Bismillah.

Summary:

Islamic economics is broken right now. People argue about whether it belongs to fiqh (rules about what’s allowed) or should be totally separate from it. Both are wrong. Economics should be part of kalām. The part of Islamic learning that asks: “What does this mean? What’s the truth?” Fiqh says: “Is this trade okay or not?” Kalām says: “What is trade, anyway?” The big problem. Islamic economics has no clear plan for how to study things (no uṣūl, no method). Most people copy the “scientific” style from modern Western economics (Chicago school or Keynesian school) But economics is about people’s choices, and people don’t act like falling apples or boiling water. They can change their minds. Islam already has fixed truths like interest is not allowed, but the scientific method can’t give you fixed truths. The solution. Start with truths we already know (interest is forbidden) and reason down from them step by step. This is called deduction (top down thinking) not induction (bottom up from lots of data). The Austrian School of Economics does this kind of thinking and they actually got some of their style from Muslim history. Throw away studies that only copy modern “sciencey” methods without solid Islamic thinking behind them. Other problems. The field is full of preachy slogans like “Islam is better than capitalism or socialism” without explaining how or why. People mix up policies (what you do) with beliefs (how you see economics). Also, focus is too much on banks and selling houses with “Islamic” labels and not the deeper economic riba system. What needs to change. Stop copying famous Western economists like Marshall (micro) and Keynes (macro). Learn philosophy, logic, and the way kalām thinkers work. Involve madrasa trained scholars. They’re good at kalām thinking. Make real research, not just motivational speeches. Understand that fixing economics is as important for the Muslim Ummah as defending it physically. “We must understand why economics is so vital for the ummah. Today, in Afghanistan, the mujahideen who fought jihad faced a power capable of creating unlimited money, and with it, raising vast armies. Such a power cannot be defeated by arms alone. Just as those who risk their lives fighting the unbelievers in the mountains are engaged in jihad, producing scholarly, valuable work in this field is almost equally an act of jihad. We must have this awareness.” ﷺ