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Islamic economics () refers to the knowledge of economics or economic activities and processes in terms of Islamic principles and teachings. Islam has a set of specific moral norms and values about individual and social economic behavior. Therefore, it has its own economic system, which is based on its philosophical views and is compatible with the Islamic organization of other aspects of human behavior: social and political systems.
Over the years, the term Islamic economics has been applied to various theories, but several recurring principles often emerge. They are based in primary sources such as Qur'an and hadith, but also historical practices in the Rashidun Caliphate . Contemporary Islamic Economics synthesizes these principles into proposals such as backing currency with a metal standard , implementing a land tax , using profit-and-loss-sharing (PLS) financing , promoting a welfare state economy , nationalizing natural resources—including water, energy, and grazing lands , and placing central banks and money issuance under full public control .
Islamic economics is a broad field, related to the more specific subset of Islamic commercial jurisprudence (, Muamalat). It is also an ideology of economics with some similarities to the labour theory of value, which is "labour-based exchange and exchange-based labour"..
Islamic commercial jurisprudence entails the rules of transacting finance or other economic activity in a Shari'a compliant manner, i.e., a manner conforming to Islamic scripture (Quran and sunnah).
Islamic jurisprudence ( fiqh) has traditionally dealt with determining what is required, prohibited, encouraged, discouraged, or just permissible. according to the revealed word of God (Quran) and the religious practices established by Muhammad (sunnah). This applied to issues like property, money, employment, taxes, loans, along with everything else. The social science of economics, on the other hand, works to describe, analyse and understand production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, and, studied how to best achieve policy goals, such as full employment, price stability, economic equity and productivity growth.
Early forms of capitalism are thought to have been developed in the Islamic Golden Age,Maya Shatzmiller (1994), Labor in the Medieval Islamic World, pp. 402–03, Brill Publishers, . starting from the 9th century, and later became dominant in European Muslim territories like Al-Andalus and the Emirate of Sicily. The Islamic economic concepts taken and applied by the gunpowder empires and various Islamic kingdoms and sultanates led to systemic changes in their economy, particularly in the Mughal Empire.
In the mid-20th century, campaigns began promoting the idea of specifically Islamic patterns of economic thought and behavior. By the 1970s, "Islamic economics" was introduced as an academic discipline in a number of institutions of higher learning throughout the Muslim world and in the West. The central features of an Islamic economy are often summarized as (1) the "behavioral norms and moral foundations" derived from the Quran and Sunnah; (2) collection of zakat and other Islamic taxes; and (3) prohibition of interest ( riba) charged on loans.Quran (Al-Baqarah 2:275), (Al-Baqarah 2:276–80), (Al-'Imran 3:130), (Al-Nisa 4:161), (Ar-Rum 30:39)Financial Regulation in Crisis?: The Role of Law and the Failure of Northern Rock By Joanna Gray, Orkun Akseli p. 97
Advocates of Islamic economics generally describe it as neither socialist nor capitalist but as a "third way", an ideal mean with none of the drawbacks of the other two systems. Among the assertions made for an Islamic economic system by Islamic activists and revivalists are that the gap between the rich and the poor will be reduced and prosperity enhanced, International Business Success in a Strange Cultural Environment By Mamarinta P. Mababaya p. 203 by such means as the discouraging of the hoarding of wealth,Al-Bukhari Vol 2 Hadith 514 taxing wealth (through zakat) but not trade, exposing to risk through profit sharing and venture capital,Ibn Majah Vol 3 Hadith 2289International Business Success in a Strange Cultural Environment By Mamarinta P. Mababaya p. 202Islamic Capital Markets: Theory and Practice By Noureddine Krichene p. 119 discouraging of hoarding of food speculation,Abu Daud Hadith 2015Ibn Majah Vold 3 Hadith 2154 The Stability of Islamic Finance: Creating a Resilient Financial Environment By Zamir Iqbal, Abbas Mirakhor, Noureddine Krichenne, Hossein Askari p. 75 and other activities that Islam regards as sinful such as unlawful confiscation of land.Al-Bukhari Vol 3 Hadith 632; Vol 4 Hadith 419Al-Bukhari Vol 3 Hadith 634; Vol 4 Hadith 418 Complementing Islamic economics, Islamic entrepreneurship has gained traction, focusing on Muslim entrepreneurs, ventures, and contextual factors at the intersection of Islamic faith and entrepreneurship.
Another source lists "general rules" include prohibition of Riba, Gharar, and also
These concepts, like others in Islamic law, came from study of the Quran and Hadith.
In addition to Quran and Hadith, sometimes other sources such as al-urf (custom), or al-ijma (consensus of the Ulama) are employed, to create laws that determine whether actions were Haram, Makruh, Mubah, Mustahabb and Fard for Muslims. The different school of fiqh ( madhhab) vary slightly in their rulings.
