This paper discusses the theory of interest espoused by Böhm-Bawerk. He described time preference as the origin of the legitimacy of the existence of interest. Time preference is defined as people’s attribution of more value to present goods than future goods with the same quality and quantity. Future goods can be consumed only in the future, whereas present goods can be consumed both now and in the future.
In modern mainstream economics, the definition of physical capital stock implies that it includes ‘produced means of production’. Some examples of physical capital stock in contemporary businesses include equipment, tools, machinery, buildings, furniture, infrastructures, installations and production plants.
This paper discusses the theory of interest espoused by Böhm-Bawerk. The author reviews the works of some Muslim economists who think that since time preference is valid in Islam, so is time value of money. In Islamic finance literature, there is largely a consensus that time value of money is not valid, but the time value of commodity is acceptable.
A key maxim of Islamic jurisprudence suggests that in the matter of commercial transactions, everything is deemed permissible unless explicitly stated otherwise. As long as the transacting parties adhere to the principles of Islamic jurisprudence while applying the benchmark to their transaction, it is acceptable to utilize a consensus methodology. In place of risk free rate or base rate of expected return on investment, some thinkers in Islamic finance suggest the possible use of Zakat rate.
Islamic Economics Project 