4 AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC FINANCE
specifi c points in time. The fi nal, universal, perfect message was then deliv-
ered by the last of the messengers, Muhammad (pbuh).^5
At some point in the cycle of life, each individual will be called to
account to Allah (swt) for his/her actions and will be judged accordingly in
the “life hereafter.”
These three axioms are comprehensive and govern all of man’s actions
and decisions, and constitute an integrated, consistent and unifi ed whole;
compliance with these rules leads, in turn, to the unity of human society.
The meta-framework envisions an ideal society as one composed of believ-
ers committed to complying with the Creator’s rules. The individual members
are aware of their “oneness” and conscious of the fact that self-interest is best
served by seeing “others as themselves.” Such a society is one of the “golden
mean” that avoids extremes, and a society that is so rule compliant that it
serves as a benchmark for and a witness to humanity (Qur’an 2:143). This is
a society which actively encourages cooperation in socially benefi cial activi-
ties and prohibits cooperation in harmful ones (Qur’an 3:104, 110, 114; 9:
71). Moreover, in this society, consultation, at both individual and collective
levels, is institutionalized in accordance with the rule prescribed by Allah
(swt) (Qur’an 3:159; 42:38; 2:233). Similarly, all other rules of behavior pre-
scribed in the Qur’an are institutionalized with a suffi ciently strong incentive
structure to enforce rule compliance; the objective being the establishment of
social justice. The internalization of the rules of behavior by individuals and
their institutionalization, along with the incentive structure and enforcement
mechanism, reduces uncertainty and ambiguity in decision–action choices
confronting the individual and the society.
The structure of such a paradigm can be described as being composed of
a meta-framework and an archetype model. The former specifi es rules (insti-
tutions) that are, to a degree, abstract and immutable. The archetype model
articulates the operational form of these rules in a human community. The
meta-framework specifi es the immutable, abstract rules. The archetype model
demonstrates how these rules are operationalized in a human community. The
meta-framework specifi es general universal laws, rules of behavior. The arche-
type model provides specifi c universal rules of behavior and the institutional
structures needed for organizing a human society based on the immutable rules
of the meta-framework (Mirakhor and Hamid 2009).
The abstract became operational in the hands of the one human being
who was the one and only direct recipient of the source of the meta-frame-
work; that is, the Qur’an. Through the words and actions of this perfect
human, the meta-framework given by the Creator in the Qur’an was inter-
preted, articulated and applied to the immediate human community of his
time. As the spiritual authority for his followers, he expounded, interpreted,
and explained the content of the Qur’an. In his capacity as the temporal
authority the messenger operationalized the rules (institutions) specifi ed in
the Qur’an in Medina. The economic system established in Medina is the
archetype of Islamic economic systems and provides a core institutional
structure which is immutable.