ABRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAMIC ECONOMIC THOUGHT Lecture Notes Presented to several training sessions of Institute of Islamic Economics, International Islamic University, Islamabad during early 1990s 1.
Opening Remarks There is no work available on this subject. The Muslim thinkers,
jurists and scholars have been writing on various subjects of economics during
the last 14 centuries. A comprehensive coverage would require a team of scholars for a number of years and their output may result into an encyclopedic work. Thus the present effort is only a bare outline of the actual subject.
The Islamic economic thought does not cover Qur'an and Sunnah since
they are divine sources. A history of thought involves history of human thinking.
Therefore, it covers interpretation of the divine sources and not the sources themselves. The present study also does not include opinion of the companions of the Prophet since no single work is available on that subject. So far as jurists are concerned most of the jurists have been giving their
verdicts on the economic matters of their respective times. Thejuridical literature is
a vast treasure of such verdicts. It is not possible to cover the juridical literature in this study. Moreover, the present study takes into account the application of
juristic thought to concrete economic situations and therefore excludes mention of legal literature. A.
We can study the present subject under following headings: Early thinkers
B.
Thinkers of recent past
D.
Professional economists and bankers
C. E.
Orthodox religious scholars. (Ulema)
Orientalists and western economists 1