A qur’anic model for a universal economic theory

Abstract EN

This paper outlines a universal Qur’anic economic theory that integrates orthodox economics based on utility maximization as the guiding principle of rational choice, and a new economics based on the maximization of iman as the guiding principle of choice for a rational Muslim.

Both principles are shown to be Qur’anic principles that lie at the heart of the Master Plan of Creation (MPC) which depicts God’s purpose behind the creation of man and the universe that surrounds him, as well as the basic elements involved in realizing this divine purpose.

It is through the unfolding of this divine MPC that the fundamental role of economics in the design of God for man becomes apparent.

This universal Qur’anic paradigm is distinguished by its explanatory power, the decisive role it assigns to the moral individual as the kernel of the Islamic economy, its emphasis on man’s salvation, and its far reaching implications for Islamic economics with respect to its theoretical principles, methodology, institutions and policy.