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Human Resource in a Country: IslamicPerspective

[Abstract: Each and every country’s growth anddevelopment mostly depends on its population. If thepopulation is industrious and hardworking then thepopulation is treated as human resource otherwise burdenfor that country. The focus point of this study is thatwhen human treats as resource for a country? In thepresent world the developed countries collect theirnecessary manpower from the developing country becausethey can pay low payment. Dramatic changes in everybusiness sector and increasing global competition havecreated a different situation for every country. In thissituation developing country tries to export skilledmanpower and wants reasonable payment. Now a days eachand every country emphasis on the skilled manpowerexport. The study reveals how much human resource isimportant for the development of a country and theIslamic perspective about the Human Resource.]

1. Introduction:The main topic of Al-Quran is Human Being. Allah (SWT) says in the holy

Quran-‘And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens andwhatever is on the earth – all from Him. Indeed in that are signs for apeople who give thought?’1 Everything in the world has createdfor the man kind but man is created only for Allah.Allah (SWT) says: ‘Do you not see that Allah has subjected to you whatever

1 Surah 45 al-Jathiyah:13.

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is on the earth and the ships which run through the sea by His command? AndHe restrains the sky from falling upon the earth, unless by His permission.Indeed Allah, to the people, is Kind and Merciful.’ 2 So we can say thatman is the most important resource among all otherresources. The modern concept about production factoralso indicates it. According to Ishikawa3 there are 6production factors. Such as Man, Method, Machine,Materials, Measurement, Market. Here we can say that manis more important than all other elements. In managementMan treats as Human Resource. In the present automatedworld no organization can go without Human Resource. Forinstance a hospital may have automated medical instrumentstill it needs doctor to operate and to give thesuggestions for the patient. Generally man treats asskilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. In the presentcompetitive world every sector wants skilled humanresource. So the development and the prosperity of acountry mostly depend on skilled human resource. ‘At thepresent time, Muslim countries have abundant their largenumber of human resource (about 130 crore) and materialwealth. Unfortunately this resource remainsunderdevelopment.’4 So as a muslim we should think aboutour golden history, strength and weakness. ‘The present-day Muslim socio-economic environment is such that it isunable to motivate people to render their best either intheir own interest or in the interest of the society.’5

2 Surah 22 al-hajj: 653 Kaoru Ishikawa (Professor at the Faculty of Engineering at The Universityof Tokyo)4 Dr. Md. Golam Mohiuddin, Islamic Management,(Dhaka,UGC Publication,2007,Page-238)

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2. Objectives of the studyThe paper tries to focus on the relation between theHuman Resource and other resources. The main objectivesof the article are: 1. To provide an overview about the resource.2. To know what types of resource human being it is.3. To focus on reasons for a country’s development.4. To examine the loss and benefit of manpower export.5. To identify when the people treat as human resource in

Islam.6. To provide some suggestions for human resource

development.

3. MethodologyThis study is based on secondary data. The sources ofsecondary data are relevant books, journals and relevantAyats of the Quran and Hadith. All the collected data arerelevant with the topic and presented here on the basisof their significance.

4. FindingsIn this paper the importance of human resource for thedevelopment of a country is discussed alongside theimportance of the other natural resources and Islamicperspective about human resource. When human treats asresource for the country and how skilled manpowerinfluence the growth and development of the country arementioned here. It exposes the Islamic concept about thehuman being and human being has been treated as the5 Chapra, M. O.(1989)Islamic monetary& banking system.Dhaka,Bangladesh :Islamic Islamic Economic Research Bureau.

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Khalifa of Allah (SWT). A skilled educated man must behonest otherwise he or she could not utilize othernatural resources. A corrupted man can hinder the growthand development of the country. So Islam always emphaseson integrity. Allah says ‘Certainly will the believers have succeeded’6

‘and they who guard their private parts’7 ‘But whoever seeks beyond that, thenthose are the transgressors’8

5. Resources and Human Resource

5.1 Definition of resources Actually resource produced benefit or creates utility. Sowe can say that when something creates or producebenefits for the human being then it can be treated as aresource. There are various resources in the world whichare created by the Allah. All types of resources arecreated for the welfare of human being. Such as forest,mine, animal, water etc.