Works of fiqh are typically divided into different "books" such as a Book of Iman, of Salah, Zakat, Taqwa, Hajj, but not `economics` or `economy`. Some brief works might contain almost nothing related to matters of property, sales, finance Others do not gather questions on economic issues in one heading, the case in Tawzih al-masa'il, a work of fatwa by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who although a pioneer of political Islam approached the subject of economy
Other works divided the subjects of fiqh into four "quarters": typically worship (al-`Ibadat), marriage and family law (al-Munakahat), criminal law (Jinayat), commercial transaction law ( Muamalat). At least one author (M. Kahf) writes that Mu'amalat is "closely related" to Islamic Economics. (However even with the "quarters" division of fiqh topics mu'amalat would not include inheritance or wedding dower ( mahr) (which at least often comes under marriage and family law), or calculation of alms ( zakat, which comes under al-`Ibadat)).
A number of scholars (Olivier Roy, Timur Kuran, Omar Norman) have noted the recentness of reflecting on economic issues in the Islamic world, and the difference between economics the social science based on data, and Islamic jurisprudence based on revealed truth.
Salman Ahmed Shaikh and Monzer Kahf insist on a clear distinction between the roles of Fiqh and Islamic Economics, Shaikh saying
According to economist Muhammad Akram Khan the "main plank" of Islamic economics is the "theory of riba", while "another landmark" is zakat, a tax on wealth and income. According to another contemporary writer Salah El-Sheikh, "Islamic economic principles" (what he calls a "FiqhiConomic model") utilize the Faqīh (Islamic jurisprudence) as supporting material, but are grounded upon the ethical teachings within the Qu'rān. Sharīah's basic tenets involve gharar and (fadl māl bilā 'iwad). Gharar insists all knowledge about a trade or transaction is known before two individuals complete a transaction and (fadl māl bilā 'iwad) warns against unjustified enrichment through trade and business. These tenets were "among the first economic regulations" and their philosophy can be seen today in modern Capitalism. Within Sharīah, El-Sheikh states, Gharar functions as a divine deterrent against asymmetric information and allows trade to prosper. Riba, ensures each transaction is conducted at a fair price, not allowing one party to benefit exceedingly, which shares a parallel philosophy with Karl Marx "Das Kapital": seeking a greater outcome for the community.
Abu Yusuf (d. 798) was author of the book al Kharaj—literally "the return or revenue" but was used by the author to mean "public revenues and taxation"—which was a policy guide to Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid Caliph. Muhammad bin al-Hasan (d.805) wrote al Iktisab fi al Rizq al Mustatab Earned, intended as advice to businessmen "in their endeavors to create income opportunities". Abu 'Ubaid al Qasim bin Sallam (d.839) was the author of al-Amwal (plural of "wealth").
Perhaps the most well-known Islamic scholar who wrote about economical issues was Ibn Khaldun,Sobhi Mahmassani (1932). Les Idées Economiques d'Ibn Khaldoun (The Economic Thought of Ibn Khaldoun), BOSC Frères, M. et L. RIOU, Lyon, is an early treatise on Ibn Khaldun's economic thought. who has been called "the father of modern economics" by I.M. Oweiss.I. M. Oweiss (1988), "Ibn Khaldun, the Father of Economics", Arab Civilization: Challenges and Responses, New York University Press, . Ibn Khaldun wrote on what is now called economic and political theory in the introduction, or Muqaddimah ( Prolegomena), of his History of the World ( Kitab al-Ibar). He discussed what he called asabiyya (social cohesion), which he cited as the cause of the advancement of some civilizations. Ibn Khaldun felt that many social forces are cyclic, although there could be sudden sharp turns that break the pattern.
His ideas about the benefits of the division of labor also relate to asabiyya, the greater the social cohesion, the more complex the successful division may be, the greater the economic growth. He noted that growth and development positively stimulates both supply and demand, and that the forces of supply and demand are what determines the prices of goods. quotes Muqaddimah 2:276–78 He also noted macroeconomic forces of population growth, human capital development, and technological developments effects on development. quotes Muqaddimah 2: 272–73 In fact, Ibn Khaldun thought that population growth was directly a function of wealth.
Medieval Islamic economics appears to have somewhat resembled a form of capitalism, some arguing that it laid the foundations for the development of modern capitalism.
Islamic economics grew naturally from the Islamic revival and political Islam whose adherents considered Islam to be a complete system of life in all its aspects, rather than a spiritual formula and believed that it logically followed that Islam must have an economic system, unique from and superior to non-Islamic economic systems. "Islamic economics" "emerged" in the 1940s according to the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World.
