5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Taken all in all, the following major conclusions emerge from the
preceding discussion on various key issues in Islamic economics.

(a) Islamic economic value is an integrated part of a social
framework which knows no distinction between a spiritual and a
material activity of man. Society or state in Islam is for the
individual who is accountable to Allah for his actions. It is the
state which enforces the Islamic laws and can make individuals
fulfill their obligations towards society. But the rulers cease to
deserve obedience, should they transgress the limits of Shari’ah.
These checks and balances are found in all dimensions of
Islamic social framework.

(b) It is a Muslim world-view that the concept of private ownership
of property is relative, as absolute ownership of everything belongs to Allah alone. So, the state can prevent individual from
misusing his ownership to the detriment of the society. There are
definitive rules of the Shari’ah governing private ownership of
property.

(c) Islam provides a comprehensive ethical framework under which
all factors of production must operate. While production is em-
phasized, distribution remains an integrated part of production
strategy right from the beginning. Thus, all members of the
community are entitled to pure economic rent. One must get
‘due’ compensation for one’s effort (i.e., fair wage and normal
profit). Islam also discourages misuse of resources to the
disadvantage of the future generation. Interest is prohibited,
because it helps growth of capitalism; creates unemployment
problem; retards the process of recovery during recession and
depression; introduces instability; aggravates debt servicing
problem and distributive justice and uproots the principles of co-
operation. The so-called allocative function claimed to be
performed by interest rate can be done by expected rate of return
in an Islamic economy. Capital is not costless in Islam.

(d) Consumption is a positive concept in Islam. The key to its
understanding lies in the concept of “moderation in
consumption” defined as such in a particular social and
economic context.

(e) Islamic economics is co-operative, competitive and controlled
all at the same time. The unique mix of such principles can
provide insights into the working of an Islamic market and a
firm which may be guided by multiplicity of objectives and
equilibrium of the firm may not be unique.

(f) Islam recognises the diversity of talents and capacities resulting
in the diversity of earning and material rewards. It is required that employee shall perform his work faithfully and the employer shall pay him fair wage.

(g) Islam views money as a medium of exchange not as a
commodity and the status of the Islamic bank in relation to its
clients is that of a partners, investors and traders. In its actual
operation Islamic banks use various techniques of investments
based on profit-and-loss sharing basis on the grounds of
stability, allocative efficiency, growth and distributive justice.
Islamic economy is essentially equity based. Cost of investment
being the function of the rate of return is likely to be less prone
to speculation.

(h) The value-loaded Islamic bias based on the principles of
benevolence and care for the have-nots should be manifested
through fiscal and monetary policy in an Islamic state. While
essential expenditure may primarily serve as a basis for
budgeting, a number of monetary policy instruments such as
cash reserve ratio, liquidity ratio, credit ceilings can be used to
perform stabilization, distribution and allocation functions.

(i) Lastly, Islamic concept of development is multi-dimensional
with a focus on development of man in its total relationship with
economic, social, moral, spiritual variables and physical natural
environment – both natural and institutional. Thus efforts must
be made to remove human poverty, as the Islamic state is to
provide a minimum level of living to all its members. Evidently,
co-operative insurance for making provision for one’s
dependents is permissible.