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.
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.
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 earlier scholars provided application of Islamic juristic principles to derive and apply the Islamic teachings related to commerce, entrepreneurship and consumption. Muslim scholarship initially focused on public finance and its administration to deal with the practical problems of the newly formed state which expanded rapidly and required sound legal and administrative framework to legislate economic activities centred around agriculture and trade.
Islamic Economics Project 