More conservative salafi have shown less interest in socioeconomic issues, asking the question, "the prophet and his companions didn't study 'laws' of economics, look for patterns, strive for understanding of what happens in commerce, production, consumption. Why should we?" Maududi himself also dismissed the need for a "new science of economics, embodied in voluminous books, with high-sounding terminology and large organisation", as the true "economic problem of man"—along with all his social, political and other problems—"can be easily understood" and is simply the failure to follow Islamic law.
Al-Sadr in particular was described as having "almost single-handedly developed the notion of Islamic economics".
In their writings, Sadr and the other authors "sought to depict Islam as a religion committed to social justice, the equitable distribution of wealth, and the cause of the deprived classes," with doctrines "acceptable to Islamic jurists," while refuting existing non-Islamic theories of capitalism and Marxism. Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr and also cleric Mahmoud Taleghani developed an "Islamic economics" emphasizing a major role for the state in matters such as circulation and equitable distribution of wealth, and a reward to participants in the marketplace for being exposed to risk or liability.
This version of Islamic economics, which influenced the Iranian Revolution, called for public ownership of land and of large "industrial enterprises," while private economic activity continued "within reasonable limits." These ideas informed the large public sector and public subsidy policies of the Iranian Revolution.
Sunni cleric Taqiuddin al-Nabhani proposed economic system ( Nidham ul-Iqtisad fil Islam (The Economic System of Islam) by Taqiuddin Nabhani (1953)) combined public ownership of large chunks of the economy (utilities, public transport, health care, energy resources such as oil, and unused farm land), with use of the gold standard and specific instructions for the gold and silver weights of coins, arguing this would "demolish ... American control and the control of the dollar as an international currency."
Likewise, Sunni imam Imran Nazar Hosein preached a similar system to al-Nabhani, advocating for a syncretic system with a gold / silver standard, while also having heavy government regulations of the market. Hosein is notable for being among a faction of Islamic scholars with a strict interpretation of riba prohibitions in the Qur'an, with the general definition of interest being as broad as money increasing over time for a single purchase.
In the Sunni world the first international conference on Islamic economics was held at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in 1976. Since then the International Association for Islamic Economics in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank has held conferences in Islamabad (1983), Kuala Lumpur (1992), Loughborough (2000), Bahrain (2003), Jakarta (2005) and Jeddah (2008), Iqbal (2008).Iqbal, Zamir and Abbas Mirakhor (2008). An Introduction to Islamic finance. Lahore; Vanguard Books In addition there have been hundreds of seminars, workshops and discussion groups around the world on Islamic economics and finance. In the U.S. a small number of patent applications have been filed for Sharia compliant financial service methods.An example of a patent application: "Declining balance co-ownership financing arrangement" (an allegedly Sharia compliant financing arrangement for home purchases and refinances that does not involve the payment of interest), since abandoned.
The term lived on in the Muslim world, shifting form to the less ambitious goal of interest-free banking. Some Muslim bankers and religious leaders suggested ways to integrate Islamic law on usage of money with modern concepts of ethical investing. In banking this was done through the use of sales transactions (focusing on the fixed rate return modes) to support investing without interest-bearing debt. Many modern writers have strongly criticized this approach as a means of covering conventional banking with an Islamic facade. (Sohrab Behada has argued that the economic system proposed by Islam is essentially a capitalist one.)
As of 2008 there were:
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah hosted the first international conference on Islamic economics in 1976. Thereafter the International Association for Islamic Economics in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank has held conferences in Islamabad (1983), Kuala Lumpur (1992), Loughborough (2000), Bahrain (2003), Jakarta (2005), Jeddah (2008) and Iqbal (2008).
A number of economists have lamented that while Islamic Finance was originally a "subset" of Islamic Economics, economics and research in pure Islamic economics has been "shifted to the back burner". Funding for research has gone to Islamic Finance despite the lack of "scientific knowledge to back" the claims made for Islamic Finance.Tahir, Sayyid (January 2009) "Islamic finance: Undergraduate education". Islamic Economic Studies 16 (1–2): 71 Enrollment has subsided in classes Siddiqi, Muhammad Nejatullah, 2008 Obstacles to Islamic economics research. Paper presented at 7th International Conference on Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, 1–3 April, Jeddah and second and third generation Islamic economists are scarce, some institutions have "lost their real direction and some have even been closed". Iqbal, Munawar. 2008. Contributions of the last six conferences. Paper presented at 7th International Conference on Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, 1–3 April, Jeddah, p.80 and interest of economists in the field's "grand idea" of providing an alternative to capitalism and socialism has "yielded" to the "needs" of the "industry" of Islamic Finance.
