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Economics

The following articles are written by various writers on issues related to Economics & Islam. Please note that these are selected articles and not a full list of articles available on this site, to see a full list on this topic please click on the category label:

Adam Smith's praise of the Caliphate

Q&A: The dollar crisis, rising oil & commodity prices

Big oil speculators ensure that a barrel of oil crosses the $135 mark

The Crude facts

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Food Crisis - The Failure of Capitalist Economics and Global Institutions

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Economic Colonisation: The Forgotten Killer

All Bribery is Haram (Forbidden)

Dollar’s decline: A crisis or an opportunity?

The Indian stock market crash, an Islamic perspective

The prohibition of Insurance in Islam

The Laws of Partnerships (Companies) in Islam

Rethinking Intellectual Property

The difference between the Capitalist, Communist & the Islamic economic System

Scarcity is not so Scarce


The Significance of Zakah

“Creditors have better memories than Debtors”

The Shock in the Kuwaiti Money Market its causes & how to deal with it

Shouldn't there be a war on poverty?

The Role of Contracts in Islam

Islam and the economic question

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear brother,
I would like to know the islamic ruling regarding formation of committees for giving zakah.Some people say it should be given individually,becoz its the duty of the khalifah and some say since the khilafah is not there we should make "mohalla" committees and give it so that zakah can be distributed effectively.What is the Islamic ipinion in this issue?
Islamic Revival said…
It is permitted to have temporary charity organisations to collect and distribute the zakah on condition they do not use that money for their administrative costs. The problem is with permanent organisations, it is not allowed to have them for the collection and distribution of the Zakah as in origin it is the job of the Khalifah.

Imam Tahawi also narrates a Hadith from Muslim ibn Yasar that the Prophet (saw) said, “The (collection of the) Zakah, the (implementation of the) Hudood the (distribution of the) spoils and the (appointment of the) Jumu.ah are for the Sultan..” (A similar narration has been narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musanaf and also by Imam Narghiyani. They have been deemed acceptable.)
anayatullah said…
assalomoaliku brother
i want to know that how this time i covince about khilafah.because some peaplle told this time only do for iman and aqeeda.and khilafah is is impossible this time.
Anonymous said…
Assalamu alaikum

Akh karim! Allah reward you for your efforts, however your distinction between permanent and non-permanent charirities is somewhat difficult to understand. In Islam all charities are principly considered as suspended property belonging to Allah and not to men i.e. its ownership was permanently under the ownership of Allah hence named a waqf (suspended wealth) this is inherently permanent and considered forbidden haram to be taken under private ownership. The wealth is looked after on bealf (tawkil) of those who are recipients of such charity. This is well known to all the shcolars and students of fiqh, and you can conssult someone of knowledge regarding this. Alternatively follow up some of the fatwa or fpundation books of fiqh such as Sarakhsi's mabsut or kasani's bada'i sana'i or any mazhab text of fiqh. Please advise all those who read your website of theis fundamental error and contradiction of islamic fiqh. This is in fact understood by all the scholars from the hadith of sadaqa jariyah (continueous and permanent charity). Though there are some technical differences from Abu Hanifah though not his mazhab in the status of wealth in suspension although no one disputes the issue of permenent charities. In fact in History education was mainly provided by such waqf's (correct plural awqaf) under the Ottoman Caliphate.
Sincerety would require you post this comment and allow people to know what is the position of all the Muslim ulema across all the mazahib in teh last fourteen centuries upon which there is ijma.

Remeber the saying of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the truth is old i.e. you should not fear revertig back to it after you have contradicted it.

The issue of Zakat in a tinme without Khalifah was explained by the ulema in two ways 1. it i fard ayn and therefore is done without a khalifah
2. organising it is perfectly permitted on condition that it goes o the recipients mentioned and those that collect it on behalf of the poor (sarakhsi - mabsut)
3 the communities setting up organisations n order to effectively distribute it with guidaance from the ulema in the absence of a khalifah - thsi is explicitly discussed By Imam al-Haramayn in his book al-Ghiyath al-Umam and abu Bakr ibn Arabi al-Maliki.

These are the mutamad (relied upon positions) in the mazhab of Malik and Shafi'I and what is stated by the Hanafi Ulema today.

This is what the scholars have held and given fatwa according to unless you know differently with some certitute and clear legal reasoning please explain, as your foundations seem very questionble to say the least - I am speaking specifically now regarding this fatwa you have given on this issue - if not a border line misguidance.

Allah reward you for your efforts. I anticipate reading your responce to this on your blog. Jazakumullah khair for your sincerety.

Wassalamu alaikum

your brother
Islamic Revival said…
Jazakallah khair for your message. I know that there is difference of opinion on this matter. I was stating an opinion that I am aware of. In the light of what you have said, I will check the matter - it would be very useful if you could send me the quotations from the scholars you referred to. As Ijtihad in principle cannot be made upon a reality that doesn't exist, so it is difficult to see how the Ulema of the past made Ijtihad upon the reality of the permanent charity organisations that exist today.

For example, I know that the Ulema of the Indian subcontinent had a debate about this matter when the Khilafah was destroyed - they debated the issue of Zakah and Jummu'ah and agreed that these can be administered temporarily in the absence of the Khilafah. Hence they established what is known as Imarat ash-Shariah for that function.

