The Economic in Religion and the Religious in
Economics:
A Qur'anic-Weberian Perspective
Basit Koshul
Concordia College
Introduction
I will begin by drawing your attention to the
anomalous character of this particular setting. We
have a theologian, a philosopher and a sociologist of
religion addressing what is essentially an economic
issue (poverty and debt-release) at the annual
meeting of the American Academy of Religion—something
or someone appears to be out of place. It seems more
appropriate that this topic be addressed by a banker,
a macroeconomist specializing in development
economics and a finance ministry official at the
World Economic Forum or the annual meeting of the
Economists. Given the disciplinary boundaries in
vogue in the academy, it appears that Gibbs, Hardy
and Koshul are leaving their areas of expertise and
encroaching upon the turf of Milton Friedman, Alan
Greespan and George Soros. Conversely, the
traditional yeshiva, seminary and madrassah would
also frown upon scholars of religion addressing such
a topic. The reason for their objections could be
summed up paraphrasing a question proposed by
Tertullian, and answering it by paraphrasing a well
known quote by Kipling. The response to the question
"What hath religion to do with economics?" by the
secular academy and the religious seminary is
"Religion is religion, economics is economics and
never the twain shall meet." Consequently, both from
the perspective of the academy and the seminary,
there is something anomalous when scholars of
religion discuss economics.
Very much cognizant of this anomalous situation,
my paper will not so much focus on the topic of
poverty and debt-release as it will seek to provide a
scriptural and social scientific rationale that
adequately redresses the aforementioned anomaly. The
bulk of the paper will focus on a particular
Scripture (the Qur'an) to challenge the
seminary's[1] position and
demonstrate that there is an irreducible presence of
the economic in religion. Then the paper will briefly
turn to a particular corpus within social science and
show the inadequacy of the attitude of the academy by
demonstrating the irreducible presence of the
religious in economics from the perspective of Max
Weber's social science. The paper will conclude with
some remarks on the relevance (and perhaps necessity)
of an investigation of the economic from a religious
perspective—and vice versa—in the contemporary
cultural milieu.
The Economic in Religion: A Qur'anic
Perspective
The fact that the Qur'an sees an irreducible and
inevitable presence of the economic in religion can
be demonstrated from three different, but related
perspectives — the structure, the language and
contents of the Qur'anic narrative. As Ricoeur has
noted, echoing both classical and modern Qur'anic
exegetes, the structure of the discourse carries a
message that complements and clarifies what the
narrative words themselves explicitly state. The
structure of the Qur'anic narrative shows a sustained
discussion of "economic" matters accompanying and
sometimes abruptly disrupting discussions of matter
of great "religious" sensitivity and significance.
This is best illustrated by looking at the structure
of the narrative in Sura number two. This sura is
titled "The Cow/Calf,"—the longest of the Qur'anic
suras—and there is a hadith characterizing it as the
"mini-Qur'an." In this sura, ayah number 255 is
called the "Ayah of the Throne" and it describes the
attributes of Allah, His Throne, and His and its
relationship to the created order, especially
humanity. The Prophet described this ayah as the
"Queen of the Ayaat" (pl. of ayah)—thereby
highlighting its privileged spiritual/religious
significance. The sura concludes with a passage
consisting of ayahs 285-286. This passage is of
special significance because it is the only part of
the Qur'an that did not "come down" to the Prophet
via the Archangel Gabriel—the Prophet received this
passage directly from Allah in the course of their
meeting during the Night Journey. The fact that the
Prophet received this passage directly from Allah at
a pivotal point in his career invests this passage
with special spiritual/religious significance. The
Ayah of the Throne (2:255) and the two ayahs directly
received from Allah (2:285-6) can be seen as two
markers of great "religious" significance in Sura 2.
A survey of the subject matter that is discussed
between these two "religious" markers reveals that
"economic" issues are discussed in far greater
frequency and detail than any other issue. After ayah
255, the "Ayah of the Throne," the passage from
261-266 offers a parable describing the manifold
increase that results from wealth being spent as
charity. Ayaat 267-273 detail the ethics of
charity-giving and identifies the groups in society
who are entitled to economic assistance from society
at large. 274-281 contrast charity and legal economic
activity with usury and interest. The Qur'an
describes the two as being mutually opposed,
encourages charity and free economic activity and
harshly condemns/prohibits usury and interest.
