Islamic
Economy: Its Ideological
and Legal
Foundations
By
Ayatullah Muhammad Ali Tashkiri
Every
system, intending to achieve certain goals, must be designed in a
realistic manner. Therefore, if the system is supposed to be
implemented in order to serve human life, particularly in the
long-run, it must serve man's goals and be consistent with his
fitrah (primordial nature). This is not possible unless the
designer of the system has a command over the knowledge necessary for
understanding social and individual aspects of man. Besides, the
designer should have a thorough understanding of actual relations
between those two aspects of man and the primordial nature of man as
well. In addition to those prerequisites, the designer should
understand the historical trends of such a relationship, the needs for
the development of such relationships and methods for pursuing those
needs in order to realize an evolutionary, human approach toward
actualizing the goals of the creation of man.
Indeed, the
way the aforesaid satisfaction of needs is to be carried out should
not overlap other systems which are meant for satisfying other needs
of man. In other words, such a system should observe a wise balance
and study the role and interrelationship of other systems which
together comprise the whole system of life.
If we
assume that the designer of the system possesses all those necessary
prerequisites, we should assess subsequent stages in the process of
achieving the desirable realism which is necessary for a system
to be able to provide a proper context for itself. By this we mean the
extent to which this system is compatible with the norms and values of
the society (where the system is to be implemented), the extent of
consistence between those norms and values and the emotional values
presented by the system, and finally the extent to which this system
assures the realization of a desirable education to create social
obedience for those ideological views and emotional values.
Although
the system may be realistic, accurate, and rational in perceiving the
reality and understanding its needs and their satisfaction, it will
remain incapable if it is not preceded by an ideological impetus which
supplies the society with bases for the stance that it should take
toward the universe, the life, and the man itself. Consequently, the
ideological impetus will guarantee the system the element of iman
[faith] rescue it from the most important civilizational maladies
including ilhad [atheism], which is the opposite of iman,
and shirk [polytheism], which signifies the excessive belief in
false gods, and shakk [doubt], which is a manner resembling
other destructive attitudes. Unless these requirements are realized,
we cannot assure the provision of the first contextual element for the
system's implementation. Similarly, as long as the emotional
motivations, which are the focus of education, are not perfectly
compatible and harmonious with the ideological structure of the
society, we cannot guarantee balance in man's personality when there
is a wide gap between his beliefs and the internal and external values
and motivations that the system provides in order to satisfy his
needs. Moreover, these emotional motivations cannot form human
behavior and action unless they are strong and clearly defined.
So far, we
have realized the necessity of two factors for every system intending
to materialize its human goals: first, the planner's holistic approach
towards human reality, including his relations and needs as well as
their fulfillment concomitant with the rest of the system; second,
facilitating its implementation through faith and compatible emotional
motivations.
Realism, in
turn, requires the following two fundamental factors: first, the
system should contain legal guarantees binding all those who oppose
the harmonious human nature or those few who have not chosen the
complete iman or the full commitment to the requirements of
iman; second, it has a perfect flexibility to accommodate the
temporal and spatial variations in human life and provides fixed
solutions for fixed elements of human life and flexible ones for the
accommodation of its alterable elements.
We believe
that Islam was correct in announcing its rule in the form of general
rules. Thus, it did not ignore any one of those aspects, but observed
them perfectly and completed the religion which provides appropriate
answers to man's needs till the Day of Judgment.
Accordingly, it announces that the whole Islamic system is based on
reality and nature and that it is the fixed truth aiming at serving
human beings and accomplishing the purpose of his creation. Thus, it
enjoins whatever is desirable and forbids whatever is refused by the
nature.