People also refer to quotations of the scholars such as, al-Imam Asunhaji, known as al-Kuraafi in his book Qawaaid al-Farooq says in Volume II p 206: "Whatever the prophet of Allah (SAW) did on the authority of leadership it is not allowed for anybody to perform it except by the permission of the Imam following the Messenger of Allah (SAW) because the reason of his work was in the capacity of a leader" and he said because.... "spending the money of the Bayt-al-Mal (treasury) in the direction shara' defined , collecting from the place the shar'a defined, appointing judges and walis (governors), dividing the booty and making peace treaties with the kafir whether for Dhimmah or for a cease-fire; all of these are of the responsibilities of the Khalifah.... or his assistants or deputy, and it is not allowed for anybody except him"

Allah (swt) knows best
Anonymous said…
As a side point the ijtihad is done on principle ahkam and maxims that are applicable today, via a process of takhrij and indiraj, refer to Imam Nawawi's al Majmou tehintroductory discussion pertaining to adab al-fatwa
Islamic Revival said…
Of course I agree that there is a difference between Ijtihad and the application of a hukm which can be done by a faqih who does not have to be a Mujtahid.

However many issues today such as this require Ijtihad and attempting to apply fatawa which the scholars gave to do with the reality they were facing to new issues today can be dangerous. To do that it must be that the original reality of the rule (mannat al hukm) is the same today and not different. For example it the established rules of ikhtilat (free mixing) between men and women can be applied today by fuqaha to various situations. However this is different to when the reality of the issue is different.

For example, many modern day ulema have made the mistake of permitting the existence of PLC companies by looking at the fatawa and the principles of what the scholars in the past discussed - they looked at the reality of the PLC companies and did not see a contradiction and therefore permitted something clearly haram. The reality of PLC companies completely differ with the reality of all the company structures in Islam and therefore we cannot simply apply what the scholars said in the past 'that as long as the company does not deal in haram goods or services then it is permitted', that is true for halal company structures - but the entire structure of PLC's are different.

The scholars in the past were under the Khilafah and when they issued fatawa it was according to the reality of the time. However after the destruction of the Khilafah, the world turned upside down for the Muslims and the reality changed fundamentally in many issues. For example if we refer to what the scholars said in the past about obedience to the fasiq rulers then we would mistakenly permit obedience to the current rulers who rule by kufr which is clearly wrong.
Anonymous said…
Please be honest and put my post on in between which I explained your errors in applying the disctinction by quoting Qurafi out of context, ironically misunderstanding teh fiqh contained in Ghiyath ul-Umam which is directly pertinent. Respond to the speccific issues do not mix them up with other issues which would make what is clear unclear. Itaqullah....
Your brother
Islamic Revival said…
I didn't receive any of your comments regarding the quotation from Qurafi. Also I don't choose the order of the comments, that is fixed by the format of the blog.

The issue of mannat al-hukm that I discussed is central to the issue and cannot be ignored. Please can you include the specific quotations of the scholars and explain how they are linked to the reality today.

It is obvious that issues such as Waqfs are completely different to the charity organisations we are talking about. Nobody disagrees about having Waqfs. The subject at hand is the current permanent charity organisations, many of which are ngo's, which according to their constitutions and their reality have the collection and distribution of zakat as one of their main functions.

This is not a Qat'i (definitive) matter and therefore you should be able to see that it is possibile to have difference of opinion on this matter.
Anonymous said…
assalamu alaikum,

brother,

a brother of mine asked me this question that in capitalistic economic model, there is always interest added in everything. So, what is the Islamic economic model by which the Khilafah State would run?
Islamic Revival said…
AA

The economic system of Islam is described in detail in the following book which you can download:

http://www.khilafat.pk/home/images/books/english/the_economic_system_of_islam.pdf

ws
Anonymous said…
Salam aleikum

Whats the difference between 'Ushr and Zakah - and the issue of Nisab?
Islamic Revival said…
Al-‘Ushr’ is the Zakah on crops and fruits of fixed types. It is imposed on the ‘ushri land; a tenth when the land is irrigated by rainwater or half of the ‘ushr if irrigated by machinery. Ushr is a Zakah paid by the Muslim to those who deserve it from the eight categories. The Muslim is not required to pay it to the existing states. Rather it is not correct to give it to them because they do not rule by Islam and do not spend it on those categories Sharee’ah decides as deserving.
Anonymous said…
Salaam

I understand that we can not establish permanent organisations for the collection and distribution of the Zakah as it is the job of the Khalifah.

However, do we have an opinion on whether it's allowed to do voluntary work or even paid work for a charity such as Water Aid UK?

JazakAllah khair.
Islamic Revival said…
AA

If it is a non-Muslim organisation like the one you mentioned then as long as the job you are doing is halal then it is ok. As we are not liable for their actions.
Anonymous said…
Assalamualaikum,
I would like to know about why the Islamic Banking system invalid according to islam?

If there is already posts/books on this matter plz give links.
Anonymous said…
asalasm laikam.

Can someone please help me with this please: What is th practicla difference between Husn And Qubh and Khair and Sharr? I don not understand but i want to understant. I keep coming across the 2 terms but dont find any explaniation. Pls help if you can. Jizakallah Kair for your efforts.
Ranadhan Kareem
ws

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