economic thought in the qur"àn and sunnah 65The sixth factor is divine guidance and His blessing. As Muslims
are ordained to observe God in whatever they do in their life and
to take the Prophet’s example as a pattern of behaviour, they seek
guidance from God in pursuing economic development, refrain from
what He prohibits and pursue the goodness of life He has predes-
tined all to enjoy in seeking His blessing. In Muslim beliefs, no mat-
ter how well prepared a person may be, well arranged factors of
production could be, and well thought of the plan is, no successful
results may be obtained without relying on God’s help, wisdom, guid-
ance and blessing. The ultimate success is always perceived as from
God. Al-tawakkul ala Allah, reliance on God, is a basic ingredient in
the Muslim’s way of thinking regardless of whatever that might be.
This is applied to all activities in production, consumption or otherwise.
Economic Resources: Consumption
Islam and material needs
The Islamic ideology is not an anti-materialistic ideology. Goods are
regarded as bounties from God. This has an important implication:
wealth is not an evil, nor is the pursuit of materialistic needs a vice.
Thus, being rich is not a sin, and being poor does not give per se
an exclusive license to heaven since heaven is also open to the rich.
The Qur"àn has stated, “Say: ‘who has forbidden the enjoyment of
God’s bounties which He has bestowed on His people!’ ”, (Qur"àn,
7:31), and “Believers, do not forbid the wholesome bounties which
God has made lawful to you, but do not transgress, God does not
like the transgressors. Eat of the lawful and wholesome things which
God has given you, and heed God’s orders, in whom you believe”
(Qur"àn, 5:87–88). But the permission for the enjoyment of God’s
bounties is not unqualified; it is restricted by an important condi-
tion: moderation.
Behavioural considerations
In the conventional theory of consumer behaviour, the consumer is
assumed to be “Homo-Economicus” whose ultimate objective is to
maximise his consumption utility function of goods and services.
According to the marginal analysis, the achievement of this objec-
tive will occur at the tangential point between the consumer’s