In order to address the Economic System in Islam, we first of all need to clarify the position of Islam in relation to the quest for material well being. This is because the word dunya (life), which is associated with material wealth or worldly matters has become a dirty word for many Muslims.
The separation of deen from dunya (i.e. the manifestation of secularism) is a Western-Christian concept that has recently become widely internalised amongst Muslims. Consequently, seeking to increase in economic or worldly matters is frowned upon, while continuous engagement in prayer and other personal ibadat is regarded as rewardable. As such, many Muslims get confused and conduct a double life. On the one hand, money talks; it gives status and makes life comfortable, so they seek it vigorously. On the other, they feel guilty, thinking that their effort should be spent on ‘religious’ duties.
This is due to a misunderstanding of the position of the economic question in Islam. There is no doubt that Islam is opposed to monasticism and views the economic activities (based upon the Shari‘ah) of man as quite lawful and sometimes even obligatory and necessary. We find many injunctions in Islam that allude to this. For example, Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an: “Disperse through
“Disperse through the land and seek the bounty of Allah.” [TMQ 62:10]
He also says,
“Allah has permitted trade” [TMQ 2:275]
and even more directly, Allah (swt) says,
“Seek the other world by means of that which Allah has bestowed upon you, and do not be negligent about your share in this world.” [TMQ 28:77]
These are all in reference to economic activity.
In the Sunnah, we find that one of the most commonly said du‘as that the Prophet (saw) taught us is: “Our Lord give us the good in this life and the good in the hereafter.”
But despite this, we find expressions in the Qur’an which state:
“The life of this world is but a delusion” [TMQ 3:185]
“The mutual rivalry for piling up the good things of this world diverts you from the more serious things” [TMQ 102:1]
and many others, stating that man has lust and greed for wealth [89:20] and that he is violent at this greed [100:8] and that he becomes boastful and proud [11:10] and so on (all references to the Qur‘an).
This apparently sounds like a contradiction in terms. But actually, what we are taught by Islam is that the real objective of our existence is to worship Allah (swt) through righteous conducts (i.e. obedience to the Shari‘ah) by living as humans in this world. So all those things that are necessary for this life become essential for man.
It is one thing to say that material well being is important and even compulsory but it is quite another to say that it is the ultimate goal and centre of thought and action in life. This is where the confusion arises about the Islamic economic question.
The fundamental difference between Islamic economics and all materialist (i.e. Capitalist/Communist) ones is precisely this. The materialists view that economic well being is the ultimate end of human life, while Islam says that these things may be necessary and indispensable, but cannot be the true purpose of life. Economic endeavours only become an allurement or delusion if man loses sight of his real purpose in their pursuit.
The right path to follow therefore is to fully engage into worldly economic life in the manner prescribed by Allah (swt) and His Prophet (saw), both at a societal and individual level. The Prophet (saw) said: “Work for your worldly life as if you were going to live forever, but work for the life to come as if you were going to die tomorrow.”