256 chapter six
ownership of businesses, and the non-governmental source such as
theft and forced robbery, which is illegitimate. The entrepreneurial
source is divided into three types: trade, commerce and industry,
and a combination of both trade and industry. Turning his atten-
tion to the mixed source between entrepreneurial and authoritative,
al-Dìmashqì explained that it was represented in the commercial
business of the flul≈àn, in which, “transactions are beyond the full
control of the market as no one can out-price the flulňn or limit
his market monopoly”, (p. 61). The flul≈àn’s business as such was a
monopolistic form of business, which seemed to have thrived during
this period. Another form of monopoly was also pointed out by al-
Dìmashqìat the same time: the monopoly of the few rich merchants
who were able to control the market and, “limit the ability of the
public to buy, and sell, what they needed”. The reference to these
types of monopolistic controlling powers in the market by (a) a major
seller, and (b) a group of buyers, and (c) a group of sellers, in al-
Dìmashqì’s classification and reference to market forms, are in par-
allel with modern classification of conditions of the market, which
reflects his great awareness and a delicate understanding of market
forces. This could be regarded as highly creditable particularly from
a writer who wrote about the subject some eight centuries ago.
Labour
In line with those before him he looked into the division of labour,
specialisation and economic integration. He related division of labour
and specialisation to the ability of the individual to acquire knowl-
edge, which is controlled by the restriction of time, the individual’s
life span, and his readiness and willingness to learn. The multi faceted
needs of the individual, with the limited ability to acquire knowledge,
would require specialisation, and with the variety in human needs,
specialisation in its turn would necessitate variety of economic activ-
ities, which dictates economic integration. In explaining the idea al-
Dìmashqì, like al-A›fahànì and al-Ghazàlì before him, resorted to
the example of making bread, and added to that another example
from cloth manufacturing.