wa ba'ad,
We live in a time where the Religion of Islaam is being beseiged by attacks from multiple fronts. One of those fronts which might not be so obvious is the Islamic economic system. It has been said that if the economic system of Islaam is breached it will have devastating effects in this world and the next. And we are without a doubt witnessing some of these effects today!
The subject of wealth, money and business dealings is one which is very much in need of being understood here in the West due to the capitalistic society in which we live today. If you look at the newspaper headlines you see unprecedented bank closures, wall street bail-outs, corporate kick-backs, multi-billion dollar 'ponzi' schemes all designed to siphon the wealth of the hardworking citizens. What is the solution and how do we achieve it?
In the science of Usool-ul Fiqh, the goal or aim of the religion is to safeguard five (5) matters...the fifth of these aims is the preservation of wealth - which is in fact required to safeguard and protect all of the other four!
InshAllaah this thread can be used to post articles or links to books/audio related to the topic of Islamic Economy. This can include topics related to Islamic Banking, fataawa, Halaal Investment options available today and other related topics inshAllah.
As a start, here is a gem from Shaykhul Islam Ibn Qayyim rahimahullah,
quote:
Al Imaam Ibnul Qayyim said:
'Currency is the scale by which the value of property is known, so
it is mandatory for it to be placed in limits and set, neither
inflating nor depreciating.
... It (i.e. currency) is not to be assigned worth by something
else, thus becoming a commodity inflating and depreciating, ruining
the transactions of the people as well as causing decay and
tremendous harm.' from I'laam Al Muwaqi'een
source: modifications to email that I got from Br. Khalid Yaseen from Detroit, Michigan.