Wisdom In Islamic Economy

Economics is a very significant term in Islam, which is a complement to the entire agenda of human life in this world. If it is internalized, the emphasis on economy and issues related to it are enshrined in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), which in turn inspired the foundation of the Islamic economic philosophy. At the same time, it also took into account the knowledge of “fiqh muamalat” method, which is considered flexible and dynamic in line with the development of needs of the public.

God’s creation is dependent on specific goals, then the economy goes as well. He will never make something in vain. It must be some goodness and wisdom, although sometimes it cannot be seen with the naked eyes.

Basically, regardless of whether the economic model that envisioned by Islam or what appears from the limited creation of the human mind, such as capitalism and communism, it is geared toward the same goal. Among its goals are as follows:

1.         To meet the needs and desires of humanity.

2.         To allocate economic resources efficiently (i.e. capital, labor, land and entrepreneurs)

3.         To provide optimum employment opportunities.

4.         To stimulate economic growth and sustainable economic development.

5.         To implement the distribution of income and wealth fairly.

6.         To create economic stability.

7.         To harmonize relationships among His creatures.

However, it does not mean that we can formulate a similar equation on the ability and the uniqueness of the Islamic economic system compared to the systems that are created by the human mind. This is consistent with the higher position of Islam in nature, that there is no other religion that deserves to be in the same position. In this regard, Allah SWT said in the Quran:

“On this day, I have perfected your religion and I have put My favor upon you, and I bestow blessing of Islam to be your religion" (Surah al-Maidah:3)

In reality, the economic system of capitalism and communism is completely based on the limitation of human mind which does not directly take into account the most basic elements, namely rabbaniyyah (divinity), which should be the only root of life.

That is why, if we examine the historical background, as well as current developments, it clearly has failed to meet the economic goals that have been mentioned before. In fact, at the same time it has given rise to a variety of unforeseen calamity terrible to mankind in the universe.

In nature, Islam is a complete religion that covers the entire agenda of human life, which is meant to save them from trouble in the both worlds (ie in this world and in the Hereafter). As such, there is an Islamic economic system which is based on six main pillars namely rabbaniyyah (divinity), akhlaqiyyah (character), insaniyyah (humanity), adaalah (fair), ihsan (vigilance) and wasatiyyah (moderation). The six pillars that are driving the economic behavior to achieve the economic goals set.

In this limited opportunity, I will only stress the significance of the first pillar, namely rabbaniyyah (divinity) to the behavior of economic actors, namely households, business and leader in order to achieve the first goal of the economy that has been mentioned before. (i.e.to meet the needs and desires of humanity).

With the existence of this principle would allow its provision of basic needs of life in a community such as shelter, food, health and education to be implemented in a more orderly, fair and secure. This is because, all the economic actors will assume their respective role as a trust from Allah SWT, which cannot be simply denied at will. If it is still denied, they would confront His punishment, either while still on the earth, or in the Hereafter.

With this, they will never take the rights of others in the wrong way but the only way it is prescribed by Allah SWT. They also will never involve themselves with the things that can cause harm to others. This is because; there is a concern with the punishment of ALLAH soon.

In fact, they are mutually helping each other like a family. If one of the family members copes with pain, then they will also feel distress. Furthermore, they believe that Allah SWT will reward them in the Hereafter especially to those who remove the difficulties of others in this world.

In fact, this kind of situation does not happen in capitalism and communism. Today, there is a situation in the community those who’re living in loitering between buildings and under bridges without adequate foods and clothing.

For those who are ‘super rich’ live with the comfort of bungalows, condominiums and padded mattress. Also, eating more than their sufficient needs which are sometimes leads to wastage. Similarly, they are able to buy clothes that cost thousands of dollars and drive cars that are worth millions.

In Islamic economics, households that have the value of “rabaniyyah” in their hearts will have better aspirations of life. They will never jump themselves into the valley of humiliation to solely live at the mercy of someone else, or just surrender to the fate. They also are not willing to be like “a caterpillar in a rock” and live in idleness and unproductive manners.

In fact, they will work diligently to meet the needs and wants of their family members, which are considered as a trust from Allah SWT to them. They also treat work for a better living as a jihad in the way of ALLAH, which will get the infinite rewards in the hereafter. Rasulullah saw said in a hadith:

"And you shall be a person of strong vitality in the midst of human beings"

            For traders who embedded value "rabbaniyyah" will not make the space and opportunity in business just simply because of profits. For them there will be no such thing named as a profit orientation in this world, which they just end up with so-called ‘akhirat oriented’. To them, everything is kept as a trust from Allah SWT, which will be judged at a ‘single cent’ in the Hereafter.

To them the worldly life is nothing just like ‘a farm to fertilize the rewards in the hereafter’. Therefore, they will never get caught up in any scams that will cause losses or burden to their customers and community. Also, they will never hide basic goods that are really needed by the community such as rice, cooking oil, wheat and goods of other needs, as merely to keep a higher selling price in the future.

Other than that, they are not so ‘greed’ for the profit by selling goods at too excessively high price which will cause strain on the society. This is because they assume the profit is not everything and the worldly life is only a bridge to the life in the Hereafter. That is, the life that there will be no other life beyond it.

The leaders of the embedded value "rabaniyyah”, will not arbitrarily establish policies and regulations that do not maintain the good and welfare of the people. They also would not be excessive in development by focusing only luxury projects. For them, every development undertaken must prioritize the interests and welfare of the vast majority. That is, not only give rise to a small number of traders and corporate communities. Whereas, there are still many of the people most live in poor conditions and poverty. Refers to an Arabic proverb which says:

“Shepherd task is to prevent the wolves from creeping. However, how this can be true if the shepherd is the wolf itself?”

Finally, this is the beauty of Islamic economic ideas that will drive economical life in a more orderly and peacefully. Where, each economic actor will perform his roles and responsibilities carefully and will never take the rights and roles of other people in the wrong way. With this, it will prevent society from any potential disputes among themselves which in turn will cause a lot of trouble later on.

*The author is a banker in the area of market risk management at one of the banking group based in Kuala Lumpur. He is the holder of Chartered Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP) from the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF).