There is no era without dealing with general issues related to the economic aspect of Islam, such as zakat and usury, or what is related to the management of money as one of the major purposes of Islam, or the relationship of the Islamic state with the subjects of non-Islamic countries, and other general issues and topics.
But with the emergence of the modern state, and the consequent transfer from Western civilization of transactions affecting the life of society, whether with the state or individuals, it has become necessary for some scholars to warn themselves to confront this matter theoretically and practically, to provide people with what facilitates their lives matters in the light of guidance. Islamic.
Zakat was the beginning
Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, may God have mercy on him, turned, in his post-university studies, to an unfamiliar specialty among his peers. He did not shorten the path for himself by achieving a book on jurisprudence or principles, or addressing some issues in the light of comparative jurisprudence, but rather chose a thorny topic, which represents one of the most important The dilemmas of the modern state, is the developmental role of zakat, and its economic and social effects. His doctoral thesis was entitled “The Jurisprudence of Zakat: A Comparative Study of its Judgments and Philosophy in the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah.”
His doctoral dissertation shows the vast amount of economic literature that he has read in general, and what is related to the science of public finance in particular, in which he presented jurisprudence appropriate to the times in the collection of zakat and the consequent matters pertaining to the state and individuals, especially those transactions that did not exist before. Such as zakat on ore (oil and minerals) and the state’s duty to collect and distribute it there, and zakat on property such as buildings, ships and other tankers for commercial purposes, as well as money markets and the shares and bonds traded in them, to provide fatwas and rulings that help the state if it wants to implement zakat through a modern institution.
Among the issues that Al-Qaradawi paid attention to in addressing the issues of zakat in his doctoral thesis is the role of zakat in addressing poverty and unemployment, which are two important issues in the reality of the Islamic world. Zakat...its role in treating economic problems and the conditions for its success.
The book "For Zakat Foundation to Succeed in Contemporary Application" by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (Al-Jazeera)
Economy and the inclusion of Islam
Al-Qaradawi is one of the figures who removed dust from the idea of the inclusion of Islam, especially among the generation of the Islamic awakening experienced by the countries of the Islamic world at the beginning of the seventies of the twentieth century, and it was natural in his talk about the inclusion of Islam that the economy should be present.
But the economy that Dr. Al-Qaradawi seeks, in the light of the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s guidance, is that which stems from the human conception of God, the universe and life, and achieves servitude to God.
He refers to this meaning more than once, saying, "The Islamic economy cannot be separated from Islamic legislation, Islamic education, Islamic culture, Islamic media, or the Islamic family. Economics is part of a whole, even if it is an important part. and its effect.”
In his book “The benefits of banks are forbidden usury,” he talks about “the characteristics of the Islamic economy from the prohibition of usury, the imposition of zakat, social solidarity, social justice, land construction, the inviolability of monopoly, the necessity of moderation in spending and the prohibition of extravagance, and other transactions and morals that he imposed and explained.” Islam in its law.
And to complete the picture of the link between the economy and the comprehensiveness of Islam according to Al-Qaradawi, came his distinguished book “The Role of Values and Ethics in the Islamic Economy”, which was published in the mid-nineties, to confirm the role of values and ethics in all stages of economic practices, in production, consumption and distribution, whether at the level of the individual or the state. And he recalls that the most important feature of Islamic economics from other approaches is its relation to values and ethics.
Economic and financial fatwas
Dr. Al-Qaradawi was distinguished for a long time by his distinguished contributions in dealing with fatwas and legal rulings within a framework of moderation, and among the various areas addressed by his fatwas are those that affect the economic and financial aspects, whether for the state, institutions or individuals.
In those fatwas, the Sheikh was keen on the correct interpretation of the rules of jurisprudence on modern issues and calamities, especially those that Muslims lived in Europe, his book “Al-Halal and Haram in Islam”, and his distinguished contributions to the European Council for Fatwa, as well as his contribution to the issues that Islamic banks were exposed to, Currency trading and other issues.
Dr. Al-Qaradawi was able to make of the rules of jurisprudence easy phrases accustomed to the tongues of those interested in Islamic economics, such as “the principle in things is permissibility” and “there is neither harm nor harm,” and “necessities allow prohibitions.”
The book "The Problem of Poverty and How Islam Treated It" by Dr. Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (Al-Jazeera)
Supporting the march of Islamic banks
The experience of Islamic banks emerged in the mid-seventies of the twentieth century, and Al-Qaradawi was the theorist of their work tools and investment formulas, and represented a prominent mark in the Shariah supervisory boards of many Islamic banks, as well as serving on the board of directors of many Islamic banks and financial institutions.
Al-Qaradawi was the guardian of that experience, so he criticized some practices that he saw as contrary to Islam, and he evaluated many of them, so that Islamic banks return to the realms of Sharia, which made customers accept them.
At the time when Dr. Al-Qaradawi permitted Islamic banks to sell Murabaha to the person ordering the purchase, as an alternative way of dealing with interest-based banks, he was calling on Islamic banks to get out of the prison of Murabaha contracts, after he found that most of the transactions of Islamic banks were limited to these contracts, and called them to Adopting the principle of risk-taking through the participation mechanism, and working with the rule of sheep by paying.
In this regard, he says, “I now hold my heart in my hands for fear of the Islamic banks, which I look at as a father who is pitying of his son looks at him, if he sees signs of deviation from the straight path.” for which it was founded, and to be overpowered by formalism until it loses its spirit and direction.”
Scientific Contributions
Dr. Al-Qaradawi has authored a number of books in the field of Islamic economics, as well as fatwas in the financial and economic fields, and research on the jurisprudence councils of which he was a member.
The following are the most prominent books presented by Al-Qaradawi on Islamic economics:
jurisprudence of zakat
The role of values and ethics in the Islamic economy
The problem of poverty and how Islam dealt with it
The rules governing the jurisprudence of transactions
Murabaha sale to the person ordering the purchase, as Islamic banks conduct
In order for the Zakat Foundation to succeed in its contemporary application
Bank interest is forbidden usury
Zakat... its role in treating economic problems and the conditions for its success