In my view this path-breaking study is characterized, among others, by at least five distinctive features.
Firstly, it is a scholarly and sympathetic critique of mainstream economics, from both the economic as well as moral perspectives. As a professional economist Dr. Chapra is aware of the usefulness as well as the limitations of economics as it has developed in the Western capitalist context. Conscious of the intrinsic value of economic analysis and the contributions it can make towards the amelioration of the human situation on the globe, he identifies the weaknesses that have marred the discipline from playing its rightful role. His approach is not negative, it is positive and creative. He identifies where things have gone wrong and suggests what is needed to set them right. He is not an iconoclast. He is an innovator and a reformer who wants to build on what exists, yet build in a manner that rectifies what has gone wrong. His concern is not confined to the moral and social dimensions, which are crucial to his analysis, but also to strengthen the micro-foundations of economics which need refurbishing to enable them to strengthen the macro-framework and achieve the social objectives.
Secondly, this study makes a systematic effort to bring back the focus of economics onto the question of equity and justice, without weakening the concern for efficiency. The twin objectives of equity and efficiency must go together if economics is to be a science of human well-being and not merely ‘the dismal science of wealth’. Dr. Chapra has done a wonderful job by introducing the concepts of moral filters and by rehabilitating the equity dimension within the matrix of mainstream economics.
Thirdly, Dr. Chapra has meticulously placed Islamic Economics in the landscape of economics. He does not treat Islamic Economics as a separate species. He looks upon the economic problem from an Islamic perspective and as such makes an innovative effort to bring economics in harmony with the Islamic vision and social order. Islam and economics are so intertwined that economics develop a new direction and discover a new world to traverse.
Fourthly, this study makes a brief but succinct and masterly presentation of the state of art of Islamic Economics. Not a survey in the technical sense, it does present an incisive review of major contributions to economics made from an Islamic perspective by Islamic economists during the last century. Although the focus is more on monetary and fiscal aspects, yet Dr. Chapra successfully brings out the flavour of Islamic economic thinking and has identified some of the major avenues it has tried to explore. He is fully conscious of the gaps and challenges, but he very objectively illumines major landmarks in this field.
Finally, this is the first time that an Islamic economist has critically looked into Muslim economic history with a view to throwing light on what has gone wrong with our own history and how real resurgence and sustained socio-economic development can be achieved in the future. He is not satisfied with merely painting a pen-picture of Islamic ideals, values and principles. Drawing upon Ibn Khaldūn he analyzes the causes of economic and political decay and decline, with a view to delineating the path to recovery and reconstruction. This is an original contribution made with great insight, clarity and courage. One may disagree with a point here or a surmise there, but I have no reservation in saying that Dr. Chapra has broken fresh ground in this difficult area. I am confident his analysis and prescription will go a long way in inspiring, even provoking, others to follow the trail and come up with fresh approaches to understand the past and plan the future. This blend of economics and history, especially from an Islamic perspective, is a seminal contribution to our literature. Dr. Chapra’s work also represents an effort to marry idealism with realism, a quality one finds rarely actualized in contemporary writings.
Dr. Chapra is rightly concerned about the future of economics, as much as he is about the future of the Muslim ummah. The message of the book is that while economics needs moral enrichment from an Islamic perspective so as to make it really useful for mankind in its search for a just world order, the Muslim ummah also needs to become more serious about economics’ history, and its own deficiencies if it wants to inaugurate a new chapter in its life. All of us must be prepared to face hard facts and try to get rid of wishful thinking and simple platitudes. I hope this voice of sanity will not go unheeded.
| Islamabad | Khurshid Ahmad |
| 29 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1420 | |
| 6 March 2000 |
Questions and Acknowledgements
Every nation has a direction [or vision] towards which it turns; you, therefore, try to excel in all that is good.
(al-Qur’ān, 2: 148)1
We wish to bestow Our favours on those who have been oppressed on earth; to make them leaders and heirs and to establish them firmly on earth.
(al-Qur’ān, 28: 5–6)
If Islam can be shown to be capable of providing fruitful vision to illuminate the modern conscience, then all mankind, and not only Muslims, have a stake in the outcome.
(Marshall Hodgson)2
Does economics have a role to play in the realization of a society’s vision? This is a crucial question the answer to which depends on the direction economics may take in the future. However, once we talk of the vision, then there arise related questions of whether different societies may have different visions, and whether these differences are reflected in the approach to Social Sciences in those societies. Muslims have always felt that Islam has a vision of its own and, accordingly, several centuries ago, during the upsurge of the Islamic civilization, began to elaborate the contours of a social, political and economic system that would be conducive to the realization of this vision. However, when the Muslims became subject to a process of decline, followed by foreign occupation, it was no longer possible to even think of realizing that vision. In this respect, the development of the Social Sciences with an Islamic perspective suffered a severe setback. The vision has, however, risen to the surface once again following the independence gained by Muslim countries, and the development of Social Sciences, including economics, in conformity with this paradigm.
A number of questions are, therefore, being raised. The first and foremost concerns the vision itself – what is it, and how does it differ from conventional economics and its offshoots of welfare, grants, social, humanistic, and institutional economics, all of which developed in the West during the period of Muslim decline? A vision essentially indicates a perception of what a society ‘ought to be’ about. Life would be very pleasant indeed if the prevailing conditions were in harmony with this vision. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. There is usually a significant gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what ought to be’. The question that, therefore, arises is how to bridge the gap? Can this be done by merely analyzing ‘what is’, or is it also necessary to figure out why the ‘is’ is not as close to what ‘ought to be’? Should the nature and mechanics of social, economic and political change that are necessary to bridge the gap also be demonstrated? Since the Islamic vision is basically moral and egalitarian and the paradigm on which it is based religious, there arises the question of whether it is possible to build science on a religious paradigm. If the answer is in the affirmative, then we get into the perplexing question of why the Muslim world slid backward in science and technology after making valuable contributions for more than 400 years? Was this reversal due to Islam or to other factors? These and other questions are addressed in the Introduction and the first four Chapters of this book.
However, no society operates in an historical vacuum. It is affected by a number of interrelated historical developments. It may not be possible to discuss a meaningful strategy for the future development of Muslim countries and the realization of the Islamic vision without tracing the