282-283 detail the ethics and norms of drawing up
business contracts. The detailed discussion of
economic matters between the two religiously
significant markers is all the more remarkable in
light of the fact that economic matters are mentioned
only briefly prior to 255. The "economic" is
in religion — the structure of the Qur'anic narrative
in
Sura 2 shows this to be the case in a very
literal sense.
The close relationship between the economic and
religious spheres intimated by the structure of the
Qur'anic narrative is reaffirmed by the language that
the Qur'an uses to describe the religious life of an
individual. The Qur'an uses imagery from the social,
natural and economic worlds to describe different
aspects of the human being's religious life.
Symbolism from the social world is used to
characterize the behavior of a life lived with (or
without) faith—(i.e., 39:29[2], 67:22[3]). Symbolism from
the natural world is used to describe the final
result of actions accompanied by (or devoid of)
faith. For example 48:29[4] uses symbolism from the
natural world to describe the final outcome of
actions accompanied by faith and 3:117[5] and
24:39[6] of actions that are
devoid of faith. Both of these ways of using
symbolism from the natural world are juxtaposed in
2:265-6.[7] Whereas symbolism from
the social and natural worlds is used to characterize
the behavior and ultimate outcome of a life lived
with or without faith, the actual act of either
accepting or rejecting faith is described in
explicitly economic language of buying, selling,
trading, profit, loss, etc.
At the very beginning of Sura 2, the believer is
described as someone who has willingly "sold" his/her
soul: But there is [also] a kind of person
who would willingly sell his own self in order to
please Allah: and Allah is most compassionate towards
His servants (2:20). The unbelievers are also
described as having "sold" themselves, but their
motives and fate are quite different:
Vile is that [false pride] for which they have sold
their own selves by denying the truth of what Allah
has bestowed from on high, out of envy that Allah
should bestow of His favor upon whomsoever He wills
of His servants: and thus they have earned they
burden of Allah's condemnation, over and over. And
for those who deny the truth there is shameful
suffering in store (2:90).
A little earlier, the unbelievers are depicted as
having made an economic transaction in which they
have "sold" the life of the hereafter and "bought"
the life of this world. The unbelievers are All
who purchase the life of this world at the price of
the hereafter—their punishment shall not be
lightened, nor shall they be succored (2:86).
Besides the believers and unbelievers there is a
third group, the hypocrites—and their choice of
accepting/rejecting faith is also described using
economic imagery: It is they who purchase error in
exchange for guidance; but their bargain [lit.
"business exchange"] brought them neither gain
[lit. "profit"] nor have they found guidance
[elsewhere] (2:16).
In addition to using economic language and
symbolism to describe the religious life of the
individual believer, the Qur'an draws attention to
the impact that the economic sphere has had on the
historical development of religious communities. The
Qur'an identifies the pursuit of economic
interests/goods as being a major factor in the
development of religious ideas. The Qur'an notes that
economic interests have influenced the manner in
which certain aspects of religious scriptures have
been emphasized and other aspects of the same
scriptures neglected.
Verily those who conceal any part of the revelation
which Allah has bestowed from on high and barter it
away for trifling [monetary] gain—they but fill
their bellies with fire... It is they who purchase
error in exchange for guidance, and punishment in
exchange for forgiveness: yet how little do they
seem to fear the fire (2:174-5).
Besides influencing the interpretation of
scripture, the Qur'an posits that economic interests
have had an even more direct role in the "production"
of religious ideas.
Woe, then, unto those who write down, with their
own hands, [something which they claim to be]
divine writ, and then say, "This is from Allah," in
order to acquire a trifling [monetary] gain
thereby; woe, then, unto them for what their hands
have written, and woe unto them for all that they
may have gained! (2:79).
This passage establishes a direct link between
economic interests and the production of religious
ideas. Consequently, the language of the Qur'an does
not establish a relationship between the economic and
religious spheres merely at the symbolic or
rhetorical level, it establishes a link between the
two spheres at the concrete and historical level
also.
