Challenges that Must be Faced In Developing the Islamic Economics as a Body of Knowledge

Islamic Economics as a Body Of Knowledge

Islamic economics as an organized body of knowledge is still in the process of development toward becoming a discipline. Its scientific elements, body of knowledge, methodology, are still in the development: stage and will continuously evolve to a more mature and sophisticated level in the future, provided all dimensions, including its philosophical foundations are given sufficient attention.

Being a new discipline, Islamic economics is challenged to eloquently present all dimensions that would make up a discipline, namely clear subject-matter, welldefined body of knowledge, methodology/-ies for theory appraisal and knowledge growth and accumulation.

Islamic Economics is Founded on Islamic Worldview

Islamic economics is founded on Islamic worldview upon which we comprehensively see the existence and the interaction of all realities in it and economic phenomena whitin it. The Islamic worldview is the basis of a system of thought as well as a map to orient and explain economic phenomena, and from which we evaluate realities, and put forward prognoses and visions of the future

The source of Islamic worldview is a revealed source (tanzil) namely the Qur'an (Berghout, 2007: 29). This source of explanation has a virtue to explain the truth and reality in totality based on certainty (yaqin) and not from a speculative or philosophical reasoning that is based on doubt (dzan) and gives a vulnerable and insecure worldview

This article attempts to identify several challenges to be answered by Islamic economics scientific community in their effort to develop a solid body of knowledge of Islamic economics

Challenges I: The Foundations of Discipline

Islamic economics discipline is organized body of knowledge is a relatively new phenomenon (i.e., 20th century at most). The new economics and understanding of the economy are challenging to provide new outlooks, new solutions and better solutions for economic problems and improving human well being.

In the latter, the main challenges are in developing the necessary elements for Islamic economics to be a discipline.

• Islamic Understanding of Economics Phenomena,  The knowledge produced and theory appraised will  be evolving continuously through the process of orientation model of unification of knowledge from the primal source of Divine unity (tawhid) (Choudhury, 2000: 9). Tawhid (the unity of God which is the core of Islamic worldview)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
• Islamic Economics Conceptual Foundation, This challenge is present to answering many fundamental questions such as the criteria of well-being, the macroeconomic goals as well as the microfoundations of Islamic economics to clarify the conception of the economic agent in Islam, his characteristics and behavioral criteria              
  

Challenges II: The Epistemological Foundations

Islamic knowledge is equipped with a new sources of knowledge which is. Divine revelation.

• Islamic Economics Conceptual Scheme, It is developed based in understanding knowledge ('ilm), truth, science, scientific statement, theory and method (Acikgenc, 1996b: 580)                   
• Islamic Economic Methodology, The sources of knowledge in Islamic epistemology are not limited on the facts as expose by law of nature or as experienced/showed by human behavior, but also including the divine revelation (al-wahy). The twin epistemological foundations of naql and 'aql

Challenges III: The Ethical Foundations

Challenges III Focus tells about :

• Economics is inherently infused by values found in from a certain worldview
• Implications on how we see truth and reality
• Formulation in economic ethics
• Secularism and scientism concepts
• Economic ethics in Islam
• A narrow perspective on ethics without religion has had worse consequences

Writer team : University of Brawijaya students, Faculty of Economics and Business, Study of Economics, Islamic Economics Study Program, 2018

Source    : Islamiconomic: Jurnal Ekonomi Islam Volume 7 No. 2 Juli - Desember 2016 P-ISSN: 2085-3696; E-ISSN: 2541-4127 Page:Hafas Furqani: 165 - 182