Allah says in the holy Quran-10. It is He who sends down rain from the sky;from it is drink and from it is foliage in which you pasture [animals]. 11. Hecauses to grow for you thereby the crops, olives, palm trees, grapevines, andfrom all the fruits. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who give thought? 12.And He has subjected for you the night and day and the sun and moon, andthe stars are subjected by His command. Indeed in that are signs for a peoplewho reason. 13. And [He has subjected] whatever He multiplied for you on theearth of varying colors. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who remember.14. And it is He who subjected the sea for you to eat from it tender meat and

6 Surah 23 al-Mu’minun:17 Surah 23 al-Mu’minun:58 Surah 23 al-Mu’minun:7

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to extract from it ornaments which you wear. And you see the ships plowingthrough it, and [He subjected it] that you may seek of His bounty; and perhapsyou will be grateful. 15. And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains,lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided, 16.And landmarks. And by the stars they are [also] guided.9

So we can say that everything in the world is created forthe benefit of the mankind.A resource is a source orsupply from which benefit is produced. Typicallyresources are materials, money, services, staff, or otherassets that are transformed to produce benefit and in theprocess may be consumed or made unavailable. Benefits ofresource utilization may include increased wealth,meeting needs or wants, proper functioning of a system,or enhanced well being.

5.2 Types of resource Basically we can classify all types of resources into twocategories. These are -5.2.1 Renewable ResourcesA form of energy that can be produced as quickly as itis. Many of the natural resources people need to surviveare renewable. Renewable resources – such as sunlight,water and air – cannot be used up. However, pollution canmake them harder to use. Plants and animals are alsorenewable resources. Normally living things replacethemselves through reproduction. But such humanactivities as hunting, logging, building and polluting

9 Surah 16 – an-Nahl 10-16

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can cause whole groups of living things to disappearforever.

5.2.2Non-renewable ResourcesAll are the resources except renewable are non-renewable.Non-living things make up another kind of naturalresource. These resources, such as soil, stone, oil andgases, can take thousands or millions of years to form.They are considered non-renewable because people use themfaster than they can form.10

5.2.3 Labor or human resourcesThe type of resource is the human resource that standsover all the resources. Human beings, through the laborthey provide and the organizations they staff, are alsoconsidered to be resources. The term Human resources canalso be defined as the skills, energies, talents,abilities and knowledge that are used for the productionof goods or the rendering of services. Human resource is the set of individuals who make up theworkforce of an organization, business sector, oreconomy. "Human capital" is sometimes used synonymouslywith human resources, although human capital typicallyrefers to a narrower view (i.e., the knowledge theindividuals embody and can contribute to anorganization). Likewise, other terms sometimes usedinclude "manpower", "talent", "labor", or simply"people". 11

10 Encyclopedia Britannica11 Wikipedia

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5.3 What types of resource human being it is?Allah says in the holy Quran-‘We have certainly created man in the best ofstature’ 12 Human resource practices directly related toprofitability and market value of the organization.Research findings- At present human resource treats as ahuman capital. So integrated management of human capitalcan result in 47 % increase in market value. Top 10 oforganization studied experienced 391% return oninvestment from human capital.13 So we can say that humanis that kind of resource that can manage the otherresources. The proper utilization of the resourcesdepends on human being.

Picture shows that a man tries to uplift the world. Thisindicates that only human being can bring the change andmake a happy universe. Allah says in the holy Quran-‘And [also] those who spend of their wealth to beseen by the people and believe not in Allah nor in the Last Day. And he towhom Satan is a companion – then evil is he as a companion.’ 14

If the mankind follows the guideline of Allah and hisprophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) then alltypes of resources can be utilized properly. So it can be

12 Surah 95 – at-Teen:413 Jeffery A Mello,Strategic human resource management.14 Surah 4 – an-Nisa: 38

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said that human resource is the resource within aresource.

Here we see the Top 3 rich countries in the world. Thereare many countries those who have fewer natural resourceslike these countries but they have skilled, industriousand honest manpower. Only for the industrious manpowerJapan gets the high growth rate and makes it a developedcountry. 15

5.3.1 Russia> Total resource value: $75.7 trillion> Oil reserves (value): 60 billion barrels ($7.08 trillion)> Natural gas reserves (value): 1,680 trillion cu. ft. ($19 trillion)> Timber reserves (value): 1.95 billion acres ($28.4 trillion)5.3.2 United States> Total resource value: $45 trillion> Oil reserves (value): not in top 10> Natural gas reserves (value): 272.5 trillion cu. ft. ($3.1 trillion)> Timber reserves (value): 750 million acres ($10.9 trillion)5.3.3 Saudi Arabia> Total resource value: $34.4 trillion> Oil reserves (value): 266.7 billion barrels ($31.5 trillion)> Natural gas reserves (value): 258.5 trillion cu. ft.

15 www.247wallst.com

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($2.9 trillion)> Timber reserves (value): not in top 10

5.3.4 JapanNegligible mineral resources, fish; note: with virtually noenergy natural resources, Japan is the world's largestimporter of coal and liquefied natural gas as well as thesecond largest importer of oil. On the basis of importnow a day Japan is a developed country. But how?

JapanJapan’s Industrial development

Japan is a leading nation in scientific research,particularly technology, machinery and biomedical

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research. Nearly 700,000 researchers share a US$130billion research and development budget, the thirdlargest in the world. Japan is a world leader infundamental scientific research, having produced sixteenNobel laureates in either physics, chemistry or medicine,three Fields medalists, and one Gauss Prize laureate.[121]

Some of Japan's more prominent technologicalcontributions are in the fields of electronics,automobiles, machinery, earthquake engineering,industrial robotics, optics, chemicals, semiconductorsand metals. Japan leads the world in robotics productionand use, possessing more than half (402,200 of 742,500)of the world's industrial robots. From here we can say that only on the basis of humanresource Japan stands in the present situation. So humanis the main stream for every nation. The economyof Japan is the third largest in the world by nominalGDP.[16] [17] the fourth largest by Purchasing PowerParity 18 and is the world's second largest developedeconomy. 19 According to the International Monetary Fund,the country's per capita GDP (PPP) was at $35,855 or the22nd highest in 2012 20Japan is a member of Group ofEight. The Japanese economy is forecasted by

16 "GDP (current US$)". World Bank. Retrieved 15 October 2013.17  "GDP (OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATE)". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 15 October 2013.18  Kyung Lah (February 14, 2011). "Japan: Economy slips to third in world".CNN.com.19  "Country statistical profile: Japan". OECDiLibrary. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.20 . International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 15 October 2013.

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the Quarterly Tankan survey of businesssentiment conducted by the Bank of Japan 21

List of countries by GDP22

Rank Country/Region GDP (Millions of $US)

 World 71,707,302 European Union 16,641,109

1  United States 15,684,7502  China 8,227,0373  Japan 5,963,9694  Germany 3,400,5795  France 2,608,6996  United Kingdom 2,440,5057  Brazil 2,395,9688  Russia 2,021,9609  Italy 2,014,07910  India 1,824,832

5.4 Islamic view of human being Allah says, ‘And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.23.In this regard we can say that mankind is created onlyfor the worship to Allah. In the another Surah Allahsays, ‘We have certainly created man into hardship. 10. And have shownhim the two ways? 24 So it is clear that Allah gives us the

21 Bank of Japan". Retrieved 2013-02-0122 International Monetary Fund report (2012)

23 Surah 51 – adh-Dhariyat: 56.24 Surah 90 – al-Balad: 4

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guideline what we have to do. Allah makes stratificationas it someone can lead the others. Allah says, ‘And it is He whohas made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you aboveothers in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has givenyou. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving andMerciful.25

Production factors and human resources: Basically 6 M means 6 elements that are related with theproduction26. These are Man Machine Materials Money Market MethodHere first stands man who can utilize all other resourcesproperly. Even in the automated world no organization canable to operate its activities without human resource.Any Industry may have automated but still it needsoperator who starts it. (Switching, monitoring). Forexample ATM booth (Automated Teller Machine). Hereanybody can get money with a punch card that is automatedbut at first someone needs to put the money into the ATMbooth. Recruitment, selection, training, promotion,grievances handling Payment of compensation gratuity,termination of services all are done by the humanrelations department. These activities never are