God, the
Exalted, says: "Then set your face upright for religion in the
right state, the nature made by Allah in which He has made men. There
is no alteration in Allah's creation. That is the right religion but
most people do not know." (30:30)
And He, the
Exalted, says: "Say: O people! Indeed there has come to you the
truth from your Lord ..." (10:108)
And He, the
Exalted, says: "O you who believe! Answer (the call of) Allah and
the Apostle when he calls you to that which gives you life, and know
that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you
shall be gathered." (8:24)
And He, the
Exalted, says: "Those who follow the Apostle Prophet, who was
taught neither to read nor to write, whom they find written down with
them in the Tawrah and the Injil [Old and New Testaments], (who)
enjoins them to do good and forbids them from doing evil, and makes
the pure and good things halal [lawful] for them and makes impure and
harmful things haram [prohibited] for them, and remove from them their
burden and the shackles which were upon them. So (as for) those who
believe in him and support him and help him and follow the light which
was sent down with him, they are indeed the saved." (7:157)
The proof
of this argument is the same one that proves its attribution to the
Great Creator as it proves for this Creator all attributes of
knowledge about all facts and full, absolute control over the
formation of shari`ah (the comprehensive body of Islamic
rules), and perfect kindness to the servants and other attributes
which are not imaginable for any body other than Him the Exalted.
We are not
to present any reasoning for this but only point to the Holy Qur'an's
emphasis on this fact in all occasions when it points to Allah's
kindness and knowledge:
"Does He
not know Who He created? He it is Who made the earth smooth for you,
therefore go about in the spacious sides thereof, and eat of His
sustenance, and to Him is the return after death." (67:14-15)
"Say:
Allah suffices as a witness between me and you. Surely He is Aware of
His servants, Seeing. And whomsoever Allah guides, is the follower of
the right way, and whomsoever He causes to err, you shall not find for
him guardians besides Him. And We will gather them together on the day
of resurrection on their faces, blind and dumb and deaf. Their abode
is hell, whenever it becomes allayed We will add to their burning."
(17:96-97)
After this
introduction, we try to discuss several points pertaining to the core
of the discussion with emphasis on the following subjects:
1. Major
attributes of the Islamic economy, their natural character, and
Islam's emphasis on them.
2. The
proper grounds Islam prepares for its economic system.
3.
Relationship between this system and other systems.
4.
Flexibility of the Islamic economic system.
Salient
Features of the Islamic Economy
When we
study the Islamic economy as a way which Islam prescribes for
individual and social behavior in the economic field and examine
Islam's rules in this area, we can conclude that its most important
attribute is social justice. In this respect, the Islamic
economy resembles all other systems that claim to be serving human
being and realizing his social aspirations but it differs from them in
the details of its conception of social justice.
Justice
cannot emerge unless the following requirements are present: first,
believing in the private and social property on an equal and advanced
level in a way that the private property acts on the fulfillment of
man's natural demands for possessing the result of his effort and
obtaining the benefits of his business. While the public property aims
at guaranteeing that social action enjoys a social product through
which the provision of some needs and shortages would become
possible.
Second,
faith in individual economic freedom as a general, continuous,
comprehensive principle which stems from the nature of the ownership
along with the belief in the existence of some limits at which this
freedom ends. This is for the purpose of either guaranteeing
individual's interest as in the case of objects the use of which was
outlawed because of the physical or moral damage that they could
inflict upon the individual, or to secure others' rights and liberties
which is also a natural guarantee admitted by all religions and human
affiliations.
Third,
faith in the principle of mutual responsibility. Islam guarantees, for
every individual in the Islamic society, the subsistence level,
i.e., provision of his natural needs. The government is obliged to
provide this minimum for all and it is absolutely impermissible that
even a single needy person is found in the Islamic society. Regarding
how to make the society economically capable of doing this, the
following factors may be mentioned:
-
Obliging
individuals to accomplish their responsibilities and duties with
respect to the provision of the necessary needs of others.
Since one of government's responsibilities is to compel individuals
to perform their obligations, even those which are individual, it
may bind individuals to carry out these duties as well.
-
The legal
power of waliy al-amr [head of the Islamic government] to
determine the limits of public domain (saddu mantaqat al-mubahat)
through legislation supplies the government with the desirable
power.
-
Public
properties and anfal [properties with no particular owner/s]
which are designated by the government as public properties which
the government oversees and uses to achieve the above goal.
