The Methods of Religious Thought in Islam [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Every system, intending to achieve certain
goals, must be designed in a realistic manner. Therefore, if the system is
supposed to be implemented in order to serve human life, particularly in the
long-run, it must serve man's goals and be consistent with hisfi>rah (primordial
nature). This is not possible unless the designer of the system has a command
over the knowledge necessary for understanding social and individual aspects
of man. Besides, the designer should have a thorough understanding of actual
relations between those two aspects of man and the primordial nature of
man as well. In addition to those prerequisites, the designer should understand
the historical trends of such a relationship, the needs for the development
of such relationships and methods for pursuing those needs in order to
realize an evolutionary, human approach toward actualizing the goals of
the creation of man.

Indeed, the way the aforesaid satisfaction of
needs is to be carried out should not overlap other systems which are meant
for satisfying other needs of man. In other words, such a system should
observe a wise balance and study the role and interrelationship of other
systems which together comprise the whole system of life.

If we assume that the designer of the system possesses
all those necessary prerequisites, we should assess subsequent stages in
the process of achieving the desirable realism which is necessary
for a system to be able to provide a proper context for itself. By this
we mean the extent to which this system is compatible with the norms and
values of the society (where the system is to be implemented), the extent
of consistence between those norms and values and the emotional values
presented by the system, and finally the extent to which this system assures
the realization of a desirable education to create social obedience for
those ideological views and emotional values.

Although the system may be realistic, accurate,
and rational in perceiving the reality and understanding its needs and
their satisfaction, it will remain incapable if it is not preceded by an
ideological impetus which supplies the society with bases for the stance
that it should take toward the universe, the life, and the man itself.
Consequently, the ideological impetus will guarantee the system the element
of ?m?n [faith] rescue it from the most important
civilizational maladies including il<?d [atheism], which
is the opposite of ?m?n, and shirk [polytheism],
which signifies the excessive belief in false gods, and shakk [doubt],
which is a manner resembling other destructive attitudes. Unless these
requirements are realized, we cannot assure the provision of the first
contextual element for the system's implementation. Similarly, as long
as the emotional motivations, which are the focus of education, are not
perfectly compatible and harmonious with the ideological structure of the
society, we cannot guarantee balance in man's personality when there is
a wide gap between his beliefs and the internal and external values and
motivations that the system provides in order to satisfy his needs. Moreover,
these emotional motivations cannot form human behavior and action unless
they are strong and clearly defined.

So far, we have realized the necessity of two
factors for every system intending to materialize its human goals: first,
the planner's holistic approach towards human reality, including his relations
and needs as well as their fulfillment concomitant with the rest of the
system; second, facilitating its implementation through faith and compatible
emotional motivations.

Realism, in turn, requires the following two fundamental
factors: first, the system should contain legal guarantees binding all
those who oppose the harmonious human nature or those few who have not
chosen the complete ?m?n or the full commitment to
the requirements of ?m?n; second, it has a perfect
flexibility to accommodate the temporal and spatial variations in human
life and provides fixed solutions for fixed elements of human life and
flexible ones for the accommodation of its alterable elements.

We believe that Islam was correct in announcing
its rule in the form of general rules. Thus, it did not ignore any one
of those aspects, but observed them perfectly and completed the religion
which provides appropriate answers to man's needs till the Day of Judgment.

Accordingly, it announces that the whole Islamic
system is based on reality and nature and that it is the fixed truth aiming
at serving human beings and accomplishing the purpose of his creation.
Thus, it enjoins whatever is desirable and forbids whatever is refused
by the nature.

