Tag: IslamicEconomics

Economic Thinking of Arab Muslim Writers During the Nineteenth Century

The authors highlight the negative effect of colonialism and double standards of Europe to keep the Muslim lands under colonial and imperial rule. They awakened the Muslims to avoid becoming laggards, isolated and mere consumers. Rather, they should also advance knowledge and sciences and do not feel shy in learning from the Western development experience. However, in doing that, they should not be uncritical to take everything European as acceptable, especially when it comes to interest based banking. Given that, there is much to take from socio-economic innovations such as the joint stock companies, mutual insurance, bank-based payment systems. The authors provided positivist explanations of how these institutions and structure avoid the problem of moral hazard, information asymmetry and achieve pooling of funds, risk diversification and efficiency.

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Beyond Integrative Approaches: Methodological Tensions in Islamic Economics

Islamic Economics stands at a crossroads. To analyse what is, it must pragmatically adapt mainstream tools—provided they are stripped of reductionist assumptions. To articulate what ought to be, however, it must dare to innovate: developing tawhid-centric models that reflect humanity’s role as Allah’s stewards (khalifah). This dual approach rejects both uncritical integration and isolationist purism. As Dr. Shaikh advocates, pluralistic methodology allows IE to engage the mainstream while retaining its soul. The goal is not to mimic physics-envying economics, but to redefine economics itself—as a science of human flourishing, anchored in divine guidance. In the words of the Quran, “Do they not contemplate the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth?” (7:185). Islamic Economics, at its best, is this contemplation enacted—a discipline where tools serve truth, not the other way around.

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Methodology of Islamic Economics

The book explains that the objective of religious life should be to change this world, including the personality of the individual himself and extending to the whole of human society, so as to reconstruct it in accordance with the will of Allah as revealed in the Qur’an. The religion should be understood directly from the Qur’an aided by the Sunnah, and all human interpretations should be treated as secondary, tentative and, in principle, liable to error and open to correction.

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Theoretical and Analytical Approach of Financial Stability: Islamic Perspective

Financial crises are often linked to unsustainable booms in financial and business cycles. Research shows that credit and house price cycles are closely tied to output cycles. From an Islamic perspective, synchronizing financial and business cycles can promote stability. A Shari’ah-compliant system without interest rates can align the financial cycle with the real economy, bolstering stability.

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