-
Financial
punishments and methods that are devised by Islam to transfer
private properties to the public ownership as with respect to
mawqufat [endowments] or the lands the inhabitants of which
perished or the dead without heirs and so forth.
-
Nature of
the Islamic legislation--as Shahid al-Sadr (r) put it--which aims at
strengthening the social structure for the realization of this
mutual responsibility.
Fourth,
belief in the principle of social balance and refusal of the class
system in the Islamic society. We came to know through the third point
that the required minimum is to provide subsistence for all
individuals. As far as the maximum is concerned, it may be assumed
through the following factors:
1. The
prohibition of tabdhir and israf [wasting and
squandering] in all areas, therefore, an individual cannot possibly
trespass to the line of israf.
2. The
prohibition of every action that leads to misuse of particular
properties, and of lahw [amusement] and mujun
[impudence].
3.
Rejection of all social and economic privileges which discriminate
between different groups of people which, in turn, eliminates all the
grounds for the emergence of the class system.
If we go
back and scrutinize all of these features and expose them to human
nature and conscience we will find them principles that may be
admitted in a natural way. This explains the return of each of the two
extremist systems of capitalism and socialism to a moderate position
after its collision with opposing natural factors--as we believe.
The natural
basis of these views is evidently emphasized by general regulatory and
conceptual authoritative texts (nusus) that are numerous and to
some of which we point here:
There are
nusus that stress the inherence character of private and public
property:
The Exalted
says: "And the man shall gain nothing but what he strives for."
(53:39) (naturally if we interpret it as including worldly
possession).
Amir al-mu'minin
(`a) says: "This property is indeed neither mine nor yours but it
is a collective property of the Muslims ... what is earned by their
hands does not belong to any mouths other than theirs." (Nahj al-Balaghah,
sermon 232)
There are
some nusus that emphasize the economic freedom in a natural
form the clearest of which is the rule on which all fuqaha'
[Islamic scholars] rely, namely the rule (Al-nasu musallatuna `ala
amwalihim [people are in control of their properties]). Naturally,
there are some limits to this freedom which are mentioned by other
nusus stressing that this restriction is only for the benefit of
the individual and the society.
There are
some nusus that emphasize the inherence of mutual
responsibility and cooperation and further consider all kinds of
negligence with respect to this principle as a general rejection of
din [faith and religion]. The Exalted says: "Have you seen the
person who rejects the religion? He is the one who treats the orphan
with harshness, and does not urge (others) to feed the poor."
(107:1-3)
Finally,
there are some nusus that stress the necessity for the
realization of balance in the society through their emphasis on the
prohibition of israf and also the necessity of renouncing
poverty and providing subsistence for every individual. The Imam (`a)
says, while speaking of the duties of the waliy al-amr [leader]
toward the needy: "He keeps giving him from zakah till he makes
him needless."
The Proper Grounds Which Islam Prepares
for Its Economic System
In this
regard, the analyst can find in front of him a huge wealth of noble
nusus that emphasize various concepts and numerous rules and fixed
historical laws and that all serve the cause of Islamic economy and
participate, in a natural way, in the realization of its far-reaching
goals. We mention below a number of these issues:
A. The
Real ownership belongs to Allah, the Exalted: This principle is the
most important tenet that forms man's image as it leaves its visible
marks on the economic behavior of Muslim individual. Ownership belongs
only to the Unpaired, Almighty Allah and He the Exalted bestowed an
assumed, legal ownership upon the human being so that it distributes the
properties among its individuals and exercises this ownership according
to the purposes that Allah chose for the benefit of humanity. This
notion has great influence on the exclusion of negative effects on
ownership in its absolute capitalistic form.
B. The
purpose is to reclaim the land through a joint, human effort and
responsibility: In this way, the man believes that the human effort
from the beginning to the end is one and that the important goal is to
make the humanity subservient before God, establish the worshipping
society and prepare the grounds for it through making the earth
inhabitable, extract the greatest benefits from it to the advantage of
all through performing the duties arising from the joint responsibility.
Diversion from this is diversion from the purpose.
