Islam’s Market Ideology: A Brief Outline

Abstract

Many of the studies on the Islamic market doctrine have failed to integrate the  idea within the broad social objective of its Islamic doctrinal origin. Consequently,  the outcomes of such studies have only partially explicated the Islamic market  theory. This brief study attempts to contextualize the Islamic market ideology  within the broad social goal of the Islamic Shari’ah (law), in order to give it a  more complete understanding. Using an interpretative approach that attempts to  integrate market moral injunctions, pricing and profit, and price control, among  others into the broader social doctrine of Islam, we established that the Islamic  market ideology, broadly, seeks to promote the overall economic well-being of  the members of society through creating fair opportunities for economic gains,  enforcing the right to private property, and curbing exploitative tendencies of  economic agents towards one another, among other things. Consequently, the  Islamic market ideology is founded on the ideals of economic justice, which,  generally, emphasize fairness as a moral duty enforceable by the state. It is further  established that the individual has the right to engage in exchange activities and  earn fair rewards, and this must not, ordinarily, be interfered with. However,  when, in the course of exercising this right, the individual’s pursuit of self-interest  puts the overall public welfare into jeopardy, the state is obliged to give public  welfare precedence over individual self-interests. Thus, there is room for the state  to intervene even in pricing; though, under normal circumstances, prices in the  market should depend on the prevailing market conditions.