25 Surah 6 – al-An’am: 165.26 Kaoru Ishikawa (Professor at the Faculty of Engineering at The Universityof Tokyo)

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automated. So organization’s success mostly depends onthe human resource. Allah almighty says- ‘Certainly, Allah is ever a careful account taker of allthings.’27 ‘and man can have nothing but what he does (good or bad ) andthat his deeds will be seen.’28

5.5 When human being is treated as resource and burden? Before the Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Arab was abattle field. There are many tribes which were engaged inwar with each other. But when they came under a singlenation (Muslim) they got peace and happiness. When peoplework within a team then all activities can be achievedeasily.

There are some factors that determine when a persontreats as a resource for the country. These factors are:5.5.1 Age Islam teaches the Muslim to honor the old man andemphasize on their contribution in the society. In acountry population can be classified according to theirage. Such as –

27 surah 4- An-Nisa:8628 Surah An-Najm 39-40

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Bangladesh

Here the green color indicates the number of the peoplewho can do any job and red color indicates the number ofdependents on the green. If in a nation the number of thedependent amount greater than the other then thedependents are treated as the burden for the nation. Here

5.5.2 EducationEducation is the backbone of a nation. When the nonMuslims were arrested by the Muslim solders then they gotthe opportunity to be free if they taught the illiterateMuslim.

5.5.3 ExperienceMozlish e sura was formed by the experienced person ofthe society and they gave the instruction about variousmatter. ‘A human being has been termed as the vicegerent,

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and hence deserves as appropriate treatment. Thereprinciples are- 29

1. The principle of Amanah (Trusteeship)2. The principle of dual responsibility.3. The principle of institutional loyalty.4. The principle of public interest.5. The principle of Shura (Consultation).6. The principle of due benefit.7. The principle of efficient use of resources.8. The principle of Al-Adl (Justice and Fairness).9. The principle of fulfilling the contract.

5.6 Skilled and unskilled man powerBangladesh is the 3rd largest manpower exported countrybut the remittance earning rate is lower than othercountries as because Bangladesh exports mainly less-skilled manpower. From the pie chart we see thatprofessional is 3%, skilled is 31%, semi-skilled is 16%and half of the total exported manpower is less-skilled.So here is the difference between the developed anddeveloping country. A developed country exports skilledmanpower to the developing country as professional view.The salary of the professional one is very high than theother worker.30

29 Aziz (1987), Dr. Md. Golam Mohiuddin, Islamic Management,(Dhaka,UGC Publication,2007,Page-239)30 Manpower, Employment & Training, Foreign Exchange Policy Department,Bangladesh Bank, 2012

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3%31%

16%

50%

Category-wise overseas employment2001-2010

ProfessionalSkilled

Islam says those who know and who do not know can’t beequal. Islam encourages to learn knowledge and to becomea skilled for the nation and humanity. Example the firstword of the holy Quran is to read, in the name of Allah.Education system can create skilled and industrious humanresource.

5.7 Foreign remittance earns from the man power export Rich country collects human resources from the developingcountry. Social status of the work, suppose a labor whocomes from lower middle class family don’t work as a daylaborer but when he goes to foreign as a labor. Here isthe difference between developing and developed country.In the developed country work treats as a work so theycan do everything. But Islam gives the equal dignity andhonored to the all types of labor. People may industriousif the leader is good. (Japan, china America and othersdeveloped country)

5.7.1Flow of labor migration in Bangladesh (2003-2012,November)31

Edition Number of Migration2003 2542902004 272958

31 Kalerkantha,January,2013 (special issue)

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2005 2527022006 3815162007 8326092008 8750552009 4752782010 3007022011 568062

2012 (November) 575389

5.7.2 Flow of remittance in Bangladesh (2003-2012, November) 32

Edition Remittance ( B.D inBillion)

2003 3.182004 3.562005 4.252006 5.482007 6.572008 9.012009 10.722010 11.002011 12.17

