LAHORE – Economics determines the distribution of goods and services and hence living standards in societies. Contrary to the position of many Western analysts, Islam is not inimical to economic growth.
One of the basic purposes of Islam is to establish a just economic order. Islam is not opposed to the ownership of wealth per se; but it demands that wealth be obtained through legal means and the preservation of human rights and dignity. Islam is the only major world religion founded by a businessman. Partly for this reason, Islam has never had any hostility to business. Islam orders the Muslim to search for subsistence in the way of Allah. It calls on its adherents to engage in business, trade and farming. In short, it lays emphasis on the establishment of economy on solid foundations. The Holy Prophet traded to earn an income. His companions adopted different professions to earn their livelihood. Islamic economies supported a sophisticated variety of commercial activities in medieval times.
The Ummah succeeded in generating national wealth and forging a strong economy. The prosperity of Muslims was founded on a societal level. There is no place for the concentration of wealth in the Islamic economic system. It favors equitable distribution of wealth and social balance. Islam has given the system of Zakat and has undertaken several steps to ensure the circulation of wealth.
However, the contemporary economic condition of the Islamic world has lagged and is in a very sorry state. There is massive income and social inequality within modern Islamic countries. Economies on the national level remain very weak. The global economy is dominated by non-Muslim nations that have rapaciously attacked the Ummah in their unquenchable hunger for its rich resources. The establishment and stability of economy depends upon the productive employment of factors of production in the fields of agriculture, industry and the proper utilisation of manpower.
There is a crippling dearth of industrial capacity in Islamic world. Agricultural production, the mainstay of most Islamic economies, is likely to fall in the face of global warming. Furthermore, the fact remains that the price of agricultural commodities being primary goods will always be lower that the processed and manufactured goods Islamic countries import. Therefore, there is a critical balance of trade problem.
One clear problem that Islamic countries face in the global economy is their lack of access to financial resources. Countries like Pakistan are forced to turn to international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, organisations that promote the Western economic model and completely disregard Islamic ethics. Alas, the Islamic world possesses no bank of international stature and repute. Most of the petrodollars earned by the Saudis and other oil-rich nations are committed in the banks owned non-Muslims who are poised to be the real beneficiaries.