According to economist Rasem Kayed, while a number of universities and institutes of higher learning now offer courses on Islamic economics and finance "most of the courses offered by these institutions pertain to Islamic finance rather than Islamic economics."
Surveying Islamic economics and finance courses being offered as of 2008 by 14 universities in Muslim countries, Kayed found 551 courses in conventional economics and finance, and only 12 courses in Islamic economics and finance (only 2% of the total). This "appalling and intolerable ... negligence" was made worse by the curriculum of the courses which failed to debate "the issues" the discipline or give "due thought to ... the future development of Islamic financial industry" but rather attempted "to squeeze as much abstract information" as possible in their courses, according to Kayed.
Another economist (Muhammad Akram Khan) lamented that "the real problem is that despite efforts for developing a separate discipline of Islamic economics, there is not much that can be genuinely called `economics`. Most of Islamic economics consists of theology on economic matters."
Another (M.N. Siddiqi) notes Islamic economics has been teaching "conventional economics from an Islamic perspective", rather than Islamic economics.Siddiqi, M.N., 1996, Teaching economics in Islamic perspective. Jeddah: King Abdulaziz University, Centre for Research in Islamic Economics
Despite its start in 1976, as of 2009, 2013 Islamic economics was called still in its infancy, its "curricula frames, course structures, reading materials, and research", "mostly" anchored in the "mainstream tradition", "lacking sufficiency, depth, coordination and direction," with teaching faculties in many cases ... found short of the needed knowledge, scholarship, and commitment."Hasan, Zubair (January 2009) "Islamic finance education at the graduate level: Current state and challenges." Islamic Economic Studies, 16 (1–2):81 "Distinct textbooks and teaching materials" required have been found to "neither exist" nor be "easy to create." Despite shortcomings in academic writing—most of the books are "not cohesive" and are "at best no more than extended papers on specific topics"—constructive evaluations are not common and response to what there is even less common.Hasan, Zubair (January 2009) "Islamic finance education at the graduate level: Current state and challenges." Islamic Economic Studies, 16 (1–2):92–93
The lack of an Islamic economics textbook "looms large" for Muslim economists and scholars. Despite the holding of a workshop in November 2010 to arrange the writing of such a textbook, the participation of "a number of eminent Muslim economists", (at the International Institute of Islamic Thought in London) and the appointment of "a noted Muslim economist" to coordinate the production of the textbook, as of 2015 "no standard textbook of Islamic economics was available."
Islamic economic institutes are not known for their intellectual freedom, and according to Muhammad Akram Khan are unlikely to allow criticism of the ideas or policies of their founding leaders or governments. The Centre for Research in Islamic Economics, an organ of the Jeddah University in Saudi Arabia, for example, "cannot allow publication of any work that goes against the orthodox thinking of the influential" Saudi religious leadership. Despite "tall talk about ijtehad", Islamic economists "are shy" about "suggesting innovative ideas" for fear of antagonizing religious clerics.
Use of Islamic terminology not only for distinctive Islamic concepts such as riba, zakat, mudaraba but also for concepts that do not have specific Islamic connotation— adl for justice, hukuma for government—locking out non-Muslim and even not Arabic speaking readers from the content of Islamic economics and even "giving legitimacy" to "pendantry" in the field.
Some Muslims believe that the Shariah provides "specific laws and standards regarding the use and allocation of resources including land, water, animals, minerals, and
manpower."
The owner of previously public property that is privatized pays zakat and, according to Shi'ite scholars, khums as well.
In general, the privatization and nationalization of public property is subject to debate amongst Islamic scholars.
According to an analysis by Walid El-Malik in 1993, only the Maliki school took the position that all kinds of natural resources are state-owned; the Hanafi school took the opposite view and held that mineral ownership followed surface ownership, while the other two schools, Shafi'i and Hanbali, drew a distinction between "hidden" and "unhidden" minerals.
During the life of Muhammad, one fifth of military equipment captured from the enemy in the battlefield was considered state property. During his reign, Umar (on the recommendation of Ali) considered conquered land to be state rather than private property (as was usual practice). The purported reason for this was that privatizing this property would concentrate resources in the hands of a few, and prevent it from being used for the general good. The property remained under the occupation of the cultivators, but taxes were collected on it for the state treasury.
Muhammad said "Old and fallow lands are for God and His Messenger (i.e. state property), then they are for you". Jurists draw from this the conclusion that, ultimately, private ownership takes over state property.
Islamic economists classify the acquisition of private property into involuntary, contractual and non-contractual categories. Involuntary means are inheritances, bequests, and gifts. Non-contractual acquisition involves the collection and exploitation of natural resources that have not previously been claimed as private property. Contractual acquisition includes activities such as trading, buying, renting, hiring labor etc.
