Understanding Islamic Finance - Doha Academy of Tertiary Studies

38 Understanding Islamic FinanceAll types of work except those leading to indecency or socio-economic loss to otherindividuals and society are permissible. A basic principle of the Islamic legal system is thatan activity or a commodity that is not prohibited through the Sharī´ah texts is permissible.Thus, man has to observe the prohibitions only. Islamic economics would mean undertakingall activities individually or collectively that are not prohibited and that could add to thewelfare and happiness of human beings.The most important prohibitions in the field of economics are the prohibition of interest,hazard and gambling due to their extremely harmful impacts on society. Such limitationsare necessary for the fulfilment of the overall objectives of the Sharī´ah for making societyhappy and satisfied, both materially and spiritually.2.5.5 Liberalism versus State InterventionThe individual self-interest of conventional economics leads to maximization of wealth andwant satisfaction, independent of its impact on the rest of society. The concept of “positiveness”has been expressed in terms of unrestrained individual freedom, making economics“entirely neutral between ends”. Further, it is believed that market forces will themselvescreate “order” and “harmony”, and lead to “efficiency” and “equity”. The government shouldhence abstain from intervening.The concept of Pareto efficiency in conventional economics is based on the assumptionthat the market will automatically take care of “equity” and that the market equilibrium willbe a Pareto optimum, leading to realization of normative goals at least in the long run. Itleads to the common belief of modern economics that any intervention in the framework ofPareto optimality would lead to less efficient results. This framework is, however, based onsome assumptions like harmony between individual preferences and social interest, equaldistribution of income and wealth, a true reflection of the urgency of wants by prices andperfect competition. Since no real world market is likely to satisfy these assumptions, thereis a considerable distortion in the expression of priorities in the markets. Hence, the Paretoefficiency or Pareto optimality concept that generates conflict in society does not fit properlyin the philosophy of Islamic economics. It reflects a built-in bias against the realization ofnormative goals if reliance is placed primarily on prices for allocation and distribution ofresources. 17Society is for the individuals who are responsible for their actions and accountable to theone creator for their conduct. The individual has a right to participate in economic activitiesfor his sustenance and the tasks relating to social well-being, subject to the limitations andinjunctions of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. The crucial involvement of individuals for thecollective benefit of society has been aptly described by the holy Prophet (pbuh) in a parable,as reported by Imam Bukhari in his “Sahih” and as given below:“Those who accept and abide by the limits ordained by Allah and those who transgress may belikened to two groups sharing a boat; one group occupying the upper deck and the other the hold.Whenever those in the hold required water they had to go up to draw it. So they thought amongthemselves; why not have a hole in the bottom and thus save inconvenience to those in the top?Now if those on the top do not dissuade and prevent them, all are lost. If they do, all are saved.”17 Chapra, 2000a, pp. 67, 68.