God, the Exalted, says: "Then set your face
upright for religion in the right state, the nature made by Allah in which
He has made men. There is no alteration in Allah's creation. That is the
right religion but most people do not know." (30:30)

And He, the Exalted, says: "Say: O people!
Indeed there has come to you the truth from your Lord ..." (10:108)

And He, the Exalted, says: "O you who believe!
Answer (the call of) Allah and the Apostle when he calls you to that which
gives you life, and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart,
and that to Him you shall be gathered." (8:24)

And He, the Exalted, says: "Those who follow
the Apostle Prophet, who was taught neither to read nor to write, whom
they find written down with them in the Tawr?h and the Inj?l
[Old and New Testaments], (who) enjoins them to do good and forbids them
from doing evil, and makes the pure and good things <al?l [lawful]
for them and makes impure and harmful things <ar?m [prohibited]
for them, and remove from them their burden and the shackles which were
upon them. So (as for) those who believe in him and support him and help
him and follow the light which was sent down with him, they are indeed
the saved." (7:157)

The proof of this argument is the same one that
proves its attribution to the Great Creator as it proves for this Creator
all attributes of knowledge about all facts and full, absolute control
over the formation of shar?ah (the comprehensive body of
Islamic rules), and perfect kindness to the servants and other attributes
which are not imaginable for any body other than Him the Exalted.

We are not to present any reasoning for this but
only point to the Holy Qur'?n's emphasis on this fact in all occasions
when it points to Allah's kindness and knowledge:

"Does He not know Who He created? He it is
Who made the earth smooth for you, therefore go about in the spacious sides
thereof, and eat of His sustenance, and to Him is the return after death."
(67:14-15)

"Say: Allah suffices as a witness between me
and you. Surely He is Aware of His servants, Seeing. And whomsoever Allah
guides, is the follower of the right way, and whomsoever He causes to err,
you shall not find for him guardians besides Him. And We will gather them
together on the day of resurrection on their faces, blind and dumb and
deaf. Their abode is hell, whenever it becomes allayed We will add to their
burning." (17:96-97)

After this introduction, we try to discuss several
points pertaining to the core of the discussion with emphasis on the following
subjects:

1. Major attributes of the Islamic economy, their
natural character, and

Islam's emphasis on them.

2. The proper grounds Islam prepares for its economic
system.

3. Relationship between this system and other
systems.

4. Flexibility of the Islamic economic system.

Salient Features of the Islamic Economy

When we study the Islamic economy as a way which
Islam prescribes for individual and social behavior in the economic field
and examine Islam's rules in this area, we can conclude that its most important
attribute is social justice. In this respect, the Islamic economy
resembles all other systems that claim to be serving human being and realizing
his social aspirations but it differs from them in the details of its conception
of social justice.

Justice cannot emerge unless the following requirements
are present: first, believing in the private and social property on an
equal and advanced level in a way that the private property acts on the
fulfillment of man's natural demands for possessing the result of his effort
and obtaining the benefits of his business. While the public property aims
at guaranteeing that social action enjoys a social product through which
the provision of some needs and shortages would become possible.

Second, faith in individual economic freedom as
a general, continuous, comprehensive principle which stems from the nature
of the ownership along with the belief in the existence of some limits
at which this freedom ends. This is for the purpose of either guaranteeing
individual's interest as in the case of objects the use of which was outlawed
because of the physical or moral damage that they could inflict upon the
individual, or to secure others' rights and liberties which is also a natural
guarantee admitted by all religions and human affiliations.

Third, faith in the principle of mutual responsibility.
Islam guarantees, for every individual in the Islamic society, the subsistence
level, i.e., provision of his natural needs. The government is obliged
to provide this minimum for all and it is absolutely impermissible that
even a single needy person is found in the Islamic society. Regarding how
to make the society economically capable of doing this, the following factors
may be mentioned:

• 
  Obliging individuals to accomplish their responsibilities
  and duties with respect to the provision of the necessary needs
  of others. Since one of government's responsibilities is to compel individuals
  to perform their obligations, even those which are individual, it may bind
  individuals to carry out these duties as well.
  


• 
  The legal power of wal?y al-amr
  [head of the Islamic government] to determine the limits of public domain
  (sadduman>aqat al-mub?<?t) through legislation supplies
  the government with the desirable power.
  


• 
  Public properties and anf?l [properties
  with no particular owner/s] which are designated by the government as public
  properties which the government oversees and uses to achieve the above
  goal.
  


