An Introduction to Islamic Economics By Muhammad Akram Khan. Islamabad, International Institute of Islamic Thought and Institute of Policy Studies, Pakistan, 1994, xii+ 153 pp.

Abstract

It is perhaps desirable to preface the review of a book with a brief
description of its form and content, more so in the area of Islamic economics,
where formal writing structures have yet to evolve and much diverse
material tends to be treated under similar, even misleading, titles. Akram's
book opens with an erudite foreword by Khurshid Ahmad. The text contains
six chapters of uneven length spread over 111 pages. Two appendices,
notes and references, a select bibliography to help further research, and a
couple of indexes constitute its remaining portion.
The Introduction is a neat, petite work. Simple language, a lucid style,
an uncompromising stance, and reHance on original sources are some of its
notable features. It has not a few seminal ideas and some outlandish ones
as well. The vast coverage inevitably is at some expense of depth and detail.
Chapter 1 provides a broad picture of Islamic economics for those
who may not have the time to read the entire book (p. xii). It is a potpourri
of ideas concerning such varied topics as the Islamic worldview, basic
assumptions of the discipline, economic organization, the role of money,
the problem of poverty, fiscal management, and the sharing of knowledge.
Understandably, positions are taken without much argument to support
them ...