al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al-Iqtisadi bayn al-Afrad wa al-Duwal

al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al-Iqtisadi bayn al-Afrad wa al-Duwal (Islam and Economic Balance Between Individuals and States) is a treatise on Islamic economics by the Egyptian legal scholar and economist Muhammad Shawqi al-Fanjari (d. 1431 AH / 2010 CE), examining the mechanisms of wealth distribution and economic equilibrium in Islamic law. Published by Egypt's Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the book carries an introductory presentation by Abd al-Sabur Marzuq al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al….

Subject and Core Thesis

The work investigates the distribution of wealth and resources both at the local level (between individuals) and at the global level (between developing and advanced nations) al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1. Al-Fanjari argues that Islamic economics distinctively balances private ownership with public utility, positioning itself between the unrestricted individualism of capitalism and the state-dominated collectivism of socialism al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…. Rooted in the Quranic injunction كَيْ لا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ ("so that it does not circulate solely among the rich among you"), the book contends that Islam establishes economic justice through a regulated disparity in wealth rather than forced equality al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.

A central tenet of the book is that Islamic law mandates guaranteeing the "limit of sufficiency" (hadd al-kifayah)—encompassing fundamental needs such as food, shelter, and familial security—for every individual residing in an Islamic society regardless of religion or nationality, rather than merely providing bare subsistence (hadd al-kafaf) al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1. Once this baseline is met, income differentials are legitimate based on individual effort and productivity, provided that surplus wealth is not hoarded or squandered on luxury, but instead invested productively for community benefit or directed toward charitable avenues al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.

Structure and Contents

The book is arranged into a preliminary overview, a research plan, five main branches (furu'), and a conclusion al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1:

• Preamble (Tamhid): Introduces foundational concepts, distinguishing between theoretical or personal distribution (al-tawzi' al-nazari aw al-shakhsi) and practical or functional distribution (al-tawzi' al-'amali aw al-wazifi), and outlining the role of distributive justice in maintaining balance and preventing class domination al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al….
• First Branch: Explores theoretical, personal, or ideological distribution, divided into the Islamic conception of the economic problem, its diagnosis, and its prescribed remedies al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al….
• Second Branch: Addresses functional distribution and the remuneration of factors of production al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.
• Third Branch: Examines the relationship between modes of production and distribution, discussing how technological and production shifts impact distributive mechanisms al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.
• Fourth Branch: Details the preservation of economic equilibrium and regulated disparity through institutional safeguards against excessive wealth concentration al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.
• Fifth Branch: Discusses Islam's stance on social classes and economic stratification al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.
• Conclusion (Khatimah): Summarizes the imperative of distributive justice and state intervention to restore balance whenever economic equilibrium is disrupted al-Islam wa al-Tawazun al…+1.