• 
  Financial punishments and methods that are devised
  by Islam to transfer private properties to the public ownership as with
  respect to mawq?f?t [endowments] or the lands the
  inhabitants of which perished or the dead without heirs and so forth.
  


• 
  Nature of the Islamic legislation--as Shah?d
  al-@adr (r) put it--which aims at strengthening the social structure for
  the realization of this mutual responsibility.

1. The prohibition of tabdh?r and
isr?f [wasting and squandering] in all areas, therefore,
an individual cannot possibly trespass to the line of isr?f.

2. The prohibition of every action that leads
to misuse of particular properties, and of lahw [amusement] and
muj?n [impudence].

3. Rejection of all social and economic privileges
which discriminate between different groups of people which, in turn, eliminates
all the grounds for the emergence of the class system.

If we go back and scrutinize all of these features
and expose them to human nature and conscience we will find them principles
that may be admitted in a natural way. This explains the return of each
of the two extremist systems of capitalism and socialism to a moderate
position after its collision with opposing natural factors--as we believe.

The natural basis of these views is evidently
emphasized by general regulatory and conceptual authoritative texts (nu#?#)
that are numerous and to some of which we point here:

There are nu#?# that stress the
inherence character of private and public property:

The Exalted says: "And the man shall gain nothing
but what he strives for." (53:39) (naturally if we interpret it as
including worldly possession).

Am?r al-mu'min?n (a) says: "This
property is indeed neither mine nor yours but it is a collective property
of the Muslims ... what is earned by their hands does not belong to any
mouths other than theirs." (Nahj al-Bal?ghah, sermon 232)

There are some nu#?# that
emphasize the economic freedom in a natural form the clearest of which is the
rule on which all fuqah?' [Islamic scholars] rely, namely
the rule (Al-n?sumusalla>?na al? amw?lihim
[people are in control of their properties]). Naturally, there are some
limits to this freedom which are mentioned by other nu#?#
stressing that this restriction is only for the benefit of the individual
and the society.

There are some nu#?# that emphasize
the inherence of mutual responsibility and cooperation and further consider
all kinds of negligence with respect to this principle as a general rejection
of d?n [faith and religion]. The Exalted says: "Have you
seen the person who rejects the religion? He is the one who treats the
orphan with harshness, and does not urge (others) to feed the poor." (107:1-3)

Finally, there are some nu#?# that
stress the necessity for the realization of balance in the society through
their emphasis on the prohibition of isr?f and also the necessity
of renouncing poverty and providing subsistence for every individual. The
Im?m (a) says, while speaking of the duties of the wal?y
al-amr [leader] toward the needy: "He keeps giving him from zak?h
till he makes him needless."

The Proper Grounds Which Islam Prepares for Its Economic System

In this regard, the analyst can find in front
of him a huge wealth of noble nu#?# that emphasize various
concepts and numerous rules and fixed historical laws and that all serve
the cause of Islamic economy and participate, in a natural way, in the
realization of its far-reaching goals. We mention below a number of these
issues:

A. The Real ownership belongs to Allah, the
Exalted: This principle is the most important tenet that forms man's
image as it leaves its visible marks on the economic behavior of Muslim
individual. Ownership belongs only to the Unpaired, Almighty Allah and
He the Exalted bestowed an assumed, legal ownership upon the human being
so that it distributes the properties among its individuals and exercises
this ownership according to the purposes that Allah chose for the benefit
of humanity. This notion has great influence on the exclusion of negative
effects on ownership in its absolute capitalistic form.

B. The purpose is to reclaim the land through
a joint, human effort and responsibility: In this way, the man
believes that the human effort from the beginning to the end is one and
that the important goal is to make the humanity subservient before God,
establish the worshipping society and prepare the grounds for it through
making the earth inhabitable, extract the greatest benefits from it to
the advantage of all through performing the duties arising from the joint
responsibility. Diversion from this is diversion from the purpose.

