An Introduction to Islamic Economics

An Introduction to Islamic Economics

The present book aims at showing the contours of an Islamic economy. Its main theme is that the neo-classical economics which has fashioned the present-day world has outlived its utility. Its approach is narrow, its assumptions are unrealistic, and its strategies inhuman. It has landed humanity into an abyss of problems. If human thinking does not transcend the basic framework of neoclassical economics, the future of man on this globe is pretty bleak. In this background, the Islamic economic precepts provide a ray of hope. The present book invites the reader to cast an objective look at the principles of Islamic economics and perceive their potential. The book addresses both the common reader and the professional economist trained in the West. It is not, however, a detailed exposition of the subject. Instead, it attempts to give a bare introduction to the subject of Islamic economics. The contemporary economic systems have failed to solve the economic problems of mankind. The failure of socialism is too  obvious to need any documentation. The track record of capitalism is far from being promising. Although a small minority has achieved unprecedentedly high material standards of living, a vast majority lives under conditions of abject poverty. The problems of unemployment, inflation, poverty amidst affluence, unequal distribution of wealth, frequent bouts of business recession, environmental pollution, and ecological imbalance still bedevil man’s present life and threaten his future.