ISLAMIC SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION: A GUIDE FOR MUSLIM ENTREPRENEURS

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to create a walkthrough description of system of production and consumption (SPC) grounded in the metaphysical foundations of Islam. The paper uses Schumacher’s framework of describing an economic system in compliance with the meta-physical position of an ideology. The said framework is used to create a brief sketch of the SPC compliant to the meta-physical position of Islam. The findings suggests that the Islamic SPC is organized around the goal of maximizing well-being of all stakeholders as advocated by the teachings of Islam, while the wealth created is used as a means for that purpose. Hence the family and community driven guild systems may come closer to the model sketched in this paper. The sketch presented in this paper is limited to the features highlighted in Schumacher’s work. A similar comparison can be drawn about other features of the system not discussed in this paper. The paper will guide the Muslim-entrepreneurs to take Islamic-economic-system from theoretical abstraction to its implementable blueprint and toward developing a more holistic alternative to modern capitalist system of production, consumption, and finance.

Keywords: Islamic-economics, system of production, system of consumption, employee wellbeing, environmental sustainability.