Book: Jurisprudence of the Economic System of Islam

Jurisprudence, as stated in the well-known definition, refers to knowledge of the judgments about the deeds of “the people responsible for their religious duties” (hereinafter referred to as “the responsible people”) through the detailed proofs [of the judgments].

In the beginning of a discussion on the jurisprudence of the economic system of Islam, it is necessary to explain the nature of this discussion and the particular method which has been used in it:

1. Jurisprudence, as stated in the well-known definition, refers to knowledge of the judgments about the deeds of “the people responsible for their religious duties” (hereinafter referred to as “the responsible people”) through the detailed proofs [of the judgments]. In the era before establishing the Islamic government, the majority of juridical issues which were required and were discussed and studied in conventional jurisprudence and for finding the suitable answer to which the jurists studied the legal evidence were juridical issues related to the individual. Individual jurisprudence which answers the juridical problems of a Muslim individual is called micro-jurisprudence. Beside micro-jurisprudence and the issues related to the individual responsible person, there is another type of jurisprudence in religious resources which answers the problems of the macro-responsible i.e. the society. When a society wants to shape its relations and its social organization in the different areas of life based on the divine commands, macro-jurisprudence is required; i.e. a jurisprudence which could provide the answer, from the legal resources, to [the question as to] how should the organization and conduct of a community in different areas of life be and to deduce the legal judgment Pertaining to the macro-responsible in different aspects of the social life. We call the jurisprudence related to the macro-responsible, or the jurisprudence related to the order of the conduct of the society in different areas of life; such as: politics, economics, culture, education and training and so on, as the jurisprudence of system. For this reason this writing which is a summary of the topics of the exterior jurisprudence’ relating to the Islamic economic system has been titled “the jurisprudence of the Islamic economic system”.
2. Studying jurisprudence of the economic system of Islam is based on some conceptual and affirmative premises. We have placed the conceptual premises in the definitions sections and have discussed the affirmative premises which are largely linked to the economic worldview of Islam under the title of the economic worldview.

With due attention to the fact that explaining the different dimensions of the economic worldview of Islam requires some kind of comparison between that and other economic worldviews, we have explained, in brief, two types of material economic worldviews one of which is the basis for the Communist economy and the other is the basis for the capitalist economy.

3. Since the economic system of Islam leads to the formation of a particular type of economic relations and regulations governing those relations, in the final section of the discussed topics we have explained some of the general principles of Islamic economy. What we mean by economics has been explained in the definitions section. Economics, as will be stated in the definitions section, explains the rules governing the economic relations of the society and for this reason it is not included in the main range of the topics of jurisprudence of the Islamic economic system. However, since jurisprudence of the Islamic economic system addresses the method of regulating economic relations which naturally lead to the emergence of particular scientific rules and criteria in economic relations of the society, Islamic economics can in one sense be counted as the result and objective product of the economic system of Islam. Therefore, explaining the general principles of these mien is not foreign to the topics of jurisprudence of the economic system. For this reason, in the final section of these discussions we decided to refer to some of these general principles which result from the rule of the economic system of Islam over economic relations of the society.
4. The purpose of discussing these topics is to juridically explain the economic system of Islam. Hence, more than adhering to the conventional and usual methods of official economics, we would adhere to the methods of juridical discussions. Nonetheless, because of the newness of these types of topics, it was inevitable to get away from the usual and conventional methods of discussion in economics and also in juridical topics. This departure from norms is the natural requisite of the new structure of these topics. However, considerable efforts were made so that this getting away from the usual methods would not be such as to impair the scientific and logical structure of these discussions on the one hand, and on the other be unfamiliar for the thinkers in economics and jurisprudence and be foreign to the scientific geography of these two branches of knowledge.
5. Became of what was mentioned in the previous paragraph, in certain cases some vocabulary or divisions are somewhat different to those common to economics. For instance, in defining the economic system a certain feature has been taken into account. Accordingly, the set of discussions consisting of the economic worldview and the jurisprudence of the economic school and the macro-issues of Islamic economics have been titled as “jurisprudence of the economic system”. What this refers to is the jurisprudence relating to the economic behavior of the macro-responsible (the society). It explains the legal verdict pertaining to the general relations governing the economic behavior of the society. Terms such as economic development too, have been presented with a special definition. The result is that in some terms the intended definition is the one which is more compatible with the juridical thought system.
6. Overall, these discussions are the result of organizing the handwritten notes taken from the Exterior jurisprudence lessons taught by this author in Qom Seminary. No doubt the successful part of these efforts is the result of having the privilege to be in the presence of the great scholars, particularly the great genius of the era and the innovator of discussions on the jurisprudence of system, particularly of the economic system of Islam, the martyred Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Sadr (may God have mercy on him), and the other great scholars to whose training this author owes all his scientific life. Also I must thank those hard-working scholars who have played a great part in the creation and progression of these discussions by their attentions and thoughtful ideas. I hope that this effort would be accepted by the Lord and be noticed by Imam Mandi (May our souls be sacrificed for him).

