GRADE Course 3:
islamic economics:
The Polar Opposite of Capitalist Economics
Authored & taught by
PROF DR ASAD ZAMAN
(Guest Teacher, IRL)
Course Outline
ISLAMIC ECONOMICS: THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF CAPITALIST ECONOMICS, is an important book authored by Professor Dr Asad Zaman explaining in plain terms how Islamic Economics, properly construed, fundamentally differs from western modern capitalist economics.
He presents a comprehensive, incisive yet constructive critique of capitalist economics and contrasts it with Islamic economic principles. While modern literature often attempts to reconcile Islamic principles with capitalist frameworks, true Islamic economics is based on entirely different intellectual and moral foundations. By emphasizing social responsibility, ethical conduct, and the pursuit of communal wellbeing, Islamic economics offers an alternative vision for organizing socio-economic affairs that challenges the often dogmatic, unexamined assumptions of modern capitalist systems. Participants in his important course will journey on a profound exploration of how Islamic intellecto-moral principles can shape economic thought and practice in profoundly beneficial ways that are fundamentally at odds with largely amoral capitalist ideologies.
Key moral principles include the prohibition of interest and usury (riba), risk- and profit-sharing, and the promotion of social and transactional justice. The book outlines the role of the government and conscientious individuals of moral agency in governing, managing and regulating the economy according to the Revealed Law (Shari‘ah), the significance of public-interest institutions like zakat and waqf, and the everyday moral responsibilities of thinking individuals.
Professor Asad Zaman critiques capitalism for its obsessive, hedonistic focus on material and financial gain at the expense of all else that is good and virtuous, and the resultant recurring social and environmental crises, proposing that Islamic principles and practices offer solutions for transcending those crises by integrating socio-economic activities into the broader ambit of moral, societal and spiritual goals.
Please join us in this educational and personally transformative journey into rediscovering the foundational intellecto-moral principles and practices of Islamic Economics, finding clarity on how they differs from Western capitalism. With emphasis on ethical principles of social and transactional justice, the course explores Islamic solutions to transcend the current crisis brought about by Mammonic capitalism, through integrating socio-economic activities into the ambit of ethical, moral, societal and spiritual goals.
This course is structured into two parts: (1) three consecutive weekly teaching sessions followed by a one-week, mid-term break and examination, then followed by (2) another three consecutive teaching sessions leading to a concluding examination in the final 7th session. In total, there are 6 teaching sessions, 1 mid-term break/exam, and 1 final exam session.
May He accept the efforts of all those involved in the facilitation of this course and those who participate in it, and bless us all with treading on the Path to Return, for “Indeed we belong to God, and indeed to Him we will return,” [Qur’ān: 2:156].
Course Sessions
The 7 sessions of the course are as follows:
17th Aug: Session 1: Diagnosis and Action Plan: A Western Education indoctrinates Muslim students around the globe into believing in superiority of Western knowledge and civilization. Creating an alternative is essential for the revival of the Islamic civilization. READING: Chapter 1: IE:POCE
24th Aug: Session 2: Knowledge: The Central Battleground:
31st Aug: Session 3: Resolving the Crisis in Islamic Economics
7th Sep: [Mid-Term Break & Examination]
14th Sep: Session 4: Critical Lessons for the Way Forward
21st Sep: Session 5: Institutional Structures of An Islamic Society
28th Sep: Session 6: Thinking Big, Collectively
5th Oct: Session 7: Final Examination