Articles

Development of the Islamic Economics
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 02-02-2023

Development of the Islamic Economics

 

As a science, Islamic Economics witnessed an accelerating dynamic development in the second half of the twentieth century. Al-Azhar University was the first to include Islamic Economics as an independent scientific course in 1961, followed by King Abdulaziz University in 1964, and Omdurman University in Sudan in 1966 (Al-Wajiz in Islamic Economics by Dr. Mohammed Shawqi Al-Finjri, pp.5-7, and Contemporary Financial Transactions in Islamic Fiqh by Dr. Mohammed Osman Shabir, pp.257).

 

One of the recommendations of the seventh Muslim Scholars Conference held in Cairo in 1972 was the necessity of teaching the course, Islamic Economics, in all universities of the Muslim world. This recommendation constituted the first nucleus for the establishment of Islamic Economics Departments and the emergence of institutes specializing in Islamic Economics and Banking. This is especially after the First World Conference on Islamic Economics held in Mecca in 1976. (Al-Wajiz by Al-Finjri, pp.5-7).

 

The experience of the Islamic banks developed following the development of the Islamic Economics. The first experience of the Islamic Bank was (Meteghumar Experience in Upper Egypt) in 1963, which was established as a local savings bank operating under the provisions of Islamic Shari 'a (Zero-Interest Banks by Ahmed Abdel Aziz Al-Najjar, pp.67).

 

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) were established in 1975. Moreover, in 1977, three Islamic banks were established: Faisal Islamic Bank of Sudan, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, Kuwait Finance House, Jordan Islamic Bank in 1978, and Islamic International Arab Bank in 1998.

 

After this long journey of giving and innovation and according to the latest global economic reports, Islamic banking-as part of the Islamic Economics-has achieved world records. Among the key findings of the Global Islamic Economy Reality Report of 2018 produced by Thomson Reuters in cooperation with Dinar Standard:

 

1. The size of the Islamic finance sector in 2017 was $2.438 billion, and is expected to reach $3.809 billion in 2023, with a growth rate of 7.7%.

 

2. The volume of significant investments in the Islamic economy- disclosed in private equity or venture capital funds for the years (2015-2018)-reaches $745 million.

 

3. A major trade movement in the Islamic economy lifestyle products with imports of up to $271.8 billion and exports of up to $210.5 billion. This is according to the Islamic countries data in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the year 2017.

 

4. The size of the 2017 Islamic economy market reaches $2.107 billion and is expected to reach $3.007 billion in 2023.

 

5. The funding available for investment in the OIC countries reaches $4.9 trillion.

 

6. Islamic financing is undergoing change since digital banking and financial technology are in full swing in this sector reaching $12.6 million available for Islamic Fintech.

 

These recent results indicate the significant and continuous development in the finance and investment sector in various areas of the Islamic economy, including Islamic banks. This indicates the accelerated global trend towards the Islamic economy and the Islamic exchange in particular. Iran takes center stage in terms of Islamic finance market assets amounting to $578 billion; followed by Saudi Arabia then Malaysia. At the same time, we find a growing interest in the Islamic economy by European countries, America and East Asia. For example, Britain is establishing an Islamic Fintech Committee to take the lead position in this field in 2017. In France, Islamic transactions are taught in addition to introducing the specialization-Islamic Economics and Islamic Banks-in dozens of international universities in Europe, America and other countries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on kissing while fasting?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is prohibitively disliked (makrūh taḥrīman) for a husband to engage in foreplay with or kiss his wife during the daylight hours of Ramaḍān if doing so stirs his desire. If pre-seminal fluid (madhī) is released as a result, the fast is not invalidated; however, if seminal fluid (manī) is released, the fast is broken.
Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Sharbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated: "It is prohibitively disliked to kiss — whether on the mouth or elsewhere — for one whose desire is stirred, whether man or woman, to the extent that he fears it may lead to intercourse or ejaculation. Embracing, touching, and similar acts without a barrier carry the same ruling as kissing in this regard, because such acts expose the act of worship to being corrupted — and as the two Ṣaḥīḥs record: 'Whoever circles around a protected boundary is liable to fall into it.'"
He further added: "It is preferable for one whose desire is not stirred — even if he is a young man — to refrain from such acts as well, so as to close the door entirely. For he may believe his desire has not been aroused when in fact it has. Moreover, it is Sunnah for the fasting person to abstain from all desires without exception." — Summarised with minor adaptation from [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj]. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is washing the private part after urinating (Istinjaa`) a condition, and is it done with water and soap, or with water only?

Istinjaa` is obligatory for removing impurity, and it can be done with toilet paper, or a stone, or water. It is preferable to do Istinjaa` first with paper, or stone, or the like, then to wash the private part with water until making sure that the impurity has been removed. Using soap is not a condition, but there is no harm in doing so provided that it is washed off with water. It is also permissible to use either water, or paper if impurity is removed by any.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ) reciting the Islamic ruqyah (Qur'anic/spiritual healing)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible for a person in a state of janābah (major ritual impurity), or a menstruating woman (ḥā'iḍ), or a woman in postpartum bleeding (nufasā'), to recite for the purpose of ruqyah (spiritual/Qur'anic healing), even if this includes some verses of the Noble Qur'an — whether recited from memory or by looking at the Muṣ-ḥaf (the physical copy of the Qur'an) without touching or carrying it — provided that the intention behind the recitation is ruqyah, protection (taḥṣīn), and remembrance (dhikr), not the intention of tilāwah (Qur'anic recitation as an act of worship in itself). This remains permissible even if what is recited is an entire sūrah, such as Sūrat al-Mulk.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "It is lawful for a person in janābah to utter its [the Qur'an's] remembrances and other content — such as its admonitions, its narratives, and its rulings — so long as it is not with the intention of [reciting] Qur'an. [This is] like his saying upon mounting [a vehicle]: 'Glory be to Him Who has subjected this to us, and we could never have accomplished this [by ourselves]' [Sūrat az-Zukhruf: 13] — meaning, [could never have] been capable of it — or upon a calamity: 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return'... In fact, my teacher, ash-Shihāb ar-Ramlī, issued a fatwā that even if he recited the entire Qur'an without the intention of [reciting] Qur'an, it would be permissible." [Summarized from Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol. 1/P.217] And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

There are olive trees within the precincts of the mosque, and my father covers the costs of electricity, water, and other needs of the mosque. Is it permissible for him to take the olive harvest?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If trees and fruit-bearing crops are planted in a mosque for the mosque itself, they may only be spent on the mosque’s interests. If they were planted for the public way (musabbalah), that is, for the general public, then any Muslim who enters the mosque may eat from them. If the planter’s intention is unknown, they are treated like those dedicated for public use, wherever custom has so run.
It is stated in Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.6/p.295): “The fruit of a tree planted for the mosque within it is not freely permitted without compensation. Rather, the imam spends its equivalent value on the mosque’s interests. The tree left its planter’s ownership here without any verbal declaration because of the evident indication. The case of planting it for the mosque excludes planting it as musabbalah, in which case eating from it without compensation is permissible, and likewise if his intention is unknown, where custom has so run. The tree may be uprooted from the mosque if the imam sees fit. Indeed, if he makes the plot a mosque while a tree stands in it, the imam may uproot it, even if the endower included it within the endowment (waqf).”
The father is a donor (mutabarriʿ), so he is not entitled to take anything in return for his donation to the mosque.
The Ministry of Awqāf is the body that supervises the affairs of endowments, so it must be consulted and the Sharīʿah and administrative instructions regulating such matters must be considered. And Allah Almighty knows best.