C. Ethical
concepts in the service of economic cause: Islamic nusus are
full of a magnificent ethical plan which leads to its contribution to
this economic system and to the realization of its goals. Most of the
riwayat [traditions], on one hand, encourage in the human being the
spirit of cooperation, responsibility, Islamic fraternity, ithar
[self-sacrifice], zuhd [piety], and compassion for the miseries
and aspirations of others. On the other hand, they drive away from the
human being such vices as stinginess, greed, exclusivism, transgressing
the rights of others, opportunism, avarice, and envy. Imam Sadiq (`a)
counted all good manners as the troopers of `aql [wisdom] and all
vicious attributes as the troopers of jahl [ignorance]. We can
neither mention all of the riwayat in this regard nor touch on
their educational details, therefore, only point to this particular fact
that the Islamic ethics and educational system augment in human being
the spirit of generosity before they emphasize the economic freedom and
the possibility of using it to his own particular benefits. The story of
Qarun [Korah] is well-known for its focus on this ethical principle (And
seek by means of what Allah has given to you the other world's abode and
do not neglect your share of this world ... (28:77)).
This story
and this principle is a multifaceted Islamic creed which, if prevails in
the society, will provide the greatest grounds for the implementation of
the desirable economic system.
D. Al-infaq
al-mustahabb [commendable spending for a divine cause] and the
extended life: Here, a wonderful aspect of the solution to the
problem of conflict between the inherent motivations for serving one's
self and the motivations for serving the society is manifested.
According to this notion, one begins with the prolongation of his own
life and ends up with a level of eternity in the hereafter. He finds out
that self-interest and social interest are integrated; a notion that
encourages him to make continuous infaq which does not ever run
out of its driving forces according to the principle which says "whoever
establishes a favorable habit he will be rewarded both for it and for
the action of whoever follows it." And here we would like to remind
emphatically the extended effect of waqf since, as the result of
these motivations, the private property is transferred to the public
ownership and man's permanent exploitation of his property is realized.
E.
Shukr al-ni`mah [gratitude for a blessing] means to make the best
use of the wealth and avoiding its waste: The major problem in the
global economic domain does not lie in the weakness of growth rates of
natural resources and their failure to keep up with the population
growth rate but it lies in the failure to make ideal use of natural
resources or, as the nusus put it, in kufran al-ni`mah
[ingratitude for the blessing] and squandering the natural, mineral and
animal resources and so forth (And He gave you of whatever you asked
Him for and if you count Allah's blessings you will not (possibly)
obtain their number. Man is indeed very unjust, very ungrateful. ...
(14:34))
And it is a
kind of shukr al-ni`mah to make ideal use of he labor force and
to avoid wasting it. For this reason, the nusus emphasize the
continuous work and even declare it obligatory for those who are able.
F.
Relationship between moralities and material pursuits at the
civilizational level: There is an amazing civilizational fact that
nobody can perceive it except those who believe in the ghayb [the
metaphysical world] and its various aspects. The Holy Qur`an stresses
that zulm [injustice] leads to halak [annihilation] (Thus,
because of their injustice We destroyed them) and that 'adl
[justice] and du`a' [praying] and shukr [gratitude] leads,
in a lawful way, to rakha' [comfort] (Ask for your Lord's
forgiveness, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send down the
cloud upon you pouring down abundance of rain. And help you with
properties and sons, and make for you gardens and make for you rivers.
(71:10-12). This fact arouses, in hearts, a great hope in the
future, even the material future, and opens the way for a social and
economic dynamism.
Add to what
was mentioned above other major factors that contributes to this
background.
Strong Connection With
Other Systems
It is evident
in all systems devised by Islam that they are put forward as parts of a
larger system which includes, in general, the whole universe. These
systems are in strong and close interconnection in such a manner that
none of them can achieve its desired goal without the implementation of
other systems (and naturally, we do not claim here that the obligation
to set up the system hinges on the establishment of other systems but
what we emphasize is the issue of system's achievement of all of its
desired goals.)
