Economy in Islamic Jurisprudence (Book)
Economy in Islamic Jurisprudence (اقتصاد در فقه اسلامی), a work by Sayyid Jafar Hosseini and Mohammad Qazizadeh, examines the foundations of the Islamic economic system. This system is based on three principles: 1. Diverse ownership (private, public, and state), which fundamentally differs from ownership in capitalism and socialism; 2. Economic freedom conditional upon Sharia laws, including intrinsic (moral) and objective (state laws) limitations; 3. Social justice centered on the provision of basic livelihood and class balance.
| Economy in Islamic Jurisprudence | |
|---|---|
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| Book Information | |
| Author | Sayyid Jafar Hosseini and Mohammad Qazizadeh |
| Subject | Islamic Economy |
| Language | Persian |
| Pages | 384 |
| Publication Information | |
| Publisher | Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah |
- Abstract
By citing verses (ayat) and narrations (riwayat), the authors consider private ownership to be based on labor, public ownership to encompass natural resources, and state ownership to include public wealth (anfal) and the Islamic one-fifth tax (khums). Furthermore, they elucidate the role of the government in economic supervision and the realization of justice (such as the prohibition of hoarding and usury). This work demonstrates that the Islamic economy is neither capitalist nor socialist; rather, it presents an independent model centered on human dignity and economic equilibrium.
Brief Overview
Economy in Islamic Jurisprudence, a book in the field of Islamic economics, is the result of a joint research project by Sayyid Jafar Hosseini and Mohammad Qazizadeh. The authors examine three principles: diverse ownership (private, public, and state), economic freedom (conditional upon compliance with regulations), and social justice as the main foundations of the Islamic economic school.
This book was published in Persian by Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah publications in Tehran in 1991 (1370 SH) in 384 pages.
Structure and Content of the Book
In the introductory section of the book, Hosseini and Qazizadeh have examined the concept of ownership (p. 9) and ownership in the prominent economic systems of the world (p. 31). Subsequently, they have separately explained the main topics of the book, namely the general structure of the Islamic economic system, under three principles: 1. Diverse ownership (p. 93), 2. Economic freedom limited by regulations (p. 204), and 3. The principle of social justice (p. 322). In this book, the foreword is located at the beginning, and the table of contents and sources are placed at the end of the work.
Comparison of Ownership in World Economic Systems and Islam
After analyzing the principle of ownership in capitalist and Marxist systems, the authors have concluded that ownership in the Islamic economy fundamentally differs from these two systems. In the capitalist system, individual ownership is officially recognized, whereas socialism negates private ownership. In contrast, Islam advocates for diverse ownership (pp. 70-71).
According to the authors of the book, from the perspective of Islam, property and wealth are divine trusts, and God is considered the true and absolute owner of wealth; because God created property and wealth, and He placed human beings as His vicegerents (khalifah) on earth to cultivate it and benefit from its natural bounties. Islam has established the equal use of natural bounties for all people as a principle, without differentiating among individuals in society; because all are the creations and dependents of God (p. 85).
The authors believe that, in the view of Islam, the human being is the fundamental axis, not the economy, as they have deemed the ultimate goal to be the perfection of humanity, not property and wealth; therefore, all economic activities of production and distribution must be planned based on the preservation of human personality and dignity (p. 88).
The Role of the Government in the Islamic Economy
Based on the contents of this research, the Islamic economy can only be fully implemented in society at any time and place under the aegis of an Islamic government that adheres to all the doctrinal, moral, and spiritual foundations of Islam; because most of the problems that humanity faces, past and present, pertain to the issue of incorrect and unjust production and distribution of manufactured goods, to the extent that in the contemporary world, more attention is paid to raising the level of production and improving the method of its distribution, which has been a focus of Islam since the past; as Imam Ali (a) ordered the observance of this crucial matter in his letter to Malik al-Ashtar (pp. 89-90). Subsequently, the authors examine the Islamic economic system under three principles:
The Principle of Diverse Ownership
It is stated in this book that the religion of Islam has accepted private, public, and state ownership together, but not in the sense that the Islamic theory is a combination of capitalist and socialist systems; because the perspective of Islam is founded on principles that fundamentally differ from socialist and capitalist principles (pp. 94-95).
Private Ownership and the Ways of its Realization
According to the authors, in Islam, private ownership, the foundation of which is labor, is respected to a certain extent, and the basis of ownership in Islam is the respect for the rights of individuals and the preservation of their motivation for free effort and striving; as, based on evidence such as Verse 39 of Surah al-Najm, human beings only own their own labor. Of course, in cases such as gift (hibah) and settlement (sulh) where individuals become owners without performing work, the acquisition is still based on labor, because it is the natural right of every individual to be able to freely transfer to others what they have acquired through work (pp. 100-102). Among the ways articulated in Islam for the realization of private ownership are:
- Revitalization of dead lands (ihya' al-mawat); conditions are mentioned for owning dead lands, including: the land has not been enclosed (tahjir), it is not a place of worship, it has not been granted to someone else for revitalization, etc. (pp. 102-116).
- Acquisition (hiyazah); by citing narrations, consensus (ijma'), and the conduct of the rational (sirat al-'uqala), the authors have argued for the ownership of permissible things (mubahat) through acquisition (pp. 117-121).
