Salud-Enfermedad: CCU-CaCU

We saw that in secular economics falsificationism is often preached but almost never practiced and normative principles which cannot be observed even with the best of intentions are considered plainly useless and/or misleading. However, in Islamic economics falsificationism is always practiced as ordained in the dos and don’ts contained in the Shari’ah

[note the fundamental statement of the Testimony – the Shahadah: LA ILAHA (falsificationism at work) ILLA ALLAH (Verificationism at work)

Muhammad Rasoulu Allah (to follow and to believe in the prophet and his teachings through the Purified Sunnah). In a nutshell, true knowledge is based on revelation with the assistance of guided reason, which both direct that all types of worship (ibadaat)are forbidden except what has been ordained by the Shari’ah and also that all types of economic transactions (muamalat) are permissible except what has been disallowed by the Shari’ah.

Thus, it is these epistemological differences that provided the Islamic and secular versions of economics with divergent value frames, different meanings of basic concepts, and distinctive behavioral rules and the procedures for formulating theories and seek their verification. They condition the nature, scope, methods, and behavioral norms of the two disciplines of economics, secular and Islamic.

If economists could recognize that people try to be rational, but in certain, often predictable, ways fail to be so, the Islamic conception of rationality (reason plus sapience) could provide a much better foundation for economics. There is a relationship, not antagonism, between reason and revelation. For, unlike rationalism, Islam does not see nature as a material physical object for human exploitation and use but accords it a further and deeper significance.

Let us reiterate that Islamic economics is not averse to reason. In fact, the Qur’an uses reason to make men of wisdom (Owli-’al-Baa’b) understand God and His Creation. Also, it exhorts them to ponder for understanding the Devine injunctions i.e. the rationality and the wisdom underlying them. But man need not understand or comprehend everything. That is not the objective of Islamic science; which is the reverse in secular

science. For reason has an exalted place in the Islamic scheme of things for the generation of knowledge so long as it does not collide with the basic elements of the Faith. Apart from the issue of demarcating the spheres of reason and revelation in searching for and enhancing knowledge, Shari’ah does endorse that knowledge is the carrier of reality, and also attempts to define it.

Thus, in methodology of economics we have to integrate and unify together the three facets of knowledge: Reality, Reason and Revelation

(what I like to coin as the three R’s which I deliberately place them in the order of their superiority): First comes the filter of Revelation, then the filter of Reason and lastly that of Reality. These three facets are interrelated and should invariably underpin any future discussion on methodological issues in economics – secular or Islamic. From here, we see that Reason has two faces: one face resting on faith (sapience or

irfani) while the other face of reason has none.

Conclusion

We have dealt with the roles of reason and revelation in obtaining and promoting knowledge and also showed how the two impact the explanation of reality concerning economic matters. The chapter also examined the limitations Islam imposes on the use of pure reason in making economic decisions. We argued that the distinction between reason and revelation is of a Western import; Muslims do not make such a distinction or an issue out of it. So it seems ‘reason’ has two faces: one with faith and the other without.

Notes

1 _{The power to reason is part of wisdom Allah SWT bestowed on man, sapience}

being the other part. Revelation (the Qur’an) states this position in most unmistakable terms. Thus, we do not subscribe to the view – though some scholars may have it – that revelation is the primary and reason the secondary source of knowledge from Islamic viewpoint. The discussion below makes our position clearer.

2 _{Based on our faith, all other knowledge not compatible with Islam is simply}

untrue and is nothing more than the whisperings from the Unguided Human Self or the Devil or both.

3 _{The folly of this assumption is no better explained anywhere than in the famous}

essay of A. K. Sen “Rational Fools” reproduced in several works. See, for example, Hahn and Hollis (1979) Chapter VI, pp. 87-109.

4 _{Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) was the founder of American pragmatism}

(later called by Peirce “pragmaticism”), an extender of the Scotistic theory of signs (called by Peirce “semeiotic”), an extraordinarily prolific logician and mathematician, and a developer of an evolutionary, psycho-physically monistic metaphysical system.

5 _{Usul-al-fiqh are principles that help establish and interpret the fiqhi rules and}

positions. Methodology of Islamic economics has to work within the confines of these rules: application of these rules to secular positions leads to the establishment and certification of Islamic norms and principles in the area. There is no dearth of literature on both usul and fiqh in various languages of the world. Hashim Kamali (1994) is one leading example providing fiqhi

modifications to some secular practices in the area of finance. Such is not the objective of this work. For one thing, I am no expert in matters of usul or fiqh; for another, it is not an imperative for the present work. For these reasons I did not make the discussion of fiqh or usul-al-fiqh one of the ingredients of my research proposal presented to the university and approved by them. However, I shall touch upon juristic positions later in Chapter 6 of the work in discussing the question of methods.

6 _{For an interesting discussion on the point see Hasan (1998, pp. 13-15).} 7 _{We find probably one of the best elaborations of this important Islamic concept}

in Hasan (1988), Section II, pp 41- 45. According to him, Amanah underlines Islam’s entire socio-economic philosophy and encompasses its programme right through from the individual to the state. In the field of economics it seeks to convert the material ambitions of man into the means of attaining spiritual heights i.e. his ultimate goal.

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