نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
تازه های تحقیق
Extended abstract
Introduction
The relationship between capitalism, the Prophetic tradition (Sīrah), and the history of early Islam constitutes a fascinating field of inquiry that has drawn sustained attention from scholars, particularly Orientalists. Among recent contributions, the book "Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism" by Benedikt Köhler—a German banker and historian—whose Persian translation appeared in 1402 (2023/24), offers a study of the economic mechanisms of early Islamic governance and their purported influence on capitalist economics and the free market. The focal point of Köhler's argument is the alleged alignment between Islamic economics and capitalism concerning the principle of non‑interference by the state in pricing, grounded in a narration transmitted in Sunni sources from the Prophet (PBUH): "Prices are in the hands of God" (Köhler, 1402/2023, "Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism" [in Persian]). Drawing on the views of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Khaldūn, Köhler posits a fundamental similarity between Islam and capitalism regarding state abstention from price controls, and he construes the free‑market mechanism as a historical commonality between the Prophetic economy and Western liberalism.
Accepting this reading, however, not only blurs the ethical and identity‑based boundaries of Islamic economics vis‑à‑vis alternative systems but also nullifies the substantive critiques raised by opponents of capitalism. The imperative to engage with Köhler's work arises from the growing discourse on Islamic economics and the pressing need to delineate its ethical identity and boundaries in relation to rival paradigms. This article aims to analyse and assess Köhler's thesis of convergence between capitalist and Islamic economics by focusing on four key concepts and their relationship to Islamic ethics: the pricing mechanism and the status of profit; the concept of ownership and the labour‑capital nexus; the role of the state in both schools; and the logic governing wealth distribution.
Research Method
The research employs a critical‑analytical method, re‑examining Köhler's text alongside the perspectives of thinkers such as Muḥammad Bāqir al‑Ṣadr (Ṣadr, 1398/2019, "Islām Rāhbar‑e Zendegī‑ye Mā" [Islam as the Guide to Our Life] [in Persian]), Karl Polanyi, Schumpeter, John Gray (Gray, 2019, "Hayek on Liberty" [Persian translation under the title "Falsafeh‑ye Sīyāsī‑ye Fon Hayek"]), Robert J. Shiller (Shiller, 2019, "Narrative Economics" [in Persian]), and J. Wilczynski (1978, "Comparative Monetary Economics"). The analysis also draws on historical studies of the moral economy and bread riots by E. P. Thompson and Stephanie Cronin (Cronin, 2019, "Bread and Justice in Qajar Iran" [in Persian]), alongside Islamic juridical and narrative sources, in order to expose the structural and ethical divergences between the two schools.
Findings:
The analysis demonstrates that Köhler constructs a rather tenuous analogy by treating phenomena such as monopoly and advertising as temporary "deviations" from the free pricing mechanism under capitalism, while simultaneously overlooking the fundamental disparity between the logic of "distributive rights" in Islam and that of "unending profit‑seeking" in capitalism.
First, Köhler identifies hoarding ("iḥtikār") as an opposing force to the supposedly free pricing mechanism, asserting that the rules of price determination are linked to competition, and that the Prophet (PBUH) combined prohibitions on state interference in pricing with bans on monopolistic practices. In other words, what is forbidden in Islam is hoarding, not price increases per se. He enumerates other forms of market‑power abuse—including discriminatory favouritism toward certain competitors, multilateral monopolies, covert dealings ("talāqī"), and intermediaries exacting inflated charges under the pretext of inflation risk—as negative forces. However, what Köhler lists as obstacles to the free‑price mechanism are, in fact, integral components of price formation within capitalism itself, and these very factors undermine his claim of genuinely competitive pricing in practice.
Second, the foundation of pricing in Islamic ethics rests on conditions such as the prohibition of injustice ("ijḥāf"), the observance of fairness ("inṣāf"), the absence of undue uncertainty ("gharar"), the invalidity of deceit ("ghabn" and "ghishsh"), and the requirement of mutual consent in order to safeguard the buyer's right. From the context of Qur'anic verses, particularly verses 84 and 85 of Sūrah Hūd, the prohibition of under‑measuring in transactions and the obligation to accord people their due rights are derived—a concept expressed by the Qur'anic term "qisṭ" (equitable justice). Accordingly, merely combating negative factors is insufficient for people to attain their rightful due; rather, "ifā’" (full discharge of rights) is necessary—which goes beyond compensation for shortfall to ensure complete entitlement—so that the value of people's assets does not diminish. Historical evidence from the bread riots in eighteenth‑century England and Qajar Iran demonstrates that "moral economy" has consistently taken precedence over "free‑market economy." Islamic market supervisors ("muḥtasibs") and jurists also permitted, in times of necessity, the fixing of mutually agreed prices and even the compulsory purchase of goods from hoarders for resale to the poor at fair prices.
Third, in the capitalist system, prices are determined by supply and demand: the supply side is governed by marginal production costs, while the demand side is shaped by consumers' subjective preferences—preferences that are themselves systematically manipulated through targeted advertising and propaganda. In this system, a substantial portion of prices is not arrived at competitively but is set by sellers who exercise complete or multilateral monopoly power. Cartels, collusive tendering, and price distortions via indirect taxes and subsidies are all inherent components of this system.
