Riba: Usury or Interest

This valuable work presents Ibn Taimiyah’s thoughts on the concept of Islamic economics, the state in the economy, on public finance, money, interest, prices, partnership, and profit-sharing, and offers a comparison of his ideas with those of some medieval scholars in Europe, along with a study of his influence on Islamic thinkers in later periods.

Economics is a social science that studies the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and analyses how economies work at the macro- and micro-levels. It studies production, distribution and consumption of goods and services, identifies economic problems and phenomena, and addresses economic questions from a positive perspective (what is) as well as a normative (how it should be) perspective. Islamic economics examines the same areas as its conventional counterpart. However, it involves the application of Sharīʿah to the different economic functions and issues. It is postulated that Islam offers a better approach compared to conventional economics in managing economic activities and solving economic and social issues.