In this
regard the following points should be made:
A. Certain
areas of the social system are reserved to be filled by the waliy al-amr
(or by some one appointed by him) due to his ijtihad [ability to
extract Islamic rule whenever needed] and determination of the nature of
the prevailing situations and ummah's interest. This is what we observe,
for example, in economic, legal, and penal systems and in the
institutions of waqf [endowment], mu`amalat
[transactions], irth [inheritance], and so forth. This fact
indicates the complete connection between these institutions and the
ruling political system.
B. The
economic system is strongly related to the system of `ibadat [worshippings].
This is the issue which is sometimes presented as the companionship of
the prayers and zakah in tens of Qur'anic cases. Zakah and
khums are two financial `ibadahs. Financial kaffarat
[expiations] are, in fact, also a huge economic participation by `ibadat
system in the service of public economic interest. It should not be
ignored that some `ibadahs like sawm [fasting] and hajj
provide the elements of economic grounds, to which we clearly pointed.
There are certain `ibadahs that strongly contribute to the public
ownership such as waqf, if we require niyyat al-qurbah
[proximity intention] in it.
C. The
economic system and its goals and pecularities naturally have a strong
connection with the system of mu`amalat [transactions] which is
designed in such a manner to provide the proper environment for the
realization of mutual responsibility, balance, and dual ownership,
emphasize the labor element, and prohibits riba [usury], 'akl
al-mali bi al-batil [financial misappropriation], harmful acts,
lahw [debauchery], and wasting of the wealth.
D. There is a
considerable linkage between the economic system and the system of
jihad [military defense] in Islam for the latter system involves, in
addition to combative rules and methods, implications for ownership, war
spoils, and so forth.
E.
Undoubtedly, the economic system is also related to the social system
including the form of society's principle cell, i.e. the family, and
also the social relations among the families, and individual's relations
with the society. All of these are predominated by social Islamic rules
including mutual responsibility and balance, which form the most
important characteristics in the economy as we mentioned frequently.
This argument also involves the rules regarding mahrs [dowries],
nafaqahs [allowances], various methods of division of labor, and
such issues as irth [inheritance], wasiiyyahs [bequests],
and the rulings with regard to children, qada' [adjudication],
financial ta`zirs [discretionary punishments] and other varieties
of financial punishments, and others which may not be all discussed in
this limited space.
G. Touching
on these relations, the late Ayatullah al-Sadr points to another aspect
of the issue, namely the relationship between government's economic
doctrine and its financial policy which is, in fact, a part of
government's planning for enforcement of the laws of Islamic economy,
thus, it is a part of the economy itself.
H. We already
pointed to the link between Islam's economic system and its ethical
system which makes the latter one of the major preludes and the
motivating element for the ummah in the way of implementing the
economic system and realizing its goals to such an extent that it
becomes hard to distinguish between the two systems.
Here I would
like to point, as a diversion from the main course of discussion, to the
fact that Islam addresses the whole life in general and devises for it
the best system which guides toward the goal in a deliberate manner and
based on principles of justice and equity. Whereas we find the
positivist world today floundering in the establishment of a desirable
system for the protection of human dignity, distribution of
responsibilities, and realization of rights. Therefore, social systems
collapse, one after another, and admit their defeat while Islam remains
a straight religion without any deviation.
As an example
for this argument, we focus on the slogan which the positivist world
spouts through giving it a widespread global character and which has
recently altered to a sweeping emotional wave, namely the slogan of
equality of women and men in all situations, periods, and places, and
with respect to all rights without any exceptions whatever it would be.
We have been finding this slogan tens of times in the documents
presented in the conferences of Mexico City, Bucharest, Cairo, and
recently in a strong and explicit form, in the Beijing Conference on
Woman. We see the document produced by this conference concentrating,
specifically, on the issues of inheritance, absolute material equality,
judgeship, and the so called sexual freedom rights for all ages and so
forth.
