Gaps in the Theory and Practice of Islamic Economics

Abstract

After a generation of non-professional writers in Islamic economics, professional economists entered the stage with an important ambition, which has been to introduce a third alternative to humanity in addition to capitalism and socialism that would answer some of the inadequacies of each. Moreover, the analysis of human (individual and collective) behavior towards scarcity under the teachings of Islam was itself worth pursuing. The intellectual effort is yet to produce significant practices of Islamic economics. The exceptions include some application of Islamic finance that raises many questions, and a few applications of zakāh and awqāf. The most serious challenge of Islamic finance is the rise of products of ill repute that result from determined refusal to adhere to the decisions of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy. This paper identifies several gaps in Islamic economics and proposes ways to fill them, placing such responsibility squarely on Islamic economists.