Iqtisaduna

Our Economy (Arabic: اقتصادنا"Iqtisaduna") is a major work on Islamic economics by prominent Shia cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. Written between 1960 and 1961, and published in 1982, it is al-Sadr's main work on economics, and still forms much of the basis for modern Islamic banking.

In Our Economy, al-Sadr strives to show that Islam has answers to problems of the modern world by presenting an Islamic alternative to both capitalism and socialism. He rejects socialism on the basis that Islam distinguishes between the individual and the ruler in an Islamic state in a manner that requires a distinction between private and public property. However, he also rejects capitalism's notion that private property is justified in its own right, arguing instead that both private and public property originate from God, and that the rights and obligations of both private individuals and rulers are therefore dictated by Islam. He also rejects the conclusion that this makes Islamic economics a mixture between capitalism and socialism, arguing that capitalism and socialism each come about as the natural conclusion of certain ideologies, while Islamic economics comes about as the natural conclusion of Islamic ideology and therefore is justified entirely independently of other systems of economics.

Further reading

Full text of the book: Book 1 Part 1 , Book 1 Part 2 , Book 2 Part 1 , Book 2 Part 2

Alternative Links Volume 1, Part 1 Volume 2, Part 2 Volume 1, Part 1 Volume 2, Part 2

References

• Aziz, T.M. (1993). "An Islamic Perspective of Political Economy: The Views of (late) Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr". Al-Tawhid Islamic Journal 10 (1).