We consider
this slogan as a blind assertion although it has an attractive
appearance since equality is one of the principles favorable to the
human taste concerning two individuals whose rights are equal in terms
of their human dignity and affiliation, i.e. the man and the woman. But
this principle is not too general to have exceptions. This is due to the
natural differences between man's and woman's physical and emotional
structures, nature of the social responsibility which is to be carried
out by each, and the extent of participation by each in the social
construction including the establishment of social justice. Hence, we
may not call out the slogan of quantitative equality without considering
the desired balance otherwise we will commit, through this equality,
injustice and unfairness. When the principles of equality and social
justice are in conflict, one may ask to which one the priority goes?
Undoubtedly, the principle of justice is the one which common-sense
testifies to its generality and insusceptibility to exception,
therefore, social justice qualifies the principle of equality and even
determines its socially desired form.
We feel great
regret on the blind, sweeping, global wave that has been put forward
thoughtlessly and that criticizes against the Islamic inheritance system
pretending to ignore that it is part of a whole and that there is a
wonderful balance between this system and the nafaqah [allowance]
system and the duties of each of the man and the woman in the social
life.
The
Flexibility of Islamic Economic System
This subject
is, in general, related to the flexible character of Islamic rules but
we will show it from the economic angle. Briefly, Islam supplied this
system with all necessary elements which enable it to accommodate the
vital changes which occur frequently and rapidly in the economic field.
The reason is that economy is a field related to the complexities of
man's social life as well as to nature's ability to provide, and the
proper environmental conditions, and so on. Therefore, with respect to
land distribution and ownership, there is a great difference between the
situation of land's perfect abundance and man's insufficient physical
power and the situation of scarcity and increasing shortage resulted
from human growth rates on one hand, and man's immense technological
power to reclaim the land. This difference may affect the issues of
hiyazah [occupancy] -which is considered as an ownership factor-,
social development, mines' ownership, vertical ownership -both in depth
and in altitude-, energy's ownership, etc.
This
difference may also influence the issue of alteration of the nature and
effects of property relationship leading mujtahids [jurists] to
keep aloof from the issue of absolute ownership of land and suggest the
subject of haqq al-ikhtisas [exclusivity right] which results
from the impact made by the individual on the land, thus when the impact
ceases to exist the right will expire and returns to the public domain
which can be used by the Islamic state according to the public
interest.
Therefore,
existence of the element of ijtihad and its constant openness
represents one of flexibility elements without which one cannot know the
developments' effects on the nature of the rule deduced form the
nusus.
The fact that
Islam put forward certain broad economic rules and related them to the
`urf [prevailing standards of conduct] concept has a special
connotation for notions like israf and tabdhir [wasting
and squandering], faqr and ghina [poverty and
needlessness], al-nafaqat al-muta`arifah [customary allowance],
al-manfa`at al-muhallalah [lawful profit], ma`un [basic
need], riba [usury], mithliyyah and qimiyyah [fungibility
and being ad valorem], circulation and depression of cash
currencies, daman [liability], individual and social damage,
haraj [impediment], darurah [urgency], al-maslahat al-`ulya
[the higher expediency], being asbaq [preceding] in waqf,
being `aqdiy [contractual], being bay`iy [exchange], trade
through taradi [mutual agreement], being qimariy [gamble],
lahw, and even `adalah [justice], zulm [injustice],
ta`addi [transgression], and akl al-mal bi al-batil
[misappropriation of property]. Thus, `urf intervenes when these
concepts change, often due to change in conditions, and consequently, as
a result of change in the `urfi [commonplace] view of the subject
the judgment also changes as we saw in the issue of shatranj
[chess] for example.
However, the
most important element on which the Islamic system concentrates is the
element of intervention by the mujtahid, just waliy al-amr
in the economic life. This intervention has its own criteria, rules, and
what the late al-Sadr calls the penetrating beams that illuminate
Islam's positions and give it the spirit of the system and its
promising goals1. In such a system, the waliy has the
obligation to take advantage of his social power and true commitment to
Islam and the Islamic expediency of the ummah and, through
consultation with the masters of knowledge and expertise, carry out his
duties which can be summarized as the following:
1.
Identification of the best methods and executive arrangements for the
enforcement of the fixed rules of Allah, e.g. looking for the best way
to eliminate riba in the society while preserving the positive
activities performed by the banks.
