The Semantics of School, System and Science in the Literature of Islamic Economics

Although the terms “school, system and science” are used extensively in the literature of Islamic economics, there is little agreement about their meaning and relationship. This paper studies these three concepts and their relationship. According to the hypothesis of the paper, the propositions of Islamic economics only include theological and scientific propositions. Based on the research findings, the Islamic economics school outlines the basic framework and strategic principles of economic activities based on Islamic teachings. Islamic economics expounds the economic facts derived from the theoretical and practical teachings of the Islamic school, and describes, explains and predicts the relationships between independent and dependent variables. However, in terms of content, the Islamic economic system and propositions of policy making in Islamic economics, have no identity independent from the school and the science of Islamic economics; rather, they are a combination of normative and scientific propositions of Islamic economics. Islamic economic policy is the result of the simultaneous use of normative and scientific Islamic economics to provide the operational means needed for the fulfillment of the economic goals of Islam. The Islamic economic system, in its general form, is like an umbrella that covers various sectors such as school, science and politics of Islamic economics.