In addition to the structural and linguistic
aspects of the Qur'anic narrative, the actual content
of Qur'anic discourse evidences an irreducible
relationship between the religious and the economic
spheres. The content of the Qur'an does this by
giving a place of privilege to the discussion of
economic matters—a place of privilege that it does
not give to any other subject matter. It is
interesting to note that in a "religious" book often
considered to be primarily concerned with "spiritual"
matters related to the "world to come," both the
longest ayah in the Qur'an and the last passage
revealed to the Prophet before his death explicitly
deal with materialistic, worldly "economic" issues.
It has already been noted that the "Ayah of the
Throne" (2:258) has been called the "queen of the
ayaat." The "Ayah of Light" (24:35)[8] is considered of
such significance that entire books have been
dedicated to its exegesis—for example Ghazzali's
Mishkat al-Anwar. While the significance of
these ayaat cannot be questioned, the longest ayah in
the Qur'an is the "Ayah of Trade" (2:282)—this ayah
is longer than approximately 24 suras at the end of
the Qur'an. Just the fact that this ayah is longer
than any other in the Qur'an suggests that the Qur'an
considers the subject matter being discussed therein
to be of special significance. The ayah makes it a
religious obligation to draw up a written contract to
finalize any type of transaction involving a loan — a
most demanding and culturally anomalous obligation,
because originally it is being promulgated in an oral
cultural in which writing washardly known. The ayah
also details the conditions that need to be met in
order for a contract to be valid, and recommends (but
does not require) that all cash purchases be recorded
in writing.
In addition to the longest Qur'anic ayah
addressing an economic issue, the last Qur'anic
passage revealed to the Prophet before his death
(2:278-81)[9] did not deal with
matters of "religious" myths, beliefs or rituals. It
dealt with the very worldly, and mundane "economic"
matter of prohibiting interest. This passage states
that while Allah has permitted economic
trade/exchange, He has prohibited interest. Taken
together with other passages (i.e.,
30:39 and 3:130) a picture emerges which shows
that from the Qur'anic perspective the giving and
taking of interest is the antithesis of charity and
free economic exchange—whereas the latter lead to
"increase" and "growth," interest finds no growth "in
sight of Allah" (30:39). In 2:278-81 the giving and
taking of interest is condemned in a language that
suggests that it is a far more egregious offense than
any "religious" sin. Those who continue to engage in
this practice after it has been prohibited are warned
that they are in a state of "war with Allah and His
Apostle".
Both the longest ayah in the Qur'an and the last
passage revealed to the Prophet, though dealing with
mundane economic issues, conclude with a reminder of
the inevitability of death and the eventual
resurrection and Day of Judgment. This could be
interpreted as the Qur'anic way of expressing its
view of the reflexive character of the relationship
between the "economic" and "religious" spheres. After
having established the "economic" dimension of the
"religious," the aforementioned passages conclude by
offering a reminder of the "religious" implications
of the "economic"�an implication whose full import
will be manifestly apparent on the most important of
all of the days that is yet to come, the Day of
Judgment. In sum, the structure, language and content
of the Qur'an all demonstrate that the Qur'an sees an
irreducible presence of the "economic" in the
"religious" or "religion."
Having established the fact that the Qur'an sees a
reflexive relationship between the religious and
economic spheres, we are in a position to better
address two second order concerns: a) Why does the
Qur'an consider the charging of interest such an
egregious offense? b) What is the vision of social
justice that underpins Qur'anic legislation regarding
economics? With respect to the first question, the
answer seems to be pretty straight forward: the
"calculus of recompense" underlying economic dealings
involving interest is the antithesis of Divine Grace.
Divine Grace is the Self freely sharing its abundance
and surplus with those in need in order to enrich
them. In contrast, economic dealings based on
interest see the self using the abundance it
"owns"[10] (its capital) to
further enrich itself by taking advantage of the
needs, difficulties and vulnerabilities of others.
The Qur'an contains a detailed description of the
calculus of Divine recompense - and this is not at
all surprising, given the fact that one of Allah's 99
Names is Al-Haseeb (The Accountant). The Qur'an
repeatedly emphasizes the point that all individuals
will die, be resurrected and then "called to account"
or "called to give an account" of how they lived
their lives. Each individual will be given a "book"
containing precise and detailed entries of the
individual's "earnings" and "debts" accumulated in
the world�i.e., a record of the individual's good and
bad deeds (84:7-10). Each individual will be asked to
go over his/her book to assure the accuracy of the
entries contained therein and get ready for the final
"weighing" of the deeds (17:14)�the good deeds going
on the right hand scale and the bad deeds going on
the left hand scale. The One presiding over this
balancing of the books and the weighing of the deeds
will be none other than Al-Haseeb. The Qur'an offers
a "calculus of recompensation": the punishment of a
bad deed will be meted out according to a 1:1 ratio,
the reward of a good deed will be at least 10 times
the value of the deed:
Whoever shall come [before Allah] with a good deed
will [be rewarded] tenfold the like thereof; but
whoever shall come with an evil deed will be
requited with no more than the like thereof, and
none shall be wronged (6:160).
