Prophecy, Piety, and Profits: A Conceptual and Comparative History of Islamic Economic Thought

Abstract

The majority of Muslim economists agree that developing a proper Islamic economics study as a distinct subject needs the ability to comprehend the past thoughts of Muslim scholars all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad. Such a study would require proper foundations, axioms, scope of study and clear definition of the subject-matter, which could only be furnished by a comprehensive understanding of the thoughts of past Muslim scholars. In fact, the secularized-modern economics study that dominates the economics curriculum nowadays also emanated from past discourses in economic thoughts. Accordingly, Ayman Reda attempts to study in this book the genesis of modern and Islamic economic thoughts, which could help develop the foundations of Islamic economics. By scrutinizing these past ideas and discussions, a researcher may be able to develop the necessary worldview and concepts for the purpose of formulating the axioms of Islamic economics viewed as an independent discipline.