Islamic economics and finance: where do they stand?

Abstract

A critique of Islamic economics and finance is launched against the backdrop of what otherwise is essentially the epistemological understanding of all theories and application relating to human volition. The epistemological principle is that of Unity of Divine Knowledge, which in the Quran is referred to as Tawhid, Oneness of Allah (God). It is a systemic concept of pervasive learning by complementarities and participation in and across the grand relational world-systems. The proponents of Islamic economics and finance have forever forgotten how to treat this central and immutable praxis from the truly Quranic standpoint. Hence this paper argues that Islamic economics, finance, Islamic banking, Islamic development organisations, methods and thought, forever have been trapped in a feigned kind of neoliberal and neoclassical doctrinaire, from which they cannot liberate themselves without a fundamental change of praxis in place. No wellbeing and uplift for the Ummah (the conscious and pious world nation of Islam) is possible in these prevailing mechanisms that serve as link to the world capitalist globalisation process of economics, finance and neoclassical socioeconomic thinking.