A tradition attributed to Muhammad, with which both Sunni and Shi'a jurists agree, in cases where the right to private ownership causes harm to others, then Islam favors curtailing the right in those cases. Maliki and Hanbali jurists argue that if private ownership endangers public interest, then the state can limit the amount an individual is allowed to own. This view, however, is debated by others.
When Muhammad migrated to Madinah many of the Muslims owned agricultural land. Muhammad confirmed this ownership and allocated land to individuals. The land allotted would be used for housing, farming or gardening. For example, Bilal b. Harith was given land with mineral deposits at 'Aqiq Valley,al-Baladhuri, Futuh al-Buldan Hassan b. Thabit was afforded the garden of BayruhaSahih al-Bukhari, 17 and Zubayr received oasis land at Khaybar and Banu Nadir.Futuh al-Buldan, Abu Ubayd During the reign of Caliph Umar, a vast expanse of Persian royal family terrain had been acquired, this lead his successor Caliph Uthman to accelerate the allotment of land to individuals in return for a portion of the crop yield.al-Maqrizi, al-Mawa'iz wa'l-I'tibar
According to Nomani and Rahnema, Islam accepts markets as the basic coordinating mechanism of the economic system. Islamic teaching holds that the market, given perfect competition, allows consumers to obtain desired goods and producers to sell their goods at a mutually acceptable price.
Three necessary conditions for an operational market are said (by Nomani and Rahnema) to be upheld in Islamic primary sources:
Another author (Nima Mersadi Tabari) claims that the general doctrine of fairness in sharia law creates "an ethical economic model" and forbids market manipulation such as "inflating the price of commodities by creating artificial shortages ( Ihtekar), overbidding for the sole purpose of driving the prices up ( Najash) and concealment of vital information in a transaction from the other party ( Ghish)".
Further, "uninformed speculation" not based on a proper analysis of available information is forbidden because it is a form of Qimar, or gambling, and results in accumulating Maysir (unearned income). Commercial contracting under conditions of "excessive uncertainty" (however that is defined) is a form of Gharar and so also forbidden.
Another author (Nima Mersadi Tabari) states that in Islam "everything is Halal (allowed) unless it has been declared Haram (forbidden)", consequently "the Islamic economic model is based on the freedom of trade and freedom of contract so far as the limits of Shari’ah allow". King's College London Law School Research Paper No. 2014-10.
Nomani and Rahnema say that Islam prohibits price fixing by a dominating handful of buyers or sellers. During the days of Muhammad, a small group of merchants met agricultural producers outside the city and bought the entire crop, thereby gaining a monopoly over the market. The produce was later sold at a higher price within the city. Muhammad condemned this practice since it caused injury both to the producers (who in the absence of numerous customers were forced to sell goods at a lower price) and the inhabitants.
The above-mentioned reports are also used to justify the argument that the Islamic market is characterized by free information. Producers and consumers should not be denied information on demand and supply conditions. Producers are expected to inform consumers of the quality and quantity of goods they claim to sell. Some scholars hold that if an inexperienced buyer is swayed by the seller, the consumer may nullify the transaction upon realizing the seller's unfair treatment. The Qur'an also forbids discriminatory transactions. cite , , . They also point out that a chapter is devoted to such fraudulent practices:
Bribery is also forbidden in Islam and can therefore not be used to secure a deal or gain favor in a transaction, it was narrated that Muhammad cursed the one who offers the bribe, the one who receives it, and the one who arranges it.Reported by Ahmad and al-Hakim
Nomani and Rahnema say government interference in the market is justified in exceptional circumstances, such as the protection of public interest. Under normal circumstances, governmental non-interference should be upheld. When Muhammad was asked to set the price of goods in a market he responded, "I will not set such a precedent, let the people carry on with their activities and benefit mutually."
However, the domination of the industry by debt-like instruments such as murabaha rather than risk-sharing products, has driven even some leading advocates and experts in Islamic banking (such as Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi) to talk about "a crisis of identity of the Islamic financial movement."referring to Siddiqi, 1983 (Mohammad Nejatullah SIDDIQI. Issues in Islamic Banking Leicester:, p. 125
The concept of a public financial institution played a historic role in the Islamic economy. The idea of state collected wealth being made available to the needy general public was relatively new. The resources in the Bayt-al-Mal were considered God's resources and a trust, money paid into the shared bank was common property of all the Muslims and the ruler was just the trustee.
The shared bank was treated as a financial institution and therefore subjected to the same prohibitions regarding interest.K-al-Mabsut, Al-Sarakhsi, Shamsuddin Caliph Umar spoke on the shared bank saying: "I did not find the betterment of this wealth except in three ways: (i) it is received by right, (ii) it is given by right, and (iii) it is stopped from wrong. As regards my own position vis-a-vis this wealth of yours; it is like that of a guardian of an orphan. If I am well-off, I shall leave it, but if I am hard-pressed I shall take from it as is genuinely permissible."Uyun-al-Akhbar, ad-Dinawri
On economic reforms, Timur Kuran said it is a "vehicle for asserting the primacy of Islam" with reforms being a secondary motive.
