Theoretical foundations of the Islamic economic doctrine in the Middle Ages

Abstract

The article describes formation and early stage of development of the Islamic economic thought. The author pays attention to the role of the Qur'an and the Sunnah in this process, and focuses on its characteristic features among which is an encyclopedical approach of early Muslim thinkers. The main part of the article is devoted to the views of the most brilliant theoreticians, who paid attention to economic issues, e.g. Abu Yusuf (731 ̶ 798), Ibn Hazm (994 ̶ 1064), Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058 ̶ 1111), Ibn Taymiyyah (1263 ̶ 1328), Ibn Qayyim (1292 ̶ 1350), Ibn Khaldun (1332 ̶ 1406 ). The reader gets an opportunity to get acquainted with the views of medieval Islamic scholars to various types of taxation, the role of government in the economy, pricing and the functions of money, the Islamic ban on usury, private property, etc.