Press Release
A New Astronomical Figure for the Rotting Capitalism:
1.2 Billion Poor People in the World!
(Translated)

One of the great blessings of Allah upon humanity is that He sent Muhammad (saw) to them with the message of the great Islam, a message of guidance, mercy, and light. It was a mercy for the poor and the rich, and justice for the weak and the strong, in confirmation of His saying, the Exalted: [الر كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ] “Alif, Lam, Ra. A Book which We have revealed to you so that you may bring mankind out of darkness into light, by the permission of their Lord, to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.” [TMQ Ibrahim:1]. All of humanity experienced this when Islam was implemented in life for nearly 13 centuries, until its state was demolished at the beginning of the last century and Islam was removed from governance. Communism and capitalism then prevailed for a period of time, after which capitalism became the sole dominant system over humanity, exhausting it and making it taste the misery of living and the hardship of life.

Yesterday, the Global Poverty Index recorded the number of poor people in the world reaching 1.2 billion, according to what was announced by the United Nations Development Programme on Monday. That is more than one-eighth of the world's population, which amounts to 8 billion people. This is despite the fact that the current official international poverty line adopted by the World Bank and the United Nations is set at only three dollars per person per day. The UN agency and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) research centre recorded, in the 2026 edition of their annual report, an increase of 51.5 million people suffering from extreme poverty compared with the previous year. According to the two organisations, this increase is the first of its kind to be recorded in 16 years.

That is, despite the growth of global production and the expansion of international economies, this has not translated into goodness for peoples, particularly the poor and the vulnerable. All the advanced technology and accelerating economic progress have brought them no benefit. They have been unable to fill their stomachs or provide them with the most basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, and security!

Therefore, Alexander De Croo, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, found no alternative but to say in a statement: “The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world.” He added, “Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity. This is unacceptable.”

All of humanity has suffered from the fire of capitalism, in which there is no place for the poor and the weak. Rather, it is capitalism that produces them and increases their numbers through its poor distribution and corrupt theories, in addition to the corruption of rulers. The economic problem, as Islam sees it, lies in distribution, not production, which capitalism has focused on and excelled in, while leaving distribution to mechanisms and theories that it considered beneficial, although they are not, such as the price mechanism. Reality and the statistics mentioned above bear witness to this.

Capitalism, of which the West boasts, is the very system that has accumulated billions in the hands of financial giants and major capitalists at the expense of the rest of the people and peoples. This is in contrast to Islam, whose laws have been keen to disperse wealth and prevent it from remaining in the hands of a small group of people. Allah (swt) says:

[مَّا أَفَاء اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاء مِنكُمْ]

“Whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns belongs to Allah, the Messenger, close relatives, orphans, the needy, and the stranded traveller, so that it may not merely circulate among the rich among you.” [TMQ Al-Hashr:7]. Islam also prohibited hoarding wealth and withholding it from the market, so that others besides the wealthy may benefit from it. Allah (swt) says:

[وَالَّذِينَ يَكْنِزُونَ الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ وَلاَ يُنفِقُونَهَا فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ]

“And those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, give them the tidings of a painful punishment.” [TMQ At-Tawbah: 34]. Islam also obligated the state to provide for the needs of the poor and the weak and to take care of them. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

«أَنَا أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ، فَمَنْ تُوُفِّيَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَتَرَكَ دَيْناً فَعَلَيَّ قَضَاؤُهُ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ مَالاً فَلِوَرَثَتِهِ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ كَلّاً فَإِلَيْنَا»

“I have more right over the believers than they have over themselves. Whoever among the believers dies leaving a debt, its repayment is my responsibility. Whoever leaves wealth, it belongs to his heirs. And whoever leaves a dependent person, then that person is our responsibility.” And there are many other rulings and laws that have excelled in establishing the economic system and taking care of people's affairs.

How greatly humanity needs the return of the Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate) State, to bring it out of the misery of capitalism and the corruption of ruling systems, and to restore to it the mercy and goodness of the great Islam! Allah (swt) says: [وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ] “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.” [TMQ Al-Anbiya:107].

The Central Media Office
of Hizb ut Tahrir