Foster explains that the fee for services provided by "top" scholars is "often" in six-figures, i.e. over US$100,000.
One critic (Muhammad O. Farooq) argues that this unfortunate situation has arisen because the "preoccupation" among supporters of Islamic Economics that any and all interest on loans is riba and forbidden by Islam, and because risk-sharing alternatives to interest bearing loans originally envisioned for Islamic banking have not proven feasible. With the elimination of interest being both the basis of the industry and impractical, shari'a scholars have become "entrapped in a situation" where they are forced to approve transactions fundamentally similar to conventional loans but using " hiyal" manipulation to "maintain an Islamic veneer".
A former director of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and the head of Pakistan's Economic Affairs Division, Syed Nawab Haider Naqvi, also called for "comprehensive Islamic reform to establish an exploitation-free economic system" and not just "mechanical substitution of profit for interest."Syed Nawab Haider NAQVI. Ethics and Economics: An Islamic Synthesis U.K.:, p.124
(2026). 9781783475728, Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 9781783475728 Its wealthiest region of Mughal Bengal, a major trading nation of the medieval world, signaled the period of proto-industrialization, making direct contribution to the world's first Industrial Revolution after the British conquests.
Definitions and descriptions
According to Hasan Raza, after more than six decades of its formal/ informal existence, a consensus on the definition of Islamic economics has not yet emerged. Some definitions that have been offered include:
Fiqh and Islamic economics
Fiqh (religious law) has developed several traditional concepts having to do with economics. These included:
to be meritorious as a separate field of inquiry, Islamic economics cannot confine itself just to explaining and deducing laws in economic matters based on core principles. Since this function is already performed by the discipline of Islamic jurisprudence ...
M. Kahf writes that mu'amalat and Islamic economics "often intermingle", mu'amalat "sets terms and conditions of conduct for economic and financial relationships in the Islamic economy" and provides the "grounds on which new instruments" of Islamic financing are developed, but that the "nature of Fiqh imposes a concern about individual transactions and their minute legalistic characteristics", so that analyzing Islamic economics in terms of Fiqh" risks losing "the ability to provide a macro economic theory".
History
Pre-modern Muslim thought on economics
Classical scholars in the Muslim world did however, make valuable contributions to Islamic thought on issues involving production, consumption, income, wealth, property, taxation, land ownership, etc. are Abu Yusuf (d. 798), Muhammad bin al-Hasan (d. 805), Al-Mawardi (d. 1058), Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), Al-Sarakhsi (d. 1090), Tusi (d. 1093), Al-Ghazali (d. 1111), Al-Dimashqi (d. after 1175), Ibn Rushd (d. 1187), Ibn Taymiyyah (d.1328), Ibn al-Ukhuwwah (d. 1329), Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 1350), Sayyid Ali Hamadani (d. 1384), Al-Shatibi (d. 1388), Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), Al-Maqrizi (d. 1442), Dawwani (d. 1501), Aurangzeb (d. 1707). (2026). 9781136950360, Routledge. ISBN 9781136950360
Early modern period
Economic policies based on sharia were introduced throughout the gunpowder empires, which led to their commercial expansion. Chiefly the Ottoman Empire and Mughal India underwent substantial increases in per capita income and population, and a sustained pace of technological innovation. A significant event was the creation of Muslim India's Fatawa 'Alamgiri, compiled by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir and Shah Waliullah Dehlawi's family, through which the Indian subcontinent surpassed Qing China to become the world's largest economy, valued 25% of world GDP, while the region of Mughal Bengal entered a period of proto-industrialization, making direct contribution to England's first Industrial Revolution after English dominance was established following the Battle of Plassey.
Development of "Islamic economics"
According to Turkish-American economist Timur Kuran, "not until the mid-twentieth century" was there any body of thought that could be called "Islamic economics", that was "recognizable as a coherent or self-contained doctrine". But around 1950 "campaigns launched to identify self-consciously, if not also exclusively, Islamic patterns of economic thought and behavior". The famous early-20th Century Muslim nationalist and author Muhammad Iqbal, for example, did not refer to religion in his treatise on economics.
