Abstract
In Islam the dilemma whether an act is ethical or otherwise may be resolved by referring to the principles that are enunciated in the sources of the Shari’ah (Islamic law). Islamic business ethics, therefore, is based on these sources and provides an essential foundation in the making of ethical business decisions. Islamic ethics is known as akhlaq and together with its core principles which include ikhlas, zuhud, tawakkal, amanah, siddiq and ‘adl guide an individual to always do good and eschew evil since the aim of business is not merely to accumulate wealth but to bring about a just socio-economic order and to ultimately please God. Further, akhlaq and its core principles guide how business disputes are to be resolved and at the same time restore harmony between the disputing parties. In addition, the chapter demonstrates the application of these core principles within the context of an Islamic organisation.
Author’s Note: This research was supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia’s Grant ERGS/1/2011/SS/UKM/02/5.
Zakiah Muhammaddun Mohamed—Condolences on the passing of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zakiah Muhammaddun Mohamed on April 7th, 2017.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Interpretation of the Qur’an as well as the Sunnah is called ijtihad. Nonetheless, ijtihad is not based on mere speculative thought or ad hoc law finding. On the contrary it is arrived at through a well-defined methodology of legal reasoning and legal interpretation called usul al-fiqh (Islamic legal theory). Ijtihad comes in the form of ijma’ and qiyas, which are the secondary sources of the Shari’ah. Ijma’ refers to the consensus or unanimous agreement of all Islamic jurists of an age. Qiyas is obtained through the legal and philosophical method of analogy whereby a divine law revealed for a particular situation is applied to another where some common feature exists in both situations.
- 2.
Zakah or alms tax is an amount of money which is calculated using a specific formula. Muslim individuals and Shari’ah-compliant businesses that fulfil certain criteria of wealth are to pay zakah to the authority who will then distribute the money to the poor in the community.
- 3.
Amir al-Mu’mineen was the term used in early Muslim history for the leader of all the Muslims. This office later developed into the hereditary Caliph. The Caliphate ended with the demise of the Ottoman Empire. See Sadiqi (2010).
References
Abdal’ati H (1976) Islam in focus. American Trust Publications, Indianapolis
Ahmad M (1999) Business ethics in islam. Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi
Alhabshi SO (1994) Development of capital market under islamic principles. In: Conference on managing & implementing interest-free banking/islamic financial system. Centre for Management Technology. Kuala Lumpur
Ali AJ (1995) Cultural discontinuity and arab management thought. Int Stud Manage Organ 35(3):3
Ali AJ, Al-Owaihan (2008) A islamic work ethic: a critical review. Cross Cult Manage Int J 15(1)
Ali F (1993) Conflict—its psychological causes, effect and resolution through the Qur’an. In: conference on conflict resolution in the arab world. Cyprus
Craig RN (2012) Islamic finance law and practice. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Ghazali SOSA (2005) Readings in the concept and methodology of islamic economics. CERT Publications, Kuala Lumpur
Hoyle M (2009) Specific issues in islamic dispute resolution. Arbitration 75:219–222
Jabbar SFA (2010) Financial crimes: prohibition in Islam and prevention by the Shari’a Supervisory Board of Islamic financial institutions. J Finan Crime 17(3):287–294
Jabbar SFA (2012) Insider dealing—fraud in Islam? J Finan Crime 19(2):140–148
Jabnoun N (2012) Islam and management. New Revised English Edition 3. International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh
Juliano J (2005) Muslim dispute resolution in America: a challenge of religious pluralism. World religion 201: world religions as a resource. Wesley seminary: December 12. Available at http://www.slashdocs.com/mwmxmy/muslim-dispute-resolution-in-america.html. Accessed 20 Mar 2014
Küng H (2007) Islam: past, present and future. Oneworld, Oxford
Obaidullah M (2001) Ethics and efficiency in islamic stock markets. Int J Islamic Finan Serv 3(2):15–23
Oseni UA (2009) Dispute resolution in islamic banking and finance: current trends and future perspectives. In: International conference on islamic financial services: emerging opportunities for law/economic reforms of the developing nations, October 6–8. Nigeria
Philips AA (2005) The fundamentals of tawheed. International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh
Rashid SK (2004) Alternative dispute resolution in the context of islamic law. Vindobona J Int Commercial Law Arbitr 7VJ(1):95–118
Sadiqi MA (2010) Islamic dispute resolution in the shade of the American Court House, October. Available at http://www.amjaonline.org/en/academic-research/cat_view/6-islamic-arbitration-guidelines-and-procedures-2010. Accessed 20 Mar 2014
Saleh NA (1992) Unlawful gain and legitimate profit in islamic law, 2nd edn. Graham & Trotman, London
Shanmugam B, Perumal V (2005) Governance issues and islamic banking. In: Hassan V et al (eds) Corporate governance: an islamic paradigm. UPM Press, Serdang
Wafa SMGWSA, Hanafiah MH, Hussain MNH (2005) Pengantar perniagaan islam. Pearson, Petaling Jaya
Yasin MS (1992) Akhlak dan tasawuf. Yayasan Salman, Bangi
Yusoff ZM, Rahman NNA (2010) Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah. PTS Islamika Sdn. Bhd, Selangor
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jabbar, S.F.A., Ali, H.M., Mohamed, Z.M., Jalil, F. (2018). Business Ethics: Theory and Practice in an Islamic Context. In: Bian, J., Çalıyurt, K. (eds) Regulations and Applications of Ethics in Business Practice. Accounting, Finance, Sustainability, Governance & Fraud: Theory and Application. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8062-3_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8062-3_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8060-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8062-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)