C. Ethical concepts in the service of economic
cause: Islamic nu#?# are full of a magnificent ethical
plan which leads to its contribution to this economic system and to the
realization of its goals. Most of the riw?y?t [traditions],
on one hand, encourage in the human being the spirit of cooperation, responsibility,
Islamic fraternity, ith?r [self-sacrifice], zuhd [piety],
and compassion for the miseries and aspirations of others. On the other
hand, they drive away from the human being such vices as stinginess, greed,
exclusivism, transgressing the rights of others, opportunism, avarice,
and envy. Im?m @?diq (a) counted all good manners as the
troopers of aql [wisdom] and all vicious attributes as the troopers
of jahl [ignorance]. We can neither mention all of the riw?y?t
in this regard nor touch on their educational details, therefore, only
point to this particular fact that the Islamic ethics and educational system
augment in human being the spirit of generosity before they emphasize the
economic freedom and the possibility of using it to his own particular
benefits. The story of Q?r?n [Korah] is well-known for its
focus on this ethical principle (And seek by means of what Allah has
given to you the otherworld's abode and do not neglect your share of this
world ... (28:77)).

This story and this principle is a multifaceted
Islamic creed which, if prevails in the society, will provide the greatest
grounds for the implementation of the desirable economic system.

D. Al-inf?q al-musta<abb [commendable
spending for a divine cause] and the extended life: Here, a wonderful
aspect of the solution to the problem of conflict between the inherent
motivations for serving one's self and the motivations for serving the
society is manifested. According to this notion, one begins with the prolongation
of his own life and ends up with a level of eternity in the hereafter.
He finds out that self-interest and social interest are integrated; a notion
that encourages him to make continuous inf?q which does not
ever run out of its driving forces according to the principle which says
"whoever establishes a favorable habit he will be rewarded both for it
and for the action of whoever follows it." And here we would like to remind
emphatically the extended effect of waqf since, as the result of
these motivations, the private property is transferred to the public ownership
and man's permanent exploitation of his property is realized.

E. Shukr al-nimah [gratitude for a
blessing] means to make the best use of the wealth and avoiding its waste:
The major problem in the global economic domain does not lie in the weakness
of growth rates of natural resources and their failure to keep up with
the population growth rate but it lies in the failure to make ideal use
of natural resources or, as the nu#?# put it, in kufr?n
al-nimah [ingratitude for the blessing] and squandering the natural,
mineral and animal resources and so forth (And He gave you of whatever
you asked Him for and if you count Allah's blessings you will not (possibly)
obtain their number. Man is indeed very unjust, very ungrateful. ... (14:34))

And it is a kind of shukr al-nimah to
make ideal use of he labor force and to avoid wasting it. For this reason,
the nu#?# emphasize the continuous work and even declare
it obligatory for those who are able.

F. Relationship between moralities and material
pursuits at the civilizational level: There is an amazing civilizational
fact that nobody can perceive it except those who believe in the ghayb
[the metaphysical world] and its various aspects. The Holy Qur?n
stresses that ~ulm [injustice] leads to hal?k [annihilation]
(Thus, because of their injustice We destroyed them) and that 'adl
[justice] and du?' [praying] and shukr [gratitude]
leads, in a lawful way, to rakh?' [comfort] (Ask for your
Lord's forgiveness, surely He is the most Forgiving. He will send down
the cloud upon you pouring down abundance of rain. And help you with properties
and sons, and make for you gardens and make for you rivers. (71:10-12).
This fact arouses, in hearts, a great hope in the future, even the material
future, and opens the way for a social and economic dynamism.

Add to what was mentioned above other major factors
that contributes to this background.

Strong Connection With Other Systems

It is evident in all systems devised by Islam
that they are put forward as parts of a larger system which includes, in
general, the whole universe. These systems are in strong and close interconnection
in such a manner that none of them can achieve its desired goal without
the implementation of other systems (and naturally, we do not claim here
that the obligation to set up the system hinges on the establishment of
other systems but what we emphasize is the issue of system's achievement
of all of its desired goals.)