(2026). 9780028659121, Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 9780028659121 Maulana ala Maududi's 1941 address "The economic problem of man and its Islamic solution" ( Insaan ka Maashi Maslah aur aus ka Islami Hul) is "generally considered to be one of the founding documents of modern Islamic economics"
In the 1960s and 1970s, Shi'a thinkers worked to describe Islamic economics' "own answers to contemporary economic problems." Several works were particularly influential:
What has been called one of "two versions" of "Islamic economy" existed during the first ten years (1979–1989) of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the life of Supreme Leader (and revolution founder) Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This was an "Islamist socialist, and state-run": It was "little by little supplanted" by a more liberal economic policy..
In the 1980s and 1990s, as the Islamic revolution failed to reach the per capita income level achieved by the regime it overthrew, and communist states and socialist parties in the non-Muslim world turned away from socialism, Muslim interest shifted away from government ownership and regulation. In Iran, " eqtesad-e Eslami (meaning both Islamic economics and economy) ... once a revolutionary shibboleth, is indubitably absent in all official documents and the media. It disappeared from Iranian political discourse" about 1990. During the era of Zia-ul-Haq, several Islamic economic concepts and practices were introduced into the domestic economy, as part of Zia's Islamisation reforms (see Islamic economics in Pakistan).
Similarity of Islamic economy with other countries
In an interview with Professor Hossein Askari, a professor at George Washington University, the German newspaper "Suddeutsche" prepared a report on the ranking of countries that "respect Islamic values".
Ireland, Luxembourg and Denmark are at the top of the said ranking table in relation to "Islamic economy in non-Islamic countries". No Muslim-majority country is among the top 25 countries in this ranking. Israel is in 27th place and thus much higher than Saudi Arabia which is in 91st place. Germany is in 26th place in this table. In the research conducted by Shahrzad Rahman and Hossein Askari, two professors of George Washington University, an estimate of the extent of Islamic economy of 208 countries around the world was made, the results of which are very interesting and according to that, many countries that, although are not Islamic (such as Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden); But their economy has similarities with the economic model of Islam or the Islamic economy.
As an academic discipline
Achievements
In 1998, Javed Ahmad Khan compiled Islamic Economics and Finance: A Bibliography, and listed 1600 items published over 20 years, including books, articles, dissertations, theses and conference papers.
Challenges
Along with these achievements, some Islamic economists have complained of problems in the academic discipline: a shift in interest away from Islamic Economics to Islamic Finance since the 1980s, a shortage of university courses, reading materials that are "either scant or of poor quality", lack of intellectual freedom, "narrow focus" on interest-free banking and zakat without data-based research to substantiate claim made for them—that interest causes economic problems or that zakat solves them.
Property
According to authors F. Nomani and A. Rahnema, the Qur'an states that God is the sole owner of all matter in the heavens and the earth, quote , , , , but man is God's viceregent on earth and holds God's possessions in trust ( amanat). Islamic jurists divide properties into public, state, private categories..
Public property
According to M. A. Khan, "Islam introduced the distinction between private property and public property and made the rulers accountable to the people".
Scholars F. Nomani and A. Rahnema state that public property in Islam refers to natural resources (, , uncultivated land, water, Mining, oceanic resources etc.) to which all humans have equal right. Such resources are considered the the commons property of the community. Such property is placed under the guardianship and control of the Islamic state, and can be used by any citizen, as long as that use does not undermine the rights of other citizens, according to Nomani and Rahnema.
State property
State property includes certain natural resources, as well as other property that cannot immediately be privatized. Islamic state property can be movable, or immovable, and can be acquired through conquest or peaceful means. Unclaimed, unoccupied and heir-less properties, including uncultivated land ( mawat), can be considered state property.
Private property
There is consensus amongst Islamic jurists and social scientists that Islam recognizes and upholds the individual's right to private ownership. The Qur'an extensively discusses taxation, inheritance, prohibition against stealing, legality of ownership, recommendation to give charity and other topics related to private property. Islam also guarantees the protection of private property by imposing stringent punishments on thieves. Muhammad said that he who dies defending his property was like a Shahid.
Markets
According to M. S. Naz, regulation of markets is among the main functions of hisbah,M.S. Naz (1991) Islami Riyasat men Muhtasib ka Kirdar IRI. 85. the "semi-judicial institution" operational from the "earliest days of Islam". It was "charged with responsibility of carrying out the spirit of the system, setting conditions that preserve and enhance the public health and interests, protect the consumers, solve business and labor disputes, promote good market behavior, and ensure their observance."Monzer Kahf (1996) Principles of Islamic Economics, IIUM. 41, 115, 123. M. A. Khan states, institution of Hisbah as established to "supervise markets, to provide municipal services, and to settle petty disputes".Ibn Tamiyah, Public Duties in Islam, Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1981. In the contemporary era, Pakistan has attempted to re-create this institution, although it has jurisdiction only over the administrative excesses of the federal government departments and agencies, not provincial ones or private companies.
