Towards a Just Monetary System

by Muhammad Umer Chapra

This is the first comprehensive study of the goals, nature and operations of the monetary system of Islam, which has justice as one of its most indispensable objectives. For most people, including some Muslims, an interest-free economy is a mystery. Hence a number of questions are asked. Has Islam really prohibited interest and, if so, what is the purpose behind this? Can an economy run without interest? What will be the impact on resource allocation, savings and capital formation, economic stability and growth? Dr. Chapra takes the mystery out of the subject by answering these and a number of other questions by means of a thorough economic analysis. While he shows the rationale behind the prohibition of interest and the strengths of a purely equity-based Islamic economy, he also indicated the problems and gives a realistic proposal for solving them. Dr. Chapra also elaborates the changes that must be introduced in the nature and operations of commercial and central banks: the auxiliary institutions which must be established, and the new tools of monetary policy that must be developed to enable the Islamic money and banking system to function effectively. He however warns that the abolition of interest is not the only value of Islam and unless it is political institutions of Muslim countries, their economies cannot be transformed and socio-economic justice as well as a whole range of other important goals of Islam cannot be realized. This calls for a gradual transformation, but with a total commitment.

About the Publisher :The Islamic Foundation is an educational and research organization developed to make Islam a living reality in our age. For this purpose, it aims at improving human communication and developing a better understanding of Islam among all people of the world, Muslim and non-Muslim, so as to galvanize man to the message and ideal of One God and the unity of mankind. As brought by all Prophets of God throughout the ages, last of whom was the Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him). An important aspect of the foundation s multifarious activities is the publication of literature of Islam

Genres: Islam, Economics

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Dr. M. Umer Chapra is currently serving as Research Advisor at the Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Before joining IRTI in 1999, he worked as Senior Economic Advisor at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) from where he retired after a long service of 35 years.
Dr. Chapra also taught in the United States at the Universities of Wisconsin and Kentucky and worked in Pakistan at the Institute of Development Economics and the Islamic Research Institute. He has made seminal contributions to Islamic Economics and Finance over more than three decades.He has authored 16 books and monographs and more than 100 papers and book reviews. Some of his books, monographs and papers have been translated into a number of languages, including Arabic, Bangla, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Malay, Persian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.
Consequently, he has received a number of awards, including the Islamic Development Bank Award for Islamic Economics, and the King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies, both in 1989.
In Fifty-two years of his professional life,he served 2 years in Pakistan, 6 years in the U.S.A. and 44 years in Saudi Arabia.He has worked in Institutes like University of Minnesota,University of Wisconsin, Platteville,Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Karachi ,the Central Institute of Islamic Research, Karachi,University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah .
His most outstanding contributions have been the four books indicated below;
1. Towards a Just Monetary System (1985)
2. Islam and the Economic Challenge (1992)
3. The Future of Economics: An Islamic Perspective (2000)
4. Muslim Civilization: The Causes of Decline and the Need for Reform (2008).

Reviews

[Adnan Harysatria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terjemahannya kurang bagus, jadi bikin pusing. Banyak istilah2 ekonomi yang sebaiknya tidak diterjemahkan, lebih baik menggunakan glossary, misal “bear” dan “bull” di buku ini malah diterjemahkan. Penerjemah sepertinya tidak paham konteks ekonomi atau mungkin belum tau tentang ilmu terjemah (ada mata kuliah tersendiri).

Materi dan penyampaiannya bagus dr sisi penulis. Banyak prinsip2 dan ide2 atw solusi yg ditawarkan penulis utk sistem moneter yg ada sekarang ini ttg bagaimana seharusnya dr sisi moneter islam. Buku ini bisa dibilang mesti dibaca utk penggiat moneter islam, tapi sebaiknya BACA DARI BAHASA ASLINYA AJA. Berhubung bahasa aslinya dalam bahasa inggris bukan arab.