In this regard the following points should be
made:

A. Certain areas of the social system are reserved
to be filled by the wal?y al-amr (or by some one appointed
by him) due to his ijtihad [ability to extract Islamic rule whenever
needed] and determination of the nature of the prevailing situations and
ummah's interest. This is what we observe, for example, in economic, legal,
and penal systems and in the institutions of waqf [endowment], mu?mal?t
[transactions], irth [inheritance], and so forth. This fact indicates
the complete connection between these institutions and the ruling political
system.

B. The economic system is strongly related to
the system of ib?d?t [worshippings]. This is the
issue which is sometimes presented as the companionship of the prayers
and zak?h in tens of Qur'anic cases. Zakah and khums
are two financial ib?dahs. Financial kaff?r?t
[expiations] are, in fact, also a huge economic participation by ib?d?t
system in the service of public economic interest. It should not be ignored
that some ib?dahs like #awm [fasting] and <ajj
provide the elements of economic grounds, to which we clearly pointed.
There are certain ib?dahs that strongly contribute to the
public ownership such as waqf, if we require n?yyat al-qurbah
[proximity intention] in it.

C. The economic system and its goals and
pecularities naturally have a strong connection with the system of
mu?mal?t [transactions] which is designed in such a manner to provide the
proper environment for the realization of mutual responsibility, balance,
and dual ownership, emphasize the labor element, and prohibits
rib? [usury], 'akl al-m?li bial-b?>il [financial misappropriation],
harmful acts, lahw [debauchery], and wasting of the wealth.

D. There is a considerable linkage between the
economic system and the system of jih?d [military defense]
in Islam for the latter system involves, in addition to combative rules
and methods, implications for ownership, war spoils, and so forth.

E. Undoubtedly, the economic system is also related
to the social system including the form of society's principle cell, i.e.
the family, and also the social relations among the families, and individual's
relations with the society. All of these are predominated by social Islamic
rules including mutual responsibility and balance, which form the most
important characteristics in the economy as we mentioned frequently. This
argument also involves the rules regarding mahrs [dowries], nafaqahs
[allowances], various methods of division of labor, and such issues as
irth [inheritance], wa#?iyyahs [bequests], and the
rulings with regard to children, qa_?' [adjudication], financial
taz?rs [discretionary punishments] and other varieties of
financial punishments, and others which may not be all discussed in this
limited space.

G. Touching on these relations, the late ?yatull?h
al-@adr points to another aspect of the issue, namely the relationship
between government's economic doctrine and its financial policy which is,
in fact, a part of government's planning for enforcement of the laws of
Islamic economy, thus, it is a part of the economy itself.

H. We already pointed to the link between Islam's
economic system and its ethical system which makes the latter one of the
major preludes and the motivating element for the ummah in the way
of implementing the economic system and realizing its goals to such an
extent that it becomes hard to distinguish between the two systems.

Here I would like to point, as a diversion from
the main course of discussion, to the fact that Islam addresses the whole
life in general and devises for it the best system which guides toward
the goal in a deliberate manner and based on principles of justice and
equity. Whereas we find the positivist world today floundering in the establishment
of a desirable system for the protection of human dignity, distribution
of responsibilities, and realization of rights. Therefore, social systems
collapse, one after another, and admit their defeat while Islam remains
a straight religion without any deviation.

As an example for this argument, we focus on the
slogan which the positivist world spouts through giving it a widespread
global character and which has recently altered to a sweeping emotional
wave, namely the slogan of equality of women and men in all situations,
periods, and places, and with respect to all rights without any exceptions
whatever it would be. We have been finding this slogan tens of times in
the documents presented in the conferences of Mexico City, Bucharest, Cairo,
and recently in a strong and explicit form, in the Beijing Conference on
Woman. We see the document produced by this conference concentrating, specifically,
on the issues of inheritance, absolute material equality, judgeship, and
the so called sexual freedom rights for all ages and so forth.

