The authors note that the instability leading to crisis is assumed away by the models which assume inherent stability. Economists are confined to models of stable states that are perturbed by limited external shocks. Economists failed to incorporate the intrinsic recurrent boom-and-bust dynamics characteristic of a complex economic system. Consequently, ‘systemic crisis’ is treated as an ‘otherworldly event’ absent from theoretical frameworks.
The author asserts that Islamic economics is currently the result of applying Islamic rules and injunctions (Fiqh) to the secular economic framework, and is not yet a separate discipline that fully replaces secular economics. The author notes that methodology is a messy and confusing area in both fields. He highlights that in Islamic economics, it is often wrongly treated as a research design or work plan. The author explains that economics is usually called ‘science’ and is seen to be built for achieving its objectives on some perception of rationality. Methodology is the ‘theory of theories’; in the field of economics it refers to the “process economists use to authenticate the knowledge about economic phenomena”.
The report calls for a new policy consensus based on equity, economic security for all, and solidarity. It emphasizes the need for structural transformations in policy, institutions, norms, and mind-sets, and a fundamental reorientation of policymaking through a social lens. A new consensus must prioritize strong social policies, investments in public institutions, and a people-centred approach to development, moving beyond the current over-reliance on markets.
Efficiency is the name of conforming to laws of nature. Ideal performance of interest driven system requires the investment to produce nearly same rate of return so that interest rate may be considered a means of sharing of profit between financier and entrepreneurs and investment may not suffer adversely, but that being grossly contrary to nature, the system is inefficient.
Complexity economics taught us that the world is an ever-changing system with no simple answers. The Dynamic Prescriptive Economics framework takes this knowledge and turns it into a governing principle: Adaptive Governance.
It provides a robust, measurable methodology to:
Quantify the cost of trade-offs using NBCs.
Design a path to synergy using STOs.
Integrate long-term wisdom using AER.
Islamic digital currencies must refrain from a number of actions deemed prohibited by Islamic law, in contrast to traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. They cannot entail interest-based transactions (Riba), undue speculation or uncertainty (gharar), or gambling (maysir). Their frequent backing by physical assets, such as gold, gives them inherent stability and lessens the speculative bubbles that are typical of traditional cryptocurrencies, which is what makes them so intriguing.
Author explained the problem of double coincidence of wants in the barter trade. He wrote that even if the wants coincide, there may be disagreement on the counter values in exchange. Without divisibility of the good, the barter economy runs into barriers to trade. He also wrote on prudence in economic management. He emphasized the need for proactive procurement and infrastructure investments to ensure smooth supply chain, production process and market stability. He favoured procurement from the original nearby source to avoid intermediation mark-up and make purchases when the market has adequate supply and availability so as to avoid cost-push inflation.
Entrepreneurs may have less or more capital than they plan to invest. Owners of surplus capital may withhold it or may make it available to investors. This may be based on profit sharing ratio or interest. In the Islamic system, charge of Zakah assisted by expected share in profit motivates the owners of capital to get it invested while in a capitalist system, interest motivates the capitalist creditors to lend capital for earning interest.
Halal ESG shaped by Tawhidic epistemology is not merely an alternative model; it is a civilizational intervention—calling for harmony between the sacred and the temporal, between environmental responsibility and metaphysical awareness, between economic development and divine accountability. It is this synthesis—rooted in Tawhid, driven by Ummatic consciousness, and aspiring toward Ummatic excellence—that will enable halal industries to become ethical vanguards in a fractured world.
Using a contract-theoretic model, Khan compares two financial arrangements: the Fixed Return Scheme (FRS), which mirrors conventional debt, and the Variable Return Scheme (VRS), which represents profit-and-loss sharing (PLS) contracts such as Mudarabah or Musharakah. His analysis assumes a single lender allocating a fixed pool of funds across many independent projects, with symmetric information and costless observability.
Islamic Economics Project 