Economic Ideas of Ibn ‘Ābidīn: A Legal Analysis

Ibn ‘Abidin was among the most distinguished scholars of Ḥanafī School of jurisprudence in the early nineteenth century, replica of early great scholars of Islamic jurisprudence. He assigned great importance to current ‘urf or local custom in solving new problems or even in adopting new solutions based on old customs. He added istiṣnā‘ (commission to manufacture) and bay‘ al-wafā’ (loan sale) among the contracts which had been permitted due to ‘urf so as to remove hardship. He criticized the government’s imposition and collection of oppressive taxes and recommended a sound policy of taxation based on the principles of economy, convenience and certainty. Fluctuation in the value of money was a serious problem of his time, one that had disturbed the of buyers-sellers relation and naturally affected the volume of trade. While he discussed the impact of devaluation of money on trade, he did not try to find out economic factors and consequences responsible these fluctuations nor did he take them into account while exploring their rules. His opinions on bay‘ al-wafā’, Sūkarah (insurance/security), istiṣnā‘ and bay‘ al-salam (prepaid forward sale) are frequently referred in modern Islamic economic discussions