2012 (November) 12.87

Here is a joke. On scientist of Japan made a thin wireand he sent it to the Chinas scientist. The scientist ofchina thought that it is difficult to make as thin wirelike that but they made a design inside the wire and sentit to the Bangladesh. The scientist of Bangladesh thought

32 Kalerkantha,January,2013 (special issue)

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that they could not make a wire like this but there is noseal or patent that who made it. For this reason theyseal it and write made in Bangladesh and sent it toJapan. This is only a joke nothing more that butBangladesh, here is a lot of opportunities. Butcorruption, nepotism, Bribery, political influence etchamper the growth and development of the country. 5.8 Is a corrupted skilled person is treated as resource?Corruption is the great problem for any country. Becausecorrupted officers or the political leaders make thehindrance in the path of development of a country. Thoughthe people of any country are skilled and educated but ifleaders are corrupted then ultimate target of the countrycannot be achieved. The highly corrupted countries are33

170 Uzbekistan172 Myanmar173 Sudan174 Afghanistan174Korea (North)174 Somalia

By which the corruption is made or which departments arerelated with the corruption. The losses are happened bythese types of corruption. So we can say that a corruptedskilled can not treated as a human resource for acountry. But sometimes an unskilled or illiterate man cando something for the country which is not harmful for the

33 Transparency international report-2012

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nation. On the other hand very clean top 5 countries are-34

1 Denmark1 Finland1 New Zealand4 Sweden5 SingaporeMost dangerous countries in the world: all of the peoplein the world want to live in peace and happiness. Butthere are some countries where people always in fear.Killing, raping abduction etc are the daily activities.So in these countries is human treated as resource? 10. Cape Town, South Africa9. Nairobi, Kenya8. Caracas, Venezuela7. Peshawar, Pakistan6. Sana’a, Yemen5. Abidjan, Ivory Coast4. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico3. Baghdad, Iraq2. Mogadishu, Somalia1. Kabul, Afghanistan

34 Transparency international report-2012

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Developed countries collects the human resource from thedeveloping countries or under developed countries becauseby this way the rich countries meet their demand but paylittle amount. Rich countries use the man power asservant nothing more.

One day an American project manager was visiting Africanforest. Suddenly he noticed that an African was sleepingin the forest under a tree with his axe (basically he wasa wood cutter). The American thought that why the Africanwas sleeping in peak hour then he asked the African “hayman” then the African wake up and asked “why did youdisturb me?”The American asked the African again that“why are you sleeping at peak hour?” The African askedthe American again that “what will be happened if I don’tsleep?” The American answered that “then you can collectthe wood, sell it to the market, earn money, with themoney buy the necessary goods and at last you can live inpeace and happiness.” Then the African said that “I amsleeping with peace and happiness but your process isvery difficult”

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From the story we can say that the definition of peaceand happiness differ from man to man. Here the Americanwas a skilled project manager and the African wasunskilled wood cutter. The skilled American can betreated as resource for the America and the unskilledAfrican can be treated as burden for the country.

6. ConclusionHuman resource is the engine of growth that puts allother resources into action and gets things doneincluding business and economic activities. It istherefore, important to manage the human resources asefficiently as possible in which plays as important role.If human resource is not dealt with in a right andethical manner, the work efforts will be affectedadversely, which will, in turn, affect the overallperformance of the enterprise (overall country)35

Man is an honored creature of Allah. Here we discussabout human resource of a country that means when and howthe population of a country turns into resource? Actuallyhuman capital is the main stream for any country. If thepopulations of a country are skilled, well educated andhonest then the people can be treated as human resourceor human capital. Otherwise the dishonest skilled or welleducated man hampers the growth of a county.

There are many countries which has large amount ofnatural resources but the country cannot get the benefitbecause of the corruption. So we recommend that honest,

35 Dr. Md. Golam Mohiuddin, Islamic Management,(Dhaka,UGC Publication,2007,Page-247)

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industrious, skilled people are the most resource for anycountry because human resource cannot be duplicated likeother resources.

Notes:

1.Statement of the problem

2.Time frame and Budget

3.References/Bibliography