A parable in Sura 2 suggests that the reward for a
good deed in the form of giving in charity is
700:1:
The parable of those who spend their possessions
for the sake of Allah is like that of a grain out
which grows seven ears, in every ear a hundred
grains: for Allah grants manifold increase unto who
He wills, and Allah is Infinite and All-Knowing
(2:261).
The following passage goes even further—while
repeating that the ratio of bad deed and punishment
is 1:1, it suggests that the ratio of good deed and
reward is 1:infinity:
Anyone who has done a bad deed will be requited
with no more than the like thereof, whereas anyone,
be it male or female, who had done righteous deeds
and is a believer withal—all such ones will enter
paradise, wherein they shall be blessed with good
beyond all measure/limits! (40:40).
The calculus of Divine recompense facilitates
growth and relationality among the parties who are
part of the exchange—in the cases cited above the
parties are human-God.
In contrast, interest-based transactions are an
inversion of the Divine calculus of recompense—the
party that already "has" gets even more, the party
that does not have has to give up a whole lot more
than he/she has in order to get something. The ratio
of principal to interest on credit cards and standard
30 year mortgages varies between 1:2 or 1:5. Some of
thecountries of the South caught in the debt trap
have paid back upwards of 30 times the principal they
originally borrowed in interest—and they still have
not gotten to the point of paying back the principal
that they borrowed. Whereas growth and relationality
are the outcome of the Divine calculus of
recompensation, interest-based transactions appear to
be a "mortgage" indeed (i.e., grip of death) in terms
of fostering mutual growth and relationality. The
fact that interest-based transactions have an acerbic
affect on human relations is documented by Nelson in
his study of the development of the idea of
usury.[11]
Besides the inversion of Divine Grace, a question
can be raised regarding the "economic" status of an
interest-based transaction. The Qur'an challenges the
claim that the giving and taking of interest is
comparable to economic activity:
Those who take interest will rise up on the Day of
Resurrection like someone tormented by Satan's
touch. That is because they say. "Trade and
interest are the same," but Allah has allowed trade
and forbidden interest (2:275).
Commenting on the ayah, Mawdudi notes that in
considering the lending of money on interest to be an
"economic" activity, a fundamental aspect of
"economics" is lost sight of�risk:
... in every economic activity that is known,
whether it is related to the market, industry or
agriculture, and irrespective of whether an
individual engages in such activity on the basis of
his labor or invests capital alongside his labor�in
all such activity, there is not a single example
where the individual is not taking a risk and in
which he is guaranteed a pre-determined
profit.[12]
Given the fact that there is no known economic
activity in which one party is free from all risk and
guaranteed a pre-determined profit, it is a
peculiarity to consider an interest-based exchange to
be "like trade." The element of risk is as much a
part of an economic exchange as is the hope of
profit. In an interest-based transaction only one
party takes all the risk—the one taking the loan. The
lending party has no interest in the success or
failure of the borrowing party in repaying the loan.
It may be actually more profitable if the borrowing
party defaults on the loan, if the collateral that
has been put up for the loan is more valuable than
the loan itself. If risk has been eliminated for one
of the parties in the transaction and a
pre-determined profit guaranteed, one can
legitimately question whether that party is engaged
in "economic" activity.
