History Of Islamic Economic Thought

This unique book highlights the contributions made by Muslim scholars to economic thought throughout history, a topic that has received relatively little attention in mainstream economics. Abdul Azim Islahi discusses various ways in which Muslim ideas

A historical analysis of economic thought in Islamic tradition which interrogates contemporary Islamic economics as a hybrid system.

This comprehensive survey of Islamic economic thought covers the development of ideas from the early Muslim jurists to the period of the Umayyads and Abbasids. The economic concerns of the Ottomans, Safawids and Moghuls are examined, as is the profusion of more recent writing.

The possible indebtedness of political economy to fourth-century Greek thinkers has been widely debated; the contribution of Islam, on the other hand, is consistently forgotten. This volume addresses this neglect by examining in three parts the following questions: Is there a school of economic thought that can be considered specifically 'Arab', or have the Arabs succeeded in combining the Greek heritage with other, more oriental currents? Muslim economic thought has enriched the Hellenic contribution to economic thought in the areas of government of the kingdom by the caliph, of the city and the household organisation; the Arab concept of tadbîr should be examined in relation to each of these three levels. In rejecting profit, usury, egoism and monopoly, and in preaching moderation, altruism, the practice of fair prices, and unselfishness, Islam inaugurated an 'economic system' which has derived from that of the Greeks and which laid the basis for pre-capitalist thought.

This book is a collection of papers on the origins of economic thought discovered in the writings of some prominent Islamic scholars, during the five centuries prior to the Latin Scholastics, who include St. Thomas Aquinas. This period of time was labelled by Joseph Schumpeter as representing the 'great gap' in economic history. Unfortunately, this 'gap' is well embedded in most relevant literature. However, during this period the Islamic civilization was one of the most fertile grounds for intellectual developments in various disciplines, including economics, and this book attempts to fill that blind-spot in the history of economic thought.

This book examines, in greater depth than the existing literature, the history of Islamic economic thought. It seeks to introduce Islamic views to debates surrounding critical economic concepts, such as scarcity, wealth, poverty, charity, usury, self-interest, rationality, and markets. It does so through a comparative analysis with the views of Judaic, Christian, and secular economic thought. “Prophecy” is meant to signify the theoretical dimension of religion, while “piety” represents its practical element; neither part is feasible without the other. Together, prophecy and piety inform the Islamic view of economic concepts and phenomena. This view seeks to adjust our approach to profits, both in this world and the next, and seeks to reexamine what is truly profitable and worthy of sacrifice.

Assembling contributions from top thinkers in the field, thiscompanion offers a comprehensive and sophisticated exploration ofthe history of economic thought. The volume has a threefold focus:the history of economic thought, the history of economics as adiscipline, and the historiography of economic thought. Provides sophisticated introductions to a vast array oftopics. Focuses on a unique range of topics, including the history ofeconomic thought, the history of the discipline of economics, andthe historiography of economic thought.