Islamic Economics — A New Economics or An old Dogma

Islamic Foundation, University of Leicester, 1978

az-zahra, 2024

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. With great appreciation, we present this book, Contemporary Issues & Developments in Islamic Economics, which has been carefully compiled to address the expanding interest and critical need for scholarly exploration in Islamic economics today. As Islamic economics moves forward on the global stage, this work aims to guide readers through the foundational concepts and contemporary developments shaping this field. The book opens with a clear introduction to the fundamentals of Islamic economics, establishing a foundational understanding of its principles and goals. This section provides readers with a valuable context to appreciate the distinct framework that Islamic economics presents as a comprehensive system of thought. Following this, readers are introduced to the historical context and the evolution of Islamic economic thought. By exploring this progression, the book aims to show how Islamic economics has maintained its core values while adapting to societal shifts, offering a dynamic perspective on economic justice and ethics.

2018

While all this development in the discipline of Islamic Economics is promising, it has not come without challenges. Despite newer researches, a considerable gap still exists in certain dimensions of the field and the newer ideas have helped to create diametrically opposing opinions within the field instead of bringing existing ones closer. Resultantly, a unified definition of the discipline of Islamic Economics is yet to appear and a new learner gets trapped in the labyrinths of contending opinions before getting an idea of what Islamic Economics is. It must hence be worthwhile to present before the readers an overview of contemporary perspectives in Islamic Economics in order for them to have a general understanding of the discipline of Islamic Economics.

Islamic economics as a subject has deep historical roots. However, the present body of knowledge known as 'Islamic economics' originated in the second half of the last century. During the last four decades, a lot of literature has appeared. However, most of it can be accepted as 'Islamic economic teachings' and not 'Islamic economics' as a social science. Based on this literature a beginning can be made in developing Islamic economics as a social science. The paper presents a tentative proposal for doing this.

iefpedia.com

After decades of its birth, Islamic economics has undoubtedly gaining its strength. However, it could not be regarded as yet, inevitably, as being a zero-defect discipline. Although the debate on Islamic economics seems to be almost rather settled, but a revisit to it is still indispensable. This is exactly what this paper intends to do. It attempts to revisit the mainstream Islamic economics and explore two unresolved concerns that are observed to have prevailed in it, so as efforts to overcome them could entail with a more proper development of the discipline. The two unresolved concerns are the untransformed structure of and the remaining of the conventional economics assumptions within the Islamic economics itself. This effort comes with awareness that these two unresolved concerns are not the only unresolved concerns still lingering around the Islamic economics. There are at least five more, viz. an absence of the redefinition of operating concepts, inaccurate ultimate aim, pseudo-Islamic operational mechanisms, erroneous research methodology, and knowledgepractice dichotomy of the Islamic economists themselves. However, due to space limitation, these five unresolved concerns will have to be dealt with elsewhere. The concentration of this paper therefore would only be on the untransformed structure and the remaining of the conventional economics assumptions of the mainstream Islamic economics.

Islamic Economics, epitomized largely by Islamic Banking and Finance, has received a serious global attention especially in the last two decades. From writings on the evils of the dominant capitalist economics which is characterized by interest, exploitation and economic injustice, and expounding the Economic principles of Islam; Islamic Economics has grown into a full-fledged discipline which has also led to the birth of a new crop of economic and financial institutions all over the world. There is a growing interest in Islamic Economics in the academic world as also in global economic and political circles. The objective of this paper is to analytically present an overview of Islamic Economics, highlighting some of the most important stages that finally led to its emergence and fruition as both an independent academic discipline and a key contributor to the development of the international economy.

2013

The paper aims at explaining the need for a starting point for developing an Islamic theory of economics. The paper emphasizes that what is needed is not a 'theory of Islamic economics' but an 'Islamic theory of economics'. It is not merely semantics. The paper explains what difference it makes in theorizing Islamic economics. The point emphasized in the paper is that it is the lack of strategic vision that is responsible for not reaching where we want to be. The paper describes various positions of Islamic economists and suggests that it is time we select one of them as the destination. The paper then goes into identifying a more realistic framework which can provide a basis for deriving principles of Islamic economic analysis. The paper suggests divorcing the framework derived from mathematics and physics (not linked to human social behavior in any aspect) and marrying it with biology and physiology -sciences dealing with study of life (unlike physics that studies life-less bodies). The paper discusses what difference it would make to use the framework borrowed from biology and physiology in analyzing human economic behavior.

Islamic economics is not a social science yet. It is a work in progress. Islamic economists differ on methodology for developing Islamic economic thought into a social science. They face several dilemmas surrounding religion, Islamic law, conventional economics, contents of Islamic economics, current practice of Islamic finance and zakah 3 , etc. Until fog clears around these dilemmas the objective of developing Islamic economics as a social science will remain unaccomplished. The paper discusses 11 dilemmas and suggests possible way forward. It aims at providing a platform for discussing and developing the Islamic economic thought into a social science.

Comparative Political Economy: Comparative Capitalism eJournal, 2014

It is important to acknowledge earlier shortcomings in any branch of academic enquiry with hindsight, even though for many, self-criticism of one’s own earlier work is often difficult. In this context it is refreshing to read Nejatullah Siddiqi, a leading pioneer of Islamic economic thought over half a century ago, freely admit the limitations of his earlier writings. Constructing a convincing Islamic economic paradigm has proved, in Siddiqi’s view, a much more difficult task than the early pioneers envisaged, not least given the enormous gap which exists between the desired behavior of economic agents as delineated in the Qur’?n and Sunnah and the reality of morally dubious decision-making and self-serving economic governance at all levels. Siddiqi’s revised observations are well argued and convincing. They provide a base line for the “where to” debate about the future for Islamic economics, and indeed whether it has a future given the resilience of global capitalism despite the fi...

Journal of Critical Realism in Socio-Economics, 2023

All science is mirroring a Weltansicht, or worldview-that is, a comprehensive framework through which individuals or cultures interpret and understand the world around them. Worldviews not only provide a broader context for interpreting the data, but also influence research directions, methodological preferences, and final conclusions. Economics is no exception to this phenomenon. This modest essay aims to open up the epistemological foundations of modern economics to closer scrutiny with a view to pinpointing the tacit assumptions, cultural or other biases, and preconceived notions operating beneath the surface of economic theories, models, methods, and approaches. In addition, this essay also explores the controversial idea of Islamic economics which its exponents say recognizes the interdependence between economic outcomes and ethical choices, and take into account the importance of aligning economic activities with universally accepted human values.