Besides its being a direct antithesis of the
Qur'anic notion of Grace and running counter to the
Qur'anic conception of "economic" activity, a key
principle within an interest-based economy makes the
Qur'anic notion of social justice unattainable. There
is an assumption underlying all interest-based
transactions—an assumption that is rarely noticed or
ever questioned. The "owner" of principal (or
property) assumes that in some real and absolute
sense, he/she is truly The Owner. The Qur'an
recognizes "ownership" of wealth and property, offers
legislation protecting it, and encourages the pursuit
of economic wealth.[13] But at the same time
the Qur'an offers a critique of ownership that is
even more radical than the Marxist critique. Whereas
Marxism critiques the principle of "private
ownership" and argues in favor of "collective
ownership," the Qur'an rejects the very notion of
"human ownership." On a spiritual plane, the Qur'an
considers Allah as the "True Owner." All that is
owned by human beings is nothing more than a "trust"
(amana) and all human beings are nothing more
than vicegerents or trustees (khulafa) of what
Allah has temporarily put in their charge. At the
legal and legislative level, private property is not
only recognized and protected, free and fair trade is
encouraged. On this level freedom in the sense of
free economic activity with minimal intervention from
the outside is the highest ideal. But at the same
time, on the spiritual level, human beings are
encouraged to aspire to the ideal of "from each
accordingto his ability, to each according to his
need"—because only Allah is The True Owner of
everything. At the legal, public level, freedom of
economic exchange and material accumulation is
promulgated as the highest ideal. But at the
spiritual, personal level, individuals are encouraged
to embody the ideal that "if someone asks for your
coat, give him the shirt off your back."[14] The
differentiation of ideals between the "worldly" and
"spiritual" domains that the Qur'anic narrative
intimates allows the "religious" and the "economic"
spheres to maintain their respective distinctiveness
but at the same time remain intimately related to
each other.[15] The Qur'anic
prohibition of interest and notion of social justice
further illustrate the link between the economic and
religious. The link between the two is such that
engaging in a particular type of economic
activityeither facilitates or hinders the possibility
of salvation. This suggests that the Qur'an sees a
direct link between economics and salvation. Even
though he presents the point from a different angle,
there appears to be significant overlap between the
Qur'anic narrative and Weber's social science.
The Religious in Economics: A Weberian
Perspective
Weber noted that the concern for salvation is a
central issue in all religious traditions. In the
most general terms, salvation is a state in which
there is no gap between the "what is" and "what ought
to be." Every religious tradition has a conception of
such a state even though (or perhaps because) the
empirical reality in which human beings live is far
removed from this ideal. In spite of the common
concern for salvation, each religious tradition has
its own unique understanding of the "from what,"
"how" and the "to what" of salvation. Far more than
any other religious tradition, including other
variants of Christianity, the "how" of salvation in
Protestantism is inextricably tied to worldly toil
and effort. For the Protestant labor in a
worldly vocation "existed only as an
expression of [the believer's] striving for
other-worldly salvation."[16] As Kalberg notes, the
Protestant understanding of salvation created the
conditions for the emergence of the Protestant ethic
(i.e., "a methodical-rational organization of life"
[PESC, xxxviii]). This in turn made possible the
emergence of an industrial firm separated from the
family, rational accounting techniques and free
labor—the three fundamental prerequisites for the
emergence of modern capitalism (PESC, 156).
Consequently, the relationship between capitalism and
Protestantism is deeper than the link between the
"ethic" of Protestantism and the "spirit" of
capitalism—there is a similar link between the
"spirit" of Protestantism (expressed in its unique
understanding of and concern with salvation) and the
"ethic" of capitalism (expressed in the unique
character of the structures, institutions and
procedures that characterize the capitalist mode of
production.)
If we take this Weberian perspective into account
in the analysis of our own cultural situation we
would have to give an account of the religious
implications of novel economic trends/actors. Weber
posited that the emergence of modern "rational"
capitalism could not have been possible without three
important prior developments: 1) the separation of
the industrial company from the household/family, 2)
the development of rational methods of accounting
(especially double-entry bookkeeping) and 3) the
availability of wage laborers freed from ties to land
by law or tradition (PESC, 156-7). It is interesting
to note that with the emergence of global capitalism
we are witnessinga fundamental transformation of the
three basic factors that Weber identified as having
created the conditions for the emergence of modern
capitalism. The process of rationalization has seen
the industrial company divorced from the family or
sib, evolve into "a family of companies" in the form
of multinational conglomerates aspiring to complete
horizontal and vertical integration. In the place of
rationalized accounting by means of double-entry
bookkeeping, we see the emergence of entering the
accounts of the company in two different sets of
books�the accounting techniques of Enron, WorldCom,
Parmalat, etc.�with these accounting techniques being
certified and approved by some of the leading
accounting firms in the world. In the place of free
labor in the sense of workers not bound to the land
by tradition or law we have the emergence of free
labor in the sense of the employer being able to pay
the laborer virtually nothing for his (and more
likely her) labor. From a Weberian perspective, the
emergence of these novel economic factors/actors
brings with it, or follows in the wake of, a new
theological/philosophical understanding of
salvation—an understanding that might very well be
implied and a latent possibility in other cultural
settings, but is actualized only in post-industrial
capitalist culture. Originally the Protestant
industrialist valued economic gain because he saw
such gain as a sign of salvation. It appears
that under the conditions of global capitalism
economic gain is not seen as a sign of salvation, it
is seen as salvation itself—salvation that is to be
forced upon the unwilling heathen for their own good.