2. Filling
the public domain with laws in accordance with the supreme Islamic
expediency while preserving, as much as possible, the primary rule
regarding the various cases.
3.
Determining the extent to which the conditions are favorable for the
enforcement of Islamic rules and institutions. Therefore, if the
faqih finds the conditions and the rules in such a serious
incompatibility that is called by the scholars of usul as
tazahum [conflict], namely tazahum between the wujub [obligatoriness]
of implementing the hukm [ruling] and the prohibition of
resulting evil consequences, he must produce the best possible solution
to facilitate the implementation of the hukm while compensating
its mafsadahs [damaging results]. If this appears to be
impossible he should shift to the area of tarjih bi al-ahammiyah
[preference based on priority] which is a vast area that follows the
opinions of experts and mujtahids. The situation may reach to a
point that due to the priority of preventing the mafsadah caused
by it, the implementation of a certain hukm is suspended. This area is
an accurate and a delicate one which is not to be resorted to except in
rare situations.
Conclusions
Based on what
was discussed above we can briefly highlight the following practical
conclusions:
First, we
repeatedly see or hear those who suggest the idea of cross-combination
of ideology and system which signifies the establishment of a socialist
or a capitalist economic system in an Islamic environment or the
implementation of Islamic institutions in secular social structures.
When these combinationists do not achieve desirable results from their
efforts they tend to ignore the contradiction between the system and its
implementation context and place the blame on the system itself. We may
mention two experiences as examples here:
1) the
experience of establishing socialist systems in our Islamic world and
their quick failure as in Algeria -- during Houari Boumedienne's
presidency -- and Libya.
2) the
experiment of setting up al-qard al-hasan [interest-free loan]
funds under secular systems where it was struck with unsatisfactory
results that encouraged the opponents to attack the resulting situation
as cacophony and accusing the planners of neglecting the absence of
favorable conditions.
Second, If we
wish to achieve good results in our Islamic community, we must provide
the desirable grounds through deepening the faith in Allah and
disseminating the elevated Islamic ethics, explicate the Islamic
concepts related to economics and convey them to the public, and strive
to mobilize the feelings and sensations and give them a desirable
Islamic shape. As long as we do not accomplish this task we should not
expect ideal results. In this regard, I would like to draw your
attention to some advertising tactics employed by the banks which
concentrate on the profits generated by the money deposited in al-qard
al-hasan funds and on prizes that it may bring for the depositors
without ever referring to the great reward which ensues whenever they
participate in the revitalization of the public economy and server the
society through their bank activities and deposits and without
mentioning the noble ayat and ahadith which call for such
deeds.
Third, we
propose that Islamic banks form a fiqhi committee consisting of
prominent scholars, and further, that the mujtahids in al-hawzat al-`ilmiyyah
(Islamic theological schools) undertake a study about the legitimacy and
plausibility of the proposed economic, financial, and banking systems
from the viewpoint of Islamic laws and constantly express their opinions
concerning new forms for such systems.
Bay` al-salam
[forward sale], and bay` al-salam al-mumathil [fungible forward
sale], bay` al-istisna' [manufactural sale], tawrid
[mutual forward] contracts, murabahah [resale with stated profit]
contracts, and so on are examples of economic institutions that provide
banks with more alternatives for economic activities. This is what the
late Shahid al-Sadr proposed a quarter of a century ago through his
famous proposal known as riba-free banking and what I put forward
as the draft law for the prohibition of riba in the Islamic
Republic of Iran. Ijtihad is indeed a source of blessing and
Islamic rules are overflowing reserves that can undoubtedly help us to
safeguard the Islamic character and spirit and overcome the difficulties
caused by the developments of modern life.
Endnotes
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These goals
include, for example, Qur'an's emphasis on avoidance from creating a
situation that causes exclusive circulation of wealth only among the
rich, and its emphasis on the necessity to prohibit the manipulation
of the property which Allah made the sustenance of the ummah, or the
emphasis by some nusus on the view that the purpose of trade is to
extract benefits or on the prohibition of hajj if its opening results
in evil consequences and so on.
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