372 chapter nine
prices if necessary, fighting monopoly and promoting competition,
interference in the labour market with a view to protecting workers
and ensuring justice and equal opportunity to all (ibid.).
In contributing to the theorization of Islamic economics, al-Fangari,
whom we have cited before in the writing on Zakàh, expresses his
concern over what he sees as: a lack of understanding of Sharì"ah
subjects by Muslim economists, and lack of understanding of eco-
nomics by Sharì"ah scholars. The result is that, “Many of those who
write on Islamic economics confine their writing to specific topics
revolving in particular around Zakàh and the prohibition of Ribà,
as if Islamic economics were only concerned with Zakàh and Ribà”,
(Al-Fangari, 1981). He recommends that Muslim economists, in addi-
tion to being technically competent in contemporary economics,
should be thoroughly educated in Sharì"ah. In reconciling Islamic
economics with its fourteenth century history with contemporary eco-
nomics, al-Fangary ascertains two important points:, first, concepts
and principles of Islamic economics are to be taken from the pri-
mary sources of the religion, the Qur"àn and Sunnah that are not
subject to change, and second, the application of these concepts and
principles may vary from time to time and from one situation to
another as the contemporary circumstances may demand (ibid.).
Consequently, Islamic economics according to al-Fangary can be
divided into two main dimensions: first, “the Islamic Economic
Approach”, which cannot be changed as it is based on Qur"àn and
Sunnah, and the “Islamic Economic System(s)”, which can be adapt-
able to changes in society. What is particularly interesting in al-
Fangari’s thinking is that he is in favour of “ijtihàd”, which is the
exertion of self to reach a rule in a situation that either did not exist
in the past or existed but not at the same dimension and regards
“the closure of the gate of ijtihàd” as harmful to Islam (ibid.). This is
in contrast to fundamental jurists who advocate that ijtihàdin religion
is an invention, and every religious invention is misguiding, and every
misguidance is in Hell fire. When the call for ijtihàdcomes from a
professor of economics at al-Azhar University, and a member of a
legislative body, the State Council, in Egypt, al-Fangari’s call for the
application of ijtihàdcarries particular conviction.
The need for a comprehensive book on Islamic economics was
anticipated and fulfilled by Mannan’s “Islamic Economics: Theory
and Practice”, 1970. Mannan’s book came at a time when provid-
ing a text-book on Islamic economics was still in its infancy. The