Economics of Charity in Islam: A Critical Review

Abstract

This paper aims to theoretically investigate how Islamic charity addresses the issue of inequality and economic development in Muslim-majority nations. This paper, therefore, is a critical review of the literature on the subject, using content analysis and an inductive approach to achieve the aims. The evidence suggests that charity appears to be a viable Islamic integrated funding source that could assist several Muslim-majority nations with their economic development challenges. This paper has argued that, with the growing importance of the voluntary sector, there is still much work to be done in developing economic theories of charity.