Understanding Islamic Finance - Doha Academy of Tertiary Studies

24 Understanding Islamic FinanceThe promotion of human intellect refers to acquiring knowledge, thus enabling people todifferentiate between good and bad and to play their part in enhancing the welfare of humansociety as a whole.The protection of human honour and dignity refers to the prohibition of false accusations,the right to privacy and the sanctity of private life. 2Secondary ObjectivesThe above primary objectives of Sharī´ah lead to a number of secondary objectives,which are:1. The establishment of justice and equity in society.2. The promotion of social security, mutual help and solidarity, particularly to help the poorand the needy in meeting their basic needs.3. The maintenance of peace and security.4. The promotion of cooperation in matters of goodness and prohibition of evil deeds andactions.5. The promotion of supreme universal moral values and all actions necessary for thepreservation and authority of nature.Relating the objectives of Sharī´ah with human welfare, Muhammad Umer Chapra, aneconomist at the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), contends:“However, if well-being were to be defined in a way that rises above the materialist and hedonistsense and incorporates humanitarian and spiritual goals, then economics may not be able to avoida discussion of what these goals are and how they may be realized. These goals may includenot only economic well being, but also human brotherhood and socio-economic justice, mentalpeace and happiness, and family as well as social harmony. One of the tests for the realization ofthese goals may be the extent to which social equality, need fulfilment of all, full employment,equitable distribution of income and wealth, and economic stability have been attained without aheavy debt-servicing burden, high rates of inflation, undue depletion of nonrenewable resources, ordamage to the ecosystem in a way that endangers life on Earth. Another test may be the realizationof family and social solidarity, which would become reflected in the mutual care of members ofsociety for each other, particularly the children, the aged, the sick, and the vulnerable, and absence,or at least minimization, of broken families, juvenile delinquency, crime, and social unrest.”He adds:“The spiritual and humanitarian goals stated above are of equal, if not of greater importance Thematerial and the spiritual aspects of well-being are not, therefore, independent of each other. Theyare closely interrelated. Greater family harmony may help raise better individuals to operate inthe market, and better social harmony may create a more conducive environment for effectivegovernment and accelerated development. If this is true, then the emphasis on serving self-interestand maximizing wealth and consumption may have to be toned down to some extent to serve socialinterest and optimize human well-being. Some uses of resources that serve self-interest and fit wellinto the hedonist framework may have to be reduced to fulfil the needs of all individuals in societyand thereby promote family and social harmony.” 32 For further details, see Chapra, 2000a, pp. 115–125 and Mansoori, 2005, pp. 11, 12.3 Chapra, 2000a, pp. 4–8. (Also published in The Journal of Socio-economics, 29, pp. 21–37).