Islamic Economics Studies and the Future of Islamic Economics

Abstract

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to assess theoretically the current situation of the fundamental premises of the corpus of ideas on Islamic economics, developed by Islamic Economists, and future of Islamic economics studies. The philosophical bases, intellectual foundations and doctrinal outlook of the Islamic economics are amply discussed to examine the intellectual level and subsequently its future role in active social institutions. In this regards, three major themes have been discerned as the preponderant premises of Islamic economics which not only serve as the beacon light for further development of the discipline, but also best elucidate the social and intellectual implication of the problems.  The three major themes are: examining the role of man in society, issues of management of an Islamic economy, and future prospective role of an Islamic political economy in open market operations. This paper argues that in one hand, Islamic economics has a potential role to play in the future world because all the tenets of Islamic economics are universal and ethical, and in no way prevents the spirit of scientific inquiry. On the other hand, there is a lot of dissatisfaction among Economists about the assumptions, the unrealistic theoretical framework, and conclusions of neoclassical economics.  Intellectuals are looking for an alternative paradigm. In this situation, Islamic economics gives a ray of hope. What is needed at this moment is that Islamic Economists need to change their focus.  They should assess the gap between norms of ideal Muslim behaviour as represented by homo Islamicus and existing reality. Reason and Islamic science also have a much greater role in theorising Islamic economics and its empirical verification.  Islamic Economists should choose contemporary economies of Muslim countries and show empirically, that the primary cause of existing economic problems lies in the deviation from the Islamic principles of economic management.