are apt to make him greedy, there is a fourth greed in society, the greed of wealth and property. The purpose of fasts is not completed until this fourth greed is also restrained. Ordinarily honest men are content if they refrain from robbery, theft, or embezzlement Two more subtle forms of the greed are mentioned here. One is where one uses one’s own property for corrupting others -judges or those in authority- so as to obtain some material gain even under the cover and protection of the law. The words translated “other people’s property” may also mean “public property”. A still more subtle form is where we use our own property or property under our own control - “among yourselves” in the Text -for vain or frivolous uses. Under the Islamic standard this is also greed. Property carries with it its own responsibilities. If we fail to understand or fulfil them, we have not learnt the full lesson of self-denial by fasts.