The Concept of Public Welfare and Social Security in the Prophetic Era Foundations in the Prophetic Era and Their Early Institutionalization

Abstract

The concept of a welfare state which presupposes the care of the well-being of its citizens is frequently considered a characteristically modern, twentieth-century accomplishment. This paper contends that its original ideals and institutional structures were conceptualized and practiced over fourteen hundred years ago in the city-state of Madīnah. Using qualitative content analysis of original primary sources  the Qurʾān, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, the Sīrah of Ibn Hishām, and the Charter of Madīnah  and drawing on peer-reviewed literature, the paper reveals four pillars of the Prophetic welfare model: (1) a theological–moral imperative that social welfare is a religious obligation; (2) an institutional framework based on the Bayt al-Māl (public treasury); (3) the constitutional principles of the Charter of Madīnah; and (4) comprehensive social-security provisions that cover the poor, orphans, widows, travellers, debtors and captives. The discussion concludes that the Prophetic framework established joint responsibility as a binding civic obligation, guaranteed basic needs, and extended protection to all inhabitants irrespective of their religious affiliation. The paper also addresses the historiographical and critical questions the model poses — the trustworthiness of subsequent administrative accounts, the fiscal role of the conquest revenue, the ongoing existence of slavery as a social system, and the danger of anachronism in comparison with current systems and then derives cautious lessons for contemporary debates on social justice, poverty reduction, and inclusive governance.