The shift from viewing economic gain as a sign of
salvation to considering it as salvation itself is
subtle yet profound. This shift not only marks the
complete divorce of the economic from the religious,
it heralds the ascension of the economic to the
status of the religious. Weber saw this shift taking
place before his eyes and he was deeply distressed by
the implications it would have for the health and
well-being of modern culture.
Weber notes that modern capitalism, though
originally rooted in religious soil, now finds its
nourishment from another source:
Victorious capitalism, ..., ever since it came to
rest on a mechanical foundation, no longer needs
asceticism as a supporting pillar. Even the rosy
temperament of asceticism's joyful heir, the
Enlightenment, appears finally to be fading. And
the idea of an "obligation to search for and then
accept a vocational calling" now wanders around in
our lives as a ghost of beliefs no longer anchored
in the substance of religion" (PESC, 124).
In short, Weber's analysis of modern economics
shows the economic to have become completely
separated from the religious. But at the same time
there is deep unease on Weber's part about this state
of affairs. He notes that in the contemporary
cultural setting economic activity has become an
external compulsion rather than an "inner
calling":
Tied to the technical and economic conditions at
the foundation of mechanical and machine
production, this cosmos today determines the style
of life of all individuals born into it, not only
those directly engaged in earning a living. This
pulsating mechanism does so with overwhelming
force. Perhaps it will continue to do so until the
last ton of fossil fuel has burnt to ashes (PESC,
123).
Weber is clearly concerned about the "steel-hard
casing" (or "iron cage") that has resulted from (or
has led to) the complete separation of the economic
from the religious. He notes:
No one any longer knows who will live in this
steel-hard casing and whether entirely new prophets
or a mighty rebirth of ancient ideas will stand at
the end of this prodigious development. Or,
however, if neither, whether a mechanized
ossification, embellished with a sort of rigidly
compelled sense of self-importance, will arise.
Then, indeed, if ossification appears, the saying
might be true for the "last humans" in this long
civilizational development:
Narrow specialists without mind, pleasure-seekers
without heart; in its conceit, this nothingness
imagines it has climbed to a level of humanity
never before attained.
He acknowledges that by characterizing the
capitalist-mechanistic cosmos as a "steel-hard
casing" and describing those who are at home in this
cosmos as a self-deluding "nothingness" he has
"fallen into the realm of value-judgments, and
judgments rooted in faith" (PESC, 124). In other
words, his critique of modern economics is a faith
concern, even though it is informed by a social
scientific analysis of modern economics. Similarly,
his hope and desire for an alternative possibility
can only be described as a "faith" concern rather
than a "social scientific" concern. This desire can
be interpreted as a quest for "salvation"—a desire to
move from the "what is" to the "what ought to be."
There is obviously a difference between the "worldly"
quest for salvation that Weber appears to be after
and the "other-worldly" salvation promised by
religion.
A Final Word
An analysis of the language, structure and content
of the Qur'anic narrative reveals that the Qur'an
sees the irreducible presence of the economic in the
religious. Furthermore, the Qur'anic narrative
intimates that certain economic practices endanger
the Qur'anic understanding of salvation and salvation
requires the practice of particular economic
activity. A summary discussion of Weber's view shows
that there is an irreducible element of the religious
in the very roots of modern economics—both in terms
of the origins of modern capitalism and its ultimate
ossification into a "steel-hard casing." Weber's
analysis shows that a certain understanding of
salvation is the ultimate outcome of capitalist
economic activity. Modern social science has largely
affirmed Weber's observation that during the course
of history a "naïve piety" repressed the development
and rationalization of the economic impulse. The
contemporary cultural condition could be considered a
reversal of fortunes where a "naïve acquisitiveness"
is repressing the development of the religious
impulse. If this is indeed the case then the fact
that economic issues such as poverty and debt-release
are being discussed at the annual meeting of the
American Academy of Religion by scholars of religion
is not only not anomalous, it might actually be a
response to the need of the times. If Weber's thesis
is correct then the emergence of novel economic
factors/actors implicitly means the emergence of a
new conception of salvation. This is as much a
"religious" concern�and of equal concern to Jews,
Christian, and others�as it is an "economic" trend.
