Use Islamic Injunctions To Establish Just Economy

Hyderabad: A first of its kind open lecture session on Islamic Economics was conducted in Hyderabad by POINTE (Platform for Occidental, oriental and Islamic Networking in studying and Teaching Economics) on 27th May 2012, at the Institute of Public Enterprise, Osmania University Campus, Hyderabad. The topic of the lecture session was ‘Introductory Lecture on Islamic Economics – An Institutional Perspective for Inclusive and Universal Wellbeing’.

Opening the lecture session Mr Shashi Bhushan, General Manager, Institutional Learning exhorted the Muslim community to study the institutions practiced by the erstwhile successful Muslim regimes and strive to be successful rather than be exploited.

He advised Muslims to use the injunctions of the Qur’an to establish a judicious economy.

During his tenure in the World Bank and in his close foundational association with Al-Khair Co-operative Credit Society, Lucknow and Sahulat Microfinance Institution, New Delhi, he found that Muslims seriously lacked in academic and vocational qualifications in spite of having necessary skills and attitude.

He wanted the Muslim community to adopt and use technology for their upliftment.

The main lecture on Islamic Economics was delivered by Dr. Lubna Sarwath, Ph.D.[Indonesia]. Dr. Sarwath is associated with the Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia.

She runs the city-based Shausaa’ Foundation and is the Director of POINTE. Through her power point presentation she explained how the law of unity of knowledge is deduced as the world view from the transcendental concept of Oneness or Unity of God(Tauhid).

Premising on the episteme of unity of knowledge Dr. Sarwath illustrated her categorization of knowledge and de-knowledge or unified knowledge and de-unified knowledge. She defined institutions as a media for reinforcing and giving sustainability to an episteme laden policy.

She suggested establishing of Consultative Participatory Institutions (CPIs) which have substance (theme); organizational form; recursive functional knowledge-building and learning process, evaluation criteria and self-sustainability as the characteristics.

Institutionalizing CPIs would ensure that every other factor or variable would be represented at each recursive policy or decision-making process thus generating unified knowledge. Deunified knowledge formed from institutions without the CPI characteristics is leading to chaos in the society both the human and non-human world systems, she said.

She highlighted various socio-economic institutions from the Qur’an such as Zakat (dues or rich towards poor), Sadaqah (charity), Infaq(spending), Hisbah (Administration), Shura (Mutual consultation), Tijarah (Trade), Riba (taking more than due), Maslaha (wellbeing). She explained that the socio-economic institutional interpretations from the Qur’an are meant for the benefit of the humanity. Achieving wellbeing and translating the Qur’anic injunctions to reality for the wellbeing is more important than using the tag of ‘Islamic’ she clarified.

Taken from two circles.