We consider this slogan as a blind assertion although
it has an attractive appearance since equality is one of the principles
favorable to the human taste concerning two individuals whose rights are
equal in terms of their human dignity and affiliation, i.e. the man and
the woman. But this principle is not too general to have exceptions. This
is due to the natural differences between man's and woman's physical and
emotional structures, nature of the social responsibility which is to be
carried out by each, and the extent of participation by each in the social
construction including the establishment of social justice. Hence, we may
not call out the slogan of quantitative equality without considering the
desired balance otherwise we will commit, through this equality, injustice
and unfairness. When the principles of equality and social justice are
in conflict, one may ask to which one the priority goes? Undoubtedly, the
principle of justice is the one which common-sense testifies to its generality
and insusceptibility to exception, therefore, social justice qualifies
the principle of equality and even determines its socially desired form.

We feel great regret on the blind, sweeping, global
wave that has been put forward thoughtlessly and that criticizes against
the Islamic inheritance system pretending to ignore that it is part of
a whole and that there is a wonderful balance between this system and the
nafaqah [allowance] system and the duties of each of the man and
the woman in the social life.

The Flexibility of Islamic Economic System

This subject is, in general, related to the flexible
character of Islamic rules but we will show it from the economic angle.
Briefly, Islam supplied this system with all necessary elements which enable
it to accommodate the vital changes which occur frequently and rapidly
in the economic field. The reason is that economy is a field related to
the complexities of man's social life as well as to nature's ability to
provide, and the proper environmental conditions, and so on. Therefore,
with respect to land distribution and ownership, there is a great difference
between the situation of land's perfect abundance and man's insufficient
physical power and the situation of scarcity and increasing shortage resulted
from human growth rates on one hand, and man's immense technological power
to reclaim the land. This difference may affect the issues of <?y?zah
[occupancy] -which is considered as an ownership factor-, social development,
mines' ownership, vertical ownership -both in depth and in altitude-, energy's
ownership, etc.

This difference may also influence the issue of
alteration of the nature and effects of property relationship leading mujtahids
[jurists] to keep aloof from the issue of absolute ownership of land and
suggest the subject of <aqq al-ikhti#?# [exclusivity right]
which results from the impact made by the individual on the land, thus
when the impact ceases to exist the right will expire and returns to the
public domain which can be used by the Islamic state according to the public
interest.

Therefore, existence of the element of ijtihad
and its constant openness represents one of flexibility elements without
which one cannot know the developments' effects on the nature of the rule
deduced form the nu#?#.

The fact that Islam put forward
certain broad economic rules and related them to the urf
[prevailing standards of conduct] concept has a special connotation for notions
like isr?f and tabdh?r [wasting and squandering], faqr
and ghin? [poverty and needlessness],
al-nafaq?t al-muta?rifah [customary allowance], al-manfaat al-mu<allalah
[lawful profit], ma?n [basic need], rib?
[usury], mithl?yyah and q?m?yyah [fungibility and being
ad valorem], circulation and depression of cash currencies,
_am?n [liability], individual and social damage, <araj
[impediment], _ar?rah [urgency], al-ma#lahat al-uly? [the
higher expediency], being asbaq [preceding] in waqf,
being aqd?y [contractual], being bay?y [exchange], trade
through tar?_i [mutual agreement], being qimar?y
[gamble], lahw, and even ad?lah [justice], ~ulm
[injustice], taadd? [transgression], and akl al-m?lbi al-b?>il
[misappropriation of property]. Thus, urf intervenes when these concepts
change, often due to change in conditions, and consequently, as a result of
change in the urf? [commonplace] view of the subject the
judgment also changes as we saw in the issue ofsha>ranj [chess] for example.

However, the most important element on which the
Islamic system concentrates is the element of intervention by the mujtahid,
just wal?y al-amr in the economic life. This intervention
has its own criteria, rules, and what the late al-@adr calls the penetrating
beams that illuminate Islam's positions and give it the spirit of the system
and its promising goals¹. In such a system, the wal?y
has the obligation to take advantage of his social power and true commitment
to Islam and the Islamic expediency of the ummah and, through consultation
with the masters of knowledge and expertise, carry out his duties which
can be summarized as the following:

1. Identification of the best methods and executive
arrangements for the enforcement of the fixed rules of Allah, e.g. looking
for the best way to eliminate rib? in the society while preserving
the positive activities performed by the banks.