Consequently, this issue requires that it be
addressed by scholars of religion. This exercise
marks the breaking with the naïve understanding of
the (non)relationship between religion and economics
that is prevalent in the academy and seminary. The
shattering of naïvet� is as much an economic activity
as it is a religious activity. The emergence out of
naïvet� puts into question what had been taken for
granted. If a seminarian claims that "religion is
religion and economics is economics, and never the
twain shall meet" then he/she is actually
demonstrating a naïve understanding of religion and
an uninformed understanding of economics. If there
are economists claiming that "religion is religion
and economics is economics and never the twain shall
meet" then they are demonstrating a naïve and partial
understanding of economics as well as an uninformed
understanding of religion. The Qur'anic narrative and
Weberian social science present a challenge to both
the contemporary religious seminary and secular
academy. In their own ways, both of them require that
the naïve understanding of the (non)relationship
between religion and economics be put into question,
because such an understanding distorts the identity
of both the religious and the economic.
ENDNOTES
[1]The word "seminary" should
be understood in a non-faith-specific sense—as it is
used here it also refers to the yeshiva and the
madrassah.
[2]This ayah uses a parable
comparing the believer to a slave/servant who has
only one master and an unbeliever to a slave/servant
who has a number of masters. The Qur'an asks the
rhetorical question as to whether or not the two
individuals can be considered "equal" in terms of the
consistency and purposefulness of their actions:
Allah sets forth as parable: A man who has for his
master several partners [all of them] at variance
with one another, and a man depending solely on one
person: can these two be deemed equal as regards to
their condition? [Nay] all praise is due to Allah
[alone]: but most of them do not understand
this(39:29).
[3]This ayah compares the
behavior of an unbeliever to an individual who
grovels about on his/her face and that of the
believer to the purposeful gait of an individual
whose manner of walking evidences an intentional
directionality:
And is there any, besides the Most Gracious, that
could be a shield for you, and could succor you
[against danger]? They who deny this truth are but
lost in self-delusion. Or is there any that could
provide you with sustenance if He should withhold
his provision [from you]? Nay, but they [who are
bent on denying the truth] stubbornly persist in
their disdain [of Allah's messages] and in their
headlong flight [from Him]! But then, is he that
goes along with his face to the ground, better
guided than he that walks upright on a straight
way? (67:20-22).
[4]This particular passage is
of special interest because it states that the
parable that is being used to describe the believer
is also to be found in the Torah and the Gospels:
Muhammad is Allah's Apostle: and those who are
[truly] with him are firm and unyielding towards
all deniers of the truth, [yet] full of mercy
towards one another. You can see them bowing down,
prostrating themselves [in prayer], seeking favor
with Allah and His goodly acceptance: their marks
are on their faces, traced by prostration.This is
their parable in the Torah as well as their parable
in the Gospel: [they are] like a seed that brings
forth its shoot, and then He strengthens it, so
that it grows stout, and [in the end] stands firm
upon its stem, delighting the sower. [Thus will
Allah cause the believers to grow in strength,] so
that through them He might confound the deniers of
truth. [But] unto such among them as may [yet]
attain to faith and righteous deeds, Allah has
promised forgiveness and a reward supreme (49:28).
[5]
[But] behold, as for those who are bent on denying
the truth—neither their worldly possessions nor
their children will in the least avail them against
Allah: and it is they who are destined for the
fire, therein to abide. They parable of what they
spend on the life of this world is that of an icy
wind which smites the tilth of people who have
sinned against themselves, and destroys it: for, it
is not Allah who does them wrong, but it is they
who are wronging themselves (3:116-7)
[6]
But as for those who are bent on denying the truth,
their deeds are like a mirage in the desert, which
the thirsty supposes to be water—until, when he
approaches it, he finds that it was nothing:
instead he finds Allah with him, and He will pay
him his account in full—for Allah is swift in
reckoning (24:39).