Fourth, according to Muḥammad Bāqir al‑Ṣadr, in the capitalist system the exigency of production justifies the relations of wealth distribution, while in the socialist system every production relation deterministically gives rise to a specific distribution relation. In the Islamic system, however, the relations of wealth distribution are grounded in fixed human rights and the logic of human vicegerency ("khilāfah") on earth under God. The Islamic system prioritises the role of the people in the economy: the state should neither assume entrepreneurial functions as in socialism nor permit entrepreneurs to be merely those with privileged banking connections who appropriate larger shares of production and pricing advantages, as in capitalism. The economy is shaped by a faithful mode of life ("zīst‑e mo’menāneh"), wherein personal interest is pursued within the framework of social welfare.
Fifth, the moral and social consequences of capitalism are also noteworthy. Schumpeter contends that the turn to long‑term saving depends on a minimum level of marital and family stability, and that advanced capitalist economies have rendered marital life unstable. John Gray similarly emphasises the disintegration of traditional family structures in countries that have devoted all their efforts to market liberalisation. Robert J. Shiller underscores the centrality of "fear" in capitalist systems, quoting Czesław Miłosz to the effect that in a liberal capitalist economy, the fear of lacking money, of unemployment, and of downward social mobility all drive individuals to greater effort.
Sixth, Karl Polanyi demonstrates that free markets are not spontaneous phenomena; rather, they are constructed through state power and are the outcome of deliberate state policies. In the Islamic view, the philosophical basis of the economy rests on cooperation between the state and society, with both regulated by Sharī‘ah and positive law; the domination of one class over another is prohibited, and the operative principle is cooperation.
Finally, an analysis of Köhler's thesis of alignment reveals that his analogy rests on a false generalisation of the concept of "non‑intervention." In Islam, this principle is understood within the framework of distributive justice and the prohibition of exploitation, whereas in capitalism non‑intervention paves the way for the concentration of pricing power in the hands of capitalists and multinational corporations. The price mechanism in capitalism is inherently shaped by consumption‑oriented advertising, monopoly, and market volatility—factors that Köhler treats as marginal phenomena but which are, in fact, inseparable from the system itself. The ethical‑economic logic of Islam is founded on the tripartite cooperation of the people, the private sector, and the state, all subject to the constraints of Sharī‘ah and law—not on absolute freedom of capital or on the state's monopolistic entrepreneurship. By separating labour and capital, capitalism closes off avenues for social mobility and makes profit, rather than justice, the axis of resource allocation. Köhler's optimism regarding capitalism, while overlooking its moral and social costs—from the erosion of family foundations to the structurally embedded fear of class decline—attests to a lack of comprehensiveness in his reading of history. Islamic teachings, based on the "right to produce wealth," a faithful mode of life, intervention in price‑formation processes, and state oversight, have formulated pricing in objective and ethical dimensions that are distinctly different from the capitalist school.
References
- Cronin, S. (2019). "Bread and Justice in Qajar Iran" (in Persian).
- Gray, J. (2019). "Hayek on Liberty" (Persian translation under the title "Falsafeh‑ye Sīyāsī‑ye Fon Hayek"). Tehran: Nū Publishing House.
- Köhler, B. (2014/1402). "Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism" (in Persian). Translated by: Mohammad Mashinchian & Jafar Khairkhahan. Tehran: Ney Publishing House.
- Ṣadr, M.B. (2019/1398). "Islām Rāhbar‑e Zendegī‑ye Mā" [Islam as the Guide to Our Life] (in Persian). Translated by: Mehdi Zandiyeh. Dār al‑Ṣadr Publishing House.
- Shiller, R.J. (2019). "Narrative Economics" (in Persian). Translated by: Saeed Zargarian. Tehran: Āmūde Publishing House.
- Wilczynski, J. (1978). "Comparative Monetary Economics". London: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Capitalism and the ethics of production and consumption orientation are important topics in the history of early Islam. Some researchers, especially orientalists, have considered this issue in the life of the Messenger of God (PBUH). Benedict Kohler, a German banker and historian, has conducted a study on this subject entitled “Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism.” This book is a study on the economic mechanism of the governments of the early Islamic period and its impact on the capitalist economy and the free market. The alignment of Islamic economics and capitalism on the issue of government non-intervention in pricing is based on the statement “Prices are in the hands of God.” Kohler's perspective is the focal point of this book. What is important in this research is the ethical examination of the processes by which prices are formed in the capitalist system; monopoly in capital, production and consumption orientation through advertising are among the important principles that are controversial from the point of view of Islamic ethics. This article shows, using the method of critical analysis, that Kohler, by neglecting the structural and ethical differences in the concepts of profit, ownership and distributive justice, has limited himself to an apparent similarity between the two schools. In capitalism, marginal profit is the main driver of resource allocation and factors such as monopoly, directional advertising and concentration of capital are considered to be inherent components of the price formation mechanism; while in the Islamic economic school, pricing is within the framework of the jurisprudential and ethical concept of "mutual consent" and "prohibition of exploitation" and the logic of wealth distribution is based on the "right of succession of man on earth" and not simply on profit-making.
کلیدواژهها English
