This paper investigates the underlying psychological and practical factors that motivate Muslims to pay their mandatory religious alms to specific Charity Organizations (COs) in Pakistan. Moving away from traditional quantitative approaches, the authors employ a qualitative phenomenological design, utilizing in-depth interviews with 16 participants from diverse urban and rural backgrounds.
August 2026 issue (Vol 6, Issue 8) of Moral Reflections on Economics features
• “Fiqh of Crypto” by Dr. Farrukh Habib, CEO Azka Capital, UK & Co-Founder Alif Technologies, Dubai.
• “Analysis of Fatwa on Crypto Currency” by Prof. Dr. Zahid Mughal.
• Highlights of World Energy Report 2026 by Muhammad Hammad.
• Book review of “Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi” edited by Muhammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi and Imtiaz Yusuf.
• Research paper in focus on “The Determinants of Donors’ Behaviour Toward Islamic Charities: A Phenomenological Inquiry” by Mohsin Ali, Yasir Aziz, Najeeb Zada, Fadillah Mansor.
• Regular sections of reflections, market news, economic and financial indicators and call for papers.
Download at: https://islamiceconomicsproject.com/periodicals/
The authors identify a significant blind spot in modern Islamic economics, noting that contemporary Muslim jurists have historically ignored the concept of a universal, unconditional cash transfer. This silence stems from a long-standing academic preoccupation with targeted, faith-based wealth redistribution mechanisms like Zakāh and Sadaqah, which are structurally designed for selective poverty alleviation rather than serving as a baseline macroeconomic floor for every citizen regardless of financial status. By shifting the analytical lens toward the broader state obligation of ensuring collective welfare, the authors construct a fresh, normative framework that integrates UBI within an Islamic moral economy.
The methodological contribution of Shaikh (2026) is to formulate, more sharply than most of the literature, the choice between an assimilative economics that prices the sacred and a distinctive economics that abandons the analytical, and to argue – on the strength of World Values Survey evidence of broadly shared moral and market attitudes – that the discipline should occupy neither pole but an integrative middle. That diagnosis is sound, and the integrative impulse is the correct one. Its limitation is structural rather than substantive: Shaikh (2026) integrates the scope of analysis while partitioning its method, housing market and beyond-market behaviour under one disciplinary roof but assigning each its own separate toolkit. The result is integration by segregation, a one- dimensional fork resolved by keeping the two domains apart, and the seam shows wherever a single decision carries mixed motives.
The AlBaraka Forum held the 6th AlBaraka Forum Regional Conference on 19 & 20 January 2026 at the Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi, under the theme “Islamic Economy in the Digital Age: Innovation within the Framework of Compliance”. On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Yousef Hassan Khalawi, Secretary General of AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy, assured that Islamic finance now has the potential to be on the same stage as conventional banking, as both enter the digital age at the same moment, asking the question: “Will we follow the same trend for the last fifty years? No. From today, by entering this age, either you choose to be innovative, or again, you will be number two, always like before.”
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.
Regarding taxation, Islam has laid out clear guidelines: not only is excessive taxation sinful, but even when collecting taxes even from non-Muslims, there should be no element of hardship. For example, Urwah ibn Zubayr narrated that Hisham ibn Hakeem (RA) once saw a tax collector in Homs mistreating some Christian Copts by making them stand under the sun while collecting Jizya. He objected, citing the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who said: “Allah will punish those who torment people in this world” (Sunan Abi Dawood 3045).
The book compares Islamic and conventional economics in response to economic crises, both across countries and financial institutions and provides a brief analysis of financial crises from a theoretical point of view, examining various approaches. It discusses how the Islamic financial system could serve to mitigate the occurrence of a financial crisis, since the prohibition of Riba, Maysir, and Gharar transactions offers a solution to financial crisis from speculative bubbles and crash. It also discusses some of the challenges facing the Islamic finance industry.
Lack of awareness about Zakat rules is also an important barrier. A great majority of people are not aware of treatment of real estate, financial assets, receivables and debts. It is important to raise awareness and urgency about Zakat. It is a religious obligation and its effective mobilization and disbursement can improve social welfare of masses. Hence, it is critical to raise awareness using public broadcast media, awareness seminars, mosque sermons and other ways of engagement. A hotline and availability of scholar at district office can help the community in Zakat assessment as well.
March 2025 (Vol 5, Issue 3) issue of Moral Reflections on Economics features Article on Reforms in the Zakat System, Highlights of Global Risk Report 2025 by Muhammad Hammad,
Limitations in Mainstream Economics by Mohammad Afif Naqib, Muhammad Faiq, Muhammad Luqman, Muhammad Afi and Mohamad Syahid, IEP Public Poll results on Effects of USA’s Reciprocal Tariffs on Asian Exports, Book review of Islamic Economics and Financial Crisis edited by Prof. Erhan Akkas, Research paper in focus on Blockchain Technology in Zakat Management in India by Arfan Ghouse and Ibrahim Mohammed, Reflections on Lessons from Fasting in Ramadan and regular sections of market news, economic and financial indicators and call for papers.
Islamic Economics Project 