When economic policy is guided solely by GDP, these ethical imperatives may be undermined. For example, a country may pursue industrial expansion that increases GDP but harms public health, violating hifz al nafs. Liberalization of entertainment sectors may boost GDP but erode moral and family values, violating hifz al din and hifz al nasl. Financial expansion through interest-based lending may raise GDP but undermine fairness and risk sharing, violating hifz al mal.
Vision 2077 is an ambitious intellectual project that successfully identifies the ontological and epistemological shortcomings of modern economic policy. By utilizing Futures Thinking, it avoids the trap of forecasting the past and instead empowers policymakers to design a future rooted in the Maqasid al-Shariah (objectives of Islamic law).
January 2026 issue (Vol 6, Issue 1) of Moral Reflections on Economics features
“Roundup of IIUM Symposium on Ummah at 1,500 Years” organized by Department of Economics, KENMS, IIUM.
“A Maqasid al Shariah Approach to Reforming Gross Domestic Product” by Davi John J Simundo Palo.
Highlights of Global Health Report 2025 by Muhammad Hammad.
Book review of “A Critical Survey of Islamization of Knowledge” by Prof. Mohamed Aslam Haneef.
Research paper in focus on “Environmental Sustainability in the Prophetic Sunnah: A Foresight Perspective” by Dr. Usama Abdul Majid Alani.
Regular sections of reflections, market news, economic and financial indicators and call for papers.
The paper contrasts this self-centred economic model with moral philosophy. Egalitarian ethical theories which include Utilitarianism, Rawls’s theory of justice, Situation Ethics (Joseph Fletcher), and Kantian ethics (Categorical Imperative), all require that, as a necessary condition for morality, one must treat the welfare of others the same as or equally to one’s own welfare.
Capitalism is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as, ‘An economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are controlled by private owners rather than by the state, with the purpose of making a profit.’ Following this definition, not every country can be considered ‘capitalist’.
The 2025 Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI) assessed 140 countries, with the global average score declining to 11 due to new entrants scoring low in most indicators. The top 10 countries remained unchanged, led by Malaysia and the UAE, which excelled across all five indicators. Notable shifts include Bangladesh dropping out of the top 10 due to Islamic banking sector challenges, while Tanzania showed promise with Sukuk issuance and sector growth.
The rate of return for most non-agricultural activities will fall to naught, while the rate of return for farming will soar high. The organized sector, assisted by interest-driven financing, keeps prices of its products and services high by controlling production and employment. Due to the confusion created by the illusion of consistently rising prices, commoners fail to respond effectively.
Islamic economics is fundamentally a normative field, dedicated to the in-depth study of the normative principles outlined in the Qur’an and the Sunna (religious economics). In its empirical research, it probes into the economic behaviours and values of Muslims. As a result, it extensively utilizes economic tools to comprehend Muslim behaviour, integrating the economics of religion as one method of exploration. In reconciling normative (what should be) and positive (what is) economics, the discipline also emphasizes facilitating the transition from the current state to an ideal one, aiming to transform ‘what is’ into ‘what should be’. This agenda is central to Islamic economics, as it is to religious economics.
December 2025 issue (Vol 5, Issue 12) of Moral Reflections on Economics features: “The Dual Structure of Islamic Economics: Economics of Religion and Religious Economics” by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Nahar Mohd Arshad, Department of Economics, KENMS, IIUM;
“Stabilizing Purchasing Power of Common Medium of Exchange” by Hifz Ur Rab; Highlights of Islamic Finance Development Report by Hammad; Book review of “Capitalism: A Very Brief Introduction” by James Fulcher reviewed by Aisha Wani; Research paper in focus on “Utility Maximization, Morality, and Religion” by Dr. Jonathan E. Leightner and regular sections of reflections, market news, economic and financial indicators and call for papers.
Download at: https://islamiceconomicsproject.com/periodicals/
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.
Islamic Economics Project 