2. Filling the public domain with laws in accordance
with the supreme Islamic expediency while preserving, as much as possible,
the primary rule regarding the various cases.

3. Determining the extent to which the conditions
are favorable for the enforcement of Islamic rules and institutions. Therefore,
if the faqih finds the conditions and the rules in such a serious
incompatibility that is called by the scholars of u#?l as
taz?<um [conflict], namely taz?<um between
the wuj?b [obligatoriness] of implementing the <ukm
[ruling] and the prohibition of resulting evil consequences, he must produce
the best possible solution to facilitate the implementation of the <ukm
while compensating its mafsadahs [damaging results]. If this appears
to be impossible he should shift to the area of tarj?< bi
al-ahamm?yah [preference based on priority] which is a vast
area that follows the opinions of experts and mujtahids. The situation
may reach to a point that due to the priority of preventing the mafsadah
caused by it, the implementation of a certain hukm is suspended. This area
is an accurate and a delicate one which is not to be resorted to except
in rare situations.

Conclusions

Based on what was discussed above we can briefly
highlight the following practical conclusions:

First, we repeatedly see or hear those who suggest
the idea of cross-combination of ideology and system which signifies the
establishment of a socialist or a capitalist economic system in an Islamic
environment or the implementation of Islamic institutions in secular social
structures. When these combinationists do not achieve desirable results
from their efforts they tend to ignore the contradiction between the system
and its implementation context and place the blame on the system itself.
We may mention two experiences as examples here:

1) the experience of establishing socialist systems
in our Islamic world and their quick failure as in Algeria -- during Houari
Boumedienne's presidency -- and Libya.

2) the experiment of setting up al-qar_ al-<asan
[interest-free loan] funds under secular systems where it was struck with
unsatisfactory results that encouraged the opponents to attack the resulting
situation as cacophony and accusing the planners of neglecting the absence
of favorable conditions.

Second, If we wish to achieve good results in
our Islamic community, we must provide the desirable grounds through deepening
the faith in Allah and disseminating the elevated Islamic ethics, explicate
the Islamic concepts related to economics and convey them to the public,
and strive to mobilize the feelings and sensations and give them a desirable
Islamic shape. As long as we do not accomplish this task we should not
expect ideal results. In this regard, I would like to draw your attention
to some advertising tactics employed by the banks which concentrate on
the profits generated by the money deposited in al-qar_ al-<asan
funds and on prizes that it may bring for the depositors without ever referring
to the great reward which ensues whenever they participate in the revitalization
of the public economy and server the society through their bank activities
and deposits and without mentioning the noble ayat and a<?dith
which call for such deeds.

Third, we propose that Islamic banks form a fiqh?
committee consisting of prominent scholars, and further, that the mujtahids
in al-<awz?t al-ilm?yyah (Islamic theological
schools) undertake a study about the legitimacy and plausibility of the
proposed economic, financial, and banking systems from the viewpoint of
Islamic laws and constantly express their opinions concerning new forms
for such systems.

Bay al-salam [forward sale], and
bay al-salam al-mum?thil [fungible forward sale], bayal-is>i#n?'
[manufactural sale], tawr?d [mutual forward] contracts, murabahah
[resale with stated profit] contracts, and so on are examples of economic
institutions that provide banks with more alternatives for economic activities.
This is what the late Shah?d al-@adr proposed a quarter of a century
ago through his famous proposal known as rib?-free banking
and what I put forward as the draft law for the prohibition of rib?
in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ijtih?d is indeed a source
of blessing and Islamic rules are overflowing reserves that can undoubtedly
help us to safeguard the Islamic character and spirit and overcome the
difficulties caused by the developments of modern life.

Endnotes

1. 
   These goals include, for example, Qur'?n's
   emphasis on avoidance from creating a situation that causes exclusive circulation
   of wealth only among the rich, and its emphasis on the necessity to prohibit
   the manipulation of the property which Allah made the sustenance of the
   ummah, or the emphasis by some nu#?# on the view that the purpose
   of trade is to extract benefits or on the prohibition of <ajj if its
   opening results in evil consequences and so on.