The Economic System of Islam — Page 17
17 Teachings of Islam for Establishing a Just Society The foundation of Islamic teachings that I described earlier is essen- tial for understanding its economic philosophy. I elaborated on those concepts because the Islamic economic system cannot succeed in the absence of its necessary environment. As I have already mentioned, Islam does not recognize a system that is not based on law. Instead, Islam presents a path that is a com- bination of the other two systems (nationalistic and individualistic). As such, the fundamentals of the Islamic economic system are the same as those of Islam itself , as mentioned above. Basic Precepts of Islam Regarding Wealth The Islamic point of view in regard to the sources of wealth is ex- pressed in the Holy Quran: 9 That is, everything that is found in the world has been created by Allah for the benefit of mankind. Mountains, rivers, mineral wealth and other means of human progress are mankind’s collective property, and we all have a share in this collective wealth. All these natural resources provide 9 S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:30, (publishers)