Interference
Proponents such as M. A. Khan, Nomani and Rahnema also contend that the "Islamic economy" forbids or at least discourages market manipulation such as price fixing, hoarding and bribery. Government intervention in the economy is tolerated under specific circumstances.
Banking and finance
Islamic banking has been called "the most visible practical achievement" of Islamic economics, and the "most visible mark" of Islamic revivalism. By 2009, there were over 300 "shariah compliant and 250 around the world, and around $2 trillion were sharia-compliant by 2014.
Interest
The most noticeable and/or important objective of Islamic Banking has been a ban on the charging of interest on loans. The Quran (3: 130) condemns riba (which is usually translated as "interest"): "O, you who believe! Devour not riba, doubled and redoubled, and be careful of Allah; but fear Allah that you may be successful."
Islamic public finance (Bayt-al-Mal)
The only financial institution under Islamic Governance (Prophethood and Caliph Period) was Baitulmaal (public treasury) wherein the wealths were distributed instantly on the basis of need. During Prophethood the last receipt was tribute from Bahrain amounting eight hundred thousands dirham which was distributed in just one sitting. Though the first Caliph earmarked a house for Baitulmaal where all money was kept on receipt. As all money was distributed immediately the treasury generally remained locked up. At the time of his death there was only one dirham in the Baitulmaal. The second caliph besides developing the Central Baitulmaal also opened Baitulmaal at state and headquarters levels. He also carried census during his caliphate; and provisioned salaries to Government employees, stipend to poor and needy people along with social security to unemployed and retirement pensions.
Proposals
Savings and investment
An alternative Islamic savings-investment model can be built around venture capital; investment banks; restructured corporations; and restructured stock market. This model looks at removing the interest-based banking and in replacing market inefficiencies such as subsidization of loans over profit-sharing investments due to double taxation and restrictions on investment in private equity.
Hybrids
Islamic banks have grown recently in the Muslim world, but are a very small share of the global economy compared to the Western debt banking paradigm. Hybrid approaches, which applies classical Islamic values but uses conventional lending practices, are much lauded by some proponents of modern human development theory.
Criticism and dispute
Islamic economics has been criticised for
(2026). 9781784410551, Emerald Group Publishing.. ISBN 9781784410551
In a political and regional context where Islamist and ulema claim to have an opinion about everything, it is striking how little they have to say about this most central of human activities, beyond repetitious pieties about how their model is neither capitalism nor socialist.
One significant result of Islamic economics (and target of criticism) is the creation of Islamic banking and finance industry. According to several scholars it has bred a new "Power Alliance" of "wealth and Shari'ah scholarship",Monzer KAHF. "Islamic Banks: The Rise of a New Power Alliance of Wealth and Shari'ah Scholarship," in Clement HENRY and Rodney WILSON (eds.). The Politics of Islamic Finance Edinburgh, pp. 17-36.—wealthy banks and clients paying Islamic scholars to provide bank products with Islamic "shariah compliance". Journalist John Foster, quotes an investment banker based in the Islamic Banking hub of Dubai on the practice of "fatwa shopping",
We create the same type of products that we do for the conventional markets. We then phone up a Sharia scholar for a Fatwa seal. If he doesn't give it to us, we phone up another scholar, offer him a sum of money for his services and ask him for a Fatwa. We do this until we get Sharia compliance. Then we are free to distribute the product as Islamic.
Instead of "fixating" on interest, Farooq urges a focus on "the larger picture" of "justice", and in economics on fighting exploitation from "greed and profit," and the concentration of wealth. He quotes an ayat in support: "What God has bestowed on his Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the townships, - belongs to God, - to his Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; in order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you. ..." As an example of the neglect of this issue, Farooq complains that one "rather comprehensive" bibliography of Islamic economics and finance, contains "not a single citation for exploitation or injustice" among its 700 entries.
On the issue of zakat, one of the pillars of Islam, M.A.Khan also criticizes the conservatism of Islamic Economics, complaining that "the insistence of Muslim scholars in implementing it in the same form as it was common practice in the days of the Prophet and the first four caliphs ... has made it irrelevant to the needs of a contemporary society."
A supporter of Islamic economics (Asad Zaman) describes a "major difficulty" faced by Islamic reformers of Islamic economics and pointed out by other authors, namely that because a financial system is an "integrated and coherent structure", to create an Islamic system "based on trust, community and no interest" requires "changes and interventions on several different fronts simultaneously".
See also
Notes
Citations
Books, articles
(2026). 9789004152465, Brill. ISBN 9789004152465
(2026). 9780415368230, Routledge. ISBN 9780415368230
(1994). 9781565640795, THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT and INSTITUTE OF POLICY STUDIES. . ISBN 9781565640795
(1994). 9781856490580, Zed books limited. ISBN 9781856490580
Torts
External links
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