- Hunting (sayd); by citing narrations, consensus, and the conduct of the rational, private ownership by means of hunting is undoubtedly accepted (pp. 122-125).
In the opinion of the authors, in the issue of inheritance (irth) and alimony (nafaqah) where individuals become owners without performing work, ownership is executed by the decree of the Lawgiver (Shari'), and in these two cases, the general rule of "labor is the basis of ownership" is breached (p. 127).
Public Ownership
Hosseini and Qazizadeh believe that whatever possesses public ownership has two aspects: negative and positive; the negative aspect indicates the prohibition of individual and private ownership; the positive aspect points to the permissibility of utilization for all individuals. Furthermore, they divide public ownership into two categories:
- The ownership of all human beings, whether Muslim or non-Muslim; such as public ownership over waters and plants. However, in another section of the book, forests and seas are considered part of public wealth (anfal) and the property of the Infallible (Ma'sum) (pp. 172-175), and no explanation has been provided regarding the difference between these two sections;
- The ownership of all Muslims; such as the ownership of all Muslims over cultivated lands that the army of Islam has conquered through war (pp. 130-131).
State Ownership
In the view of Hosseini and Qazizadeh, in Islam, a portion of properties and wealth has been placed in the possession of the state and the Islamic ruler. State ownership serves the purpose that the incumbent of the position of Imamate and the guardianship of society can secure the interests of Islam and Muslims (such as the needs of the armed forces, the propagation of knowledge, assistance to the needy, and the expenses of the progress and exaltation of society) (p. 138). The authors have examined state ownership under three headings: public wealth (anfal) (including barren lands, lands without owners, mines, oceans and major rivers, forests, etc.), the one-fifth tax (khums), and the public treasury (bayt al-mal) (including alms (zakat), the poll tax on protected non-Muslims (jizyah ahl al-dhimmah), financial penalties (ta'zirat-i mali), properties of unknown ownership (amwal-i majhul al-malik), and land tax (kharaj)). Many pages of the book are dedicated to the Quranic and narrative examination of the instances of these three headings (pp. 138-199).
In accordance with the discussion of the public treasury, the authors address how the public treasury was managed during the time of the third Caliph and refer to the Muslims' protests against his methods. They regard the Muslims' protests against Uthman as evidence of the un-Islamic nature of his conduct; for this reason, they believe that Uthman's behavior cannot be considered as derived from Islam and used to conclude that Islam entails feudalism and a class-based society (pp. 199-203).
The Principle of Economic Freedom Limited by Religious Regulations
According to the authors of the book, Islam has established two types of limitations regarding social freedom in the economic sphere. The first type is "intrinsic and essential limitation," which stems from the depths of the human soul, and its goal is to create true spirituality in a free human being; for this reason, human beings do not consider it a restriction upon themselves. The matters that cause the emergence and realization of this intrinsic and essential limitation include: ethics, charitable spending (infaq), charity (sadaqah), altruism (ithar), avoiding the acquisition of unlawful (haram) property, and the like. Furthermore, to explain these concepts, the verses and narrations related to them have been mentioned (pp. 204-217).
The second type is "objective and external limitation." The purpose of this type of limitation is a force outside the essence of the human being that determines their social behavior and conduct, and controls their activities and freedom (pp. 219-220). This limitation is implemented in two ways:
- State control and supervision; in Islam, to prevent economic abuses, the state has been granted the right to supervise all activities in order to protect public interests.
- Specific economic laws; some of the controlling laws that deter oppression and tyranny are as follows: the prohibition of selling weapons to enemies, the prohibition of renting for unlawful work, the prohibition of assuming governance on behalf of an unjust ruler, the prohibition of printing and publishing misleading books (kutub al-dalal), the prohibition of fraud, the prohibition of shortchanging (kam-foroushi), the prohibition of gambling, the prohibition of bribery, the prohibition of hoarding (ihtikar), the prohibition of usury (riba), the prohibition of extravagance (israf), and the rule of no harm (qa'idat la darar). Approximately one hundred pages of the book are dedicated to explaining these prohibited trades (makasib muharramah), citing their proofs, and the statements of jurisprudents (fuqaha) (pp. 221-319).
The Principle of Social Justice
In the opinion of Hosseini and Qazizadeh, in the Islamic economic system, the distribution of wealth has been designed in such a way that the realization of social justice is possible. In their view, the establishment of brotherhood and fraternity between the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Helpers (Ansar) by the Prophet (s), as well as God establishing financial obligations as part of Sharia acts of worship, were intended to increase the human spirit of benevolence and consolidate social justice (pp. 321-323).
According to the authors, the principle of social security is based on two pillars: universal sponsorship (kafalah hamagani) and the society's share in natural resources (social balance) (p. 325). To prove the mutual responsibility of Muslims and universal sponsorship, they have cited twenty narrations, concluding that the wealthy have a responsibility towards the needy and must provide for their minimum livelihood (pp. 326-339). By citing nine narrations, the authors also consider the state responsible towards all members of society to strive to alleviate the life deficiencies of low-income and no-income individuals (pp. 341-348).
To realize social justice, in addition to providing the minimum livelihood of the people, the state must also establish social balance so that the class gap is minimized, all individuals in society enjoy relative welfare and comfort, and a balanced and harmonious society is created. For this very reason, based on some narrations, alms (zakat) can be given to the poor until they reach the general economic level of the society (pp. 349-358).