Editorial Note

Abstract

The complex and bewildering variety of issues and problems facing the
present-day Muslims have made them singularly hard pressed to develop rational
strategies and efficient policies. The intensity and multiplicity of demands
have increased to such an extent that in recent years efforts to Islamize
knowledge or recreate a Muslim way of life needs congruent thinking and
prudent planning.
In thinking about this question, at least two issues of adaptability and sustainability
take the front stage. Adaptability would mean that Islamic social
sciences and cultural habits should be sought out and adopted. This way would
not be an imposition of alien models or values, but a reversion to the Qur'an
and Sunnah for knowledge and guidance. Once adopted, either from traditional
or modem Islamized social science, it ought to be maintained against
all odds.
The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences has been trying for the
last four years to initiate such changes in the social and individual behavior,
and Islamize the knowledge with the assistance of the International Institute
of Islamic Thought and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists. My
predecesssor, Sulayman Nyang, left such a strong record of service that would
be difficult for anyone to meet. I was conscious of this challenge when I was
asked and accepted to succeed him. I knew of course that I could always count
on his support to maintain the Journal at the same standard, if not higher.
This issue has three sections. Section one includes two papers on matters
concerning the Islamic Thought. The first paper by Ahmad Zaki Hammad
presents Ghazali's approach to usul-al-Jiqh, divided into three elements: (i)
ahkam, (ii) adilla (source), and (iii) mujtahid.. . .Of these three, the paper
provides broader explanation only of ahkams, leaving the other two for subsequent
presentations. The second paper by Bogdan Meckowski compares Ibn
Khaldun with Adam Smith, and other modern economists, giving Ibn Khaldun
the prominent place he deserves. With remarkable skill, Mieckowski establishes
that Ibn Khaldun favored laissez-faire, and opposed a socialized or monopolistic
production. Accordq to Mieckowski, most modern economists borrow heavily
from Ibn Khaldun without acknowledging or crediting him in their works ...