[7]
And the parable of those who spend their wealth out
of a longing to please Allah, and out of their own
inner certainty, is that of a garden on high,
fertile ground: if rain falls upon this ground its
yield is two-fold and [even if] no rain falls upon
it, it still brings forth [its expected yield.] And
Allah sees all that you do. Would any of you like
to have a garden of date-palms and vines, through
which running waters flow, and have all manner of
fruit therein—and then be overtaken by old age,
with only weak children to [look after] him—and
then see everything smitten by a fiery whirlwind
and utterly scorched? In this way Allah makes clear
His ayaat unto you, so that you might reflect [and
pay heed] (2:265-6).
[8]
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His light is, as it were, that of a
niche containing a lamp; the lamp is [enclosed] in
glass, the glass [shining] like a radians star: [a
lamp] lit from a blessed tree—an olive tree that is
neither of the east nor of the west — the oil
whereof [is so bright that it] would well-nigh give
light [by itself] even though fire has not touched
it: light upon light!Allah guides to His light him
that will [to be guided]; and [to this end] Allah
propounds parables unto humanity, since Allah
[alone] has full knowledge of all things (24:35).
[9]
O you who believe!Remain conscious of Allah, and
give up [your claim to] all outstanding obligations
[owed to you resulting] from interest. If you are
[truly] believers; for if you not do it, then know
that you are at war with Allah and His Apostle. But
if you repent, then you shall be entitled to [the
return of] your principal: you will do no wrong,
and neither willyou be wronged. If, however, [the
debtor] is in straitened circumstances, [grant him]
a delay until the time of ease; and it would be for
your own good�if you but knew it�to remit [the debt
entirely] by way of charity. And be conscious of
the Day on which you shall be brought back to
Allah, whereupon every human being shall be repaid
in full for he has earned, and none shall be
wronged (2:278-81).
[10]As will be detailed
shortly, the Qur'an challenges the very notion
of"ownership" in a manner that is even more radical
than the Marxist critique of "private ownership."
[11]See, Nelson, B.
(1949)The Idea of Usury: From Tribal Brotherhood
to Universal Otherhood. Princeton University
Press.
[12]Mawdudi, A. A. (1980)
Tafheem-ul-Qur'an. Maktaba Tameer-e-Insaniyat:
Lahore, Pakistan. Vol. 1, Fn. 317, pp. 211ff.
[13]This is the Qur'anic
injunction regarding Friday�sometimes called the
"Muslim Sabbath":
O you who believe! When the call to prayer is
sounded on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of
Allah, and leave all worldly commerce [behind]:
this is for your own good, if you but knew it. And
when the prayer is finished, disperse freely on the
earth [return to your worldly commerce] and seek to
obtain [something] of Allah's bounty; but remember
Allah often, so that you may attain salvation
(62:9-10).
In contrast to the Jewish and Christian
understanding of Sabbath, the Muslim weekly holy day
does not mark a radical departure from the daily
"worldly" routine that has been established during
the week. The Muslim understanding of "Sabbath" calls
for re-adjusting one's relationship to or
understanding of that same "worldly" routine, and
heightening one's consciousness of Allah as a result
ofthis readjustment.
[14] From the Qur'anic
perspective, the poverty of some and the wealth of
others are but a means to test both—the
charitableness of the rich and the patience of the
poor. All the while keeping in view the fact that
economic fortunes can and do change — which in itself
is among the ayaat of Allah, no less than the
fact that the verses of the Qur'an are the
ayaat of Allah:
Are they, then, not aware that it is Allah who
grants abundant sustenance, or gives it in scant
measure, unto whomever He wills? In this, behold,
there are ayaat indeed for people who will believe
(30:37).
[15] This understanding of
the Islamic conception of social justice is
articulated by Israr Ahmad in a number ofspeeches
that he delivered in the early 1980's. These speeches
have were transcribed and published under the title
Islam ka Ma'ashi Nizam in 1985 by Maktaba
Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur'an, Lahore.
[16] Max Weber, The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
(New York: Scribner, 1958) (hereafter PESC), p.
xxxix.
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