Food Security and Islamic Ethics: Human Rights, State Policies and Vulnerable Groups

The question of sustainable food security has become one of the pressing challenges in our modern time, given the rising number of people hitting the starvation line in 2020 (estimated 265 million) and the steady increase of people suffering undernourishment (over 800 million). It is ironic to have this concern while hailing the flag of human rights and with 20 percent of food produced worldwide being wasted (Food Waste Index Report 2021). Of the most vulnerable groups facing the challenge of food deprivation are migrants and the displaced, be it a cause of migration or an outcome of migration. This issue raises many philosophical, ethical, social and political questions for the world’s leading powers and organizations. Religious traditions have always normatively called upon its adherents to support the poor and the needy, especially those in a state of hunger and starvation. Islam promotes this support in philosophical, moral and legal terms. The philosophy of life in Islam establishes four minimum rights for the living: food, clothing, water and shelter (Qur’an 20: 119-120). Morally, a believing Muslim, according to one Prophetic tradition, is no longer a believer, if he sleeps and his neighbor is hungry. In terms of Islamic legal rulings, rules of zakah and sadaqah have been detailed to leave no room for avoiding the rights of the poor and the needy of basic needs and rights. Providing food is pre-eminently on the top of the list of these rights.