Table of Contents

The introduction by the research department

Translator’s preface

Preface

Introduction

Topic one: The meaning of economic system and its relation with school of economic thought and economics

Defining the main terminology

1. A) Economy
2. B) Economic activity
3. C) Economic system Economic systems

1. Manorial system
2. Craftsman’s system.
3. Capitalist System
4. The socialist or communal economic system
5. The cooperative or guild economic system
6. The economic system of Islam
7. D) Economic worldview.
8. E) Economic school of Thought
9. F) Economics
10. G) The economic system of Islam

Topic two: Islam and the Economic System

Topic three: What’s the meaning of Jurisprudence of economic system?

Topic four: The sources for deducing economic system of Islam

Topic Five: Method of deducing the economic system

Chapter One: The Economic Worldview

A: The Marxist economic worldview A look at the general material worldview..

1. Fundamentality of matter
2. Dialectical evolution

A: brief criticism about the economic worldview of Marxism

1. Class conflict
2. Social evolution…
3. Superstructure and Infrastructure in the social structure

B: The Economic Worldview of Liberal Capitalism

C: Islam’s Economic worldview….

1. The principle of absolute Oneness of Allah
2. The principle of regularity and the just and wise predestination governing the universe
3. The world is a gate toward the eternal life of the hereafter

General principles of the economic worldview of Islam

1. The principle of God’s initial ownership.
2. The principle of longitudinal ownership
3. The principle of human’s vicegerency from God
4. The principle of human’s responsibility
5. The principle of human’s immortality and the concept of eternal life

The role of Islam’s economic worldview in the economic system

1. A) Economic concepts
2. Profit and Loss (P. and L.)
3. Economic activity
4. Economic Development

B: Motivations for economic activity

1. Divine responsibility
2. Self-sufficiency and independence
3. Purposeful wealth which paves the way for charitable acts
4. Welfare and comfort….

C: Goals of the economic system of Islam

1. Individual and social justice
2. Developing and constructing the earth…
3. Welfare and development…

Chapter Two: Islam’s economic school of thought

Part one: The theory of initial distribution

1. A) The notion of distribution
2. B) The concept of wealth

The theory of initial distribution in Islamic economy

1. A) Government’s ownership
2. B) Public ownership
3. C) Private ownership…..

The theory that work is the source of private ownership over the initial resources of wealth

Section one: the theory that work is the source of private ownership in general

First: The positive part of the theory that work is the source of private ownership

Noble verses of the Qur’an

Hadiths:

1. Hadiths on reviving the dead lands
2. Hadiths on sharecropping
3. Hadiths on rent
4. Hadiths on dealing
5. Hadiths on usurpation (Ghash)
6. Hadiths on Mortgage
7. Hadiths on Luqatah (a property found, with unknown owner)
8. Hadiths on hunting

Subject two: the negative part of the theory that work is the source of private ownership”

Qur’anic verses

Hadiths

1. Hadith’s on negating “Hemā” (Enclosure)
2. Hadiths on rent
3. Hadiths on acting partner (Mudāribah)
4. Hadith on Hunting
5. Hadiths on reviving the dead lands

Answer to the problem

Another problem

Type one: hadiths on making profit (Murābihah) via trading and other hadiths implying permissibility (of gaining trade profit

Type two: hadiths on rent

Type three: hadiths on sharecropping (Muzāri’ah)

Answer to the problem

Part two: the theory in detail

Subject one: defining the economic labor that is effective in ownership over natural wealth

Subject two: standards and criteria for determining the economic labor that is source of ownership

Type one: creating new wealth.

Type two: creating profitability in raw resources of wealth

The third type of economic work on natural resources of wealth

Tahjir (enclosing) as the beginning of utilizing a natural wealth

Conditions of Tahjīr

Explaining jurisprudence of Hiyāzat (marking a natural property) and Tahjîr and their economic effects

Issue one: definition of Hiyāzat

Issue two: definition of Tahjir

Issue three: the difference between Hiyāzat and Tahjir

Issue four: determining the economic effects of each of Hiyazat and Tahjīr

Subject three: limits and scope of the theory that work is the source of ownership over initial resources of wealth

Summary of the theory of initial distribution and its Adaptations

1. Summary

Comparison between the theory of Islam about initial distribution and that of Capitalism and Marxism

Critique of the Capitalist view about initial distribution of natural wealth

Comparing Islam’s view about initial distribution with the view of Marxism

Critique of Marx’s theory of labor-value

The favorability resulting from need and scarcity is the basis for community

Bibliographic Information

Title: Jurisprudence of the Economic System of Islam

Author: Ayatollah Mohsen Araki

Translator: Abdulaziz Daftari

Publisher: Al-Mustafa international Translation and publication Cener

 Language: English

Length: 374

ISBN: 978-600-429-429-4

Pub. Date: 2018