Introduction: Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Sayyed Hossein Mirmoezzi has been engaged in research and teaching in the field of Islamic economics and economic jurisprudence since the 1990s, when he began his studies in economics at Mofid University. One of his most important books in the field of Islamic economics is the book Philosophy of Islamic Economics, which was published by the Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute press and also brought him awards. Mehr News Agency arranged an interview with him regarding this book, which you will now read. It is worth mentioning that this interview was conducted during the final stages of the research for this book and before its publication.
What is your definition of an applied philosophy (falsafah muḍāf)?
Applied (Islamic) philosophies, which in reality the Research Institute was the innovator of and the members of the Philosophy department of the Research Institute defined, in sum, mean a science that deals with the applied-to science (al-muḍāf ilayh) with a macro, rational, and second-order perspective. For example, the philosophy of Islamic economics, with a second-order perspective and a macro and rational approach, answers questions about the science of Islamic economics, which is the applied-to science. Usually, in applied philosophies, the first question is about the nature and quiddity of that applied-to science. For example, in the philosophy of Islamic economics, it is discussed what the nature of Islamic economics is. Is Islamic economics a school of thought (maktab)? Is it a system (niẓām)? Is it a science (‘ilm)? Or no, is it a collection of rulings? What is the nature of Islamic economics? What definition does it have? The subject of this science is discussed. What are the goals, function, and duties of this science, and where is the position of this science in relation to other branches of the human sciences? And what relationship does it find with other sciences? What is the structure of this science? And also, a question is raised about the method of this science. These are, in reality, the main axes that are the subject of discussion in applied philosophies, and the philosophy of Islamic economics also, in the same way, deals with these main axes.
What do you see as the goal and necessity of the philosophy of Islamic economics?
Applied philosophies are studied with two perspectives. One perspective is a historical perspective; this is in relation to sciences that have found external realization and have come into being before this and have had a transformation and evolution until today. For example, the science of jurisprudence (fiqh) is like this. If the philosophy of jurisprudence is to be addressed, one must certainly examine the history of the emergence and transformation of this science, and then answer these questions: what is the definition of jurisprudence? What is its subject? Which are its issues? What are its goals, function, position, and method? And answer such questions. But in relation to sciences that have not been created and we are thinking of establishing them and have come to believe in the necessity of their establishment, these questions are answered in another way. In reality, regarding these sciences, these questions are answered based on Islamic foundations and Islamic teachings. For example, regarding Islamic economics, we answer based on Islamic foundations what the nature of Islamic economics can be. In any case, for any science that we want to establish, there is no choice but to first define it based on its primary foundations, state its goals, state its subject, state its ultimate end and its function.
The questions that are raised in an applied philosophy must be answered with respect to the Islamic human sciences, which we are in the process of establishing. Therefore, the necessity of discussing the philosophy of the human sciences and the philosophy of economics is that this discussion is a foundational and necessary discussion for the establishment of the Islamic human sciences, and if we cannot, based on Islamic foundations, answer these questions, and especially the question of method, we cannot claim that we have a science, for example, by the name of the science of Islamic economics.
Do you know of any precedent for this discussion (the philosophy of Islamic economics) in Iran?
With the definition I presented and the subject’s axes, it has been less of a subject of discussion in Iran and in Persian sources. Outside the country and in English or Arabic language sources, under the title of the philosophy of Islamic economics, we have found no work at all, and if there are works, they are in the form of scattered articles that have been written in this field. Of course, within the country, this discussion has been more of a focus, and in any case, the philosophy of Islamic economics is currently being taught as a university field, and at two universities, Allameh Tabataba’i (RA) University and the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute (RA), two doctoral programs in this field have been held so far. But research, in the sense that serious research work has been done in this field, I am not aware of any. A few books have been collected under the title of collected articles, some of which were done by myself. For example, regarding the philosophy of the science of economics, An Introduction to the Philosophy of the Science of Islamic Economics was a collection of articles that I gathered, I translated some of the articles and wrote some myself, critiqued them, and it was published as a collection of articles. Or Imam Sadiq University has also published a book under the title of Philosophy of Islamic Economics, which is also a collection of articles.
Currently, we have limited articles related to the discussions of the philosophy of Islamic economics. But for a comprehensive research to come and discuss the philosophy of the science of Islamic economics, and then claim that this science has 3 fields or 3 branches: school of thought, system, and science, and then with respect to each of these, to answer those questions of applied philosophy, to explain the what, why, how, and method and these things, there is no precedent at all. Scattered discussions of the philosophy of economics, which of course are mostly in light of the philosophy of the science of economics, have come in the form of articles.
How far has your project progressed, and what is your assessment of the results of this project?
It has been about 5 years that I have been engaged in this discussion, and it can be said that I have compiled about 80% of these discussions. However, there are some difficult discussions in this field that can be counted as the remaining 20%, and I am currently working on those axes. Of course, I have taught these discussions in more than 4 doctoral programs, and in each program for more than one semester; sometimes the sessions reached 20 to 30 sessions. In any case, the material of this book, which starts from the foundations and follows with the definition of the nature of Islamic economics, and then deals with the subject, goals, position, and method of Islamic economics, I have answered in 3 branches: school of thought, system, and science.
In my opinion, it is a difficult discussion, and despite the fact that I have tried to provide a suitable explanation of the discussions, there is still a need for more careful consideration. The discussion of the method of the economic system is also a discussion that had no precedent, and I have penned the first writings in this field. Discussions like the position of Islamic economics among the human sciences have also not been discussed anywhere, and again it is a very difficult discussion. Generally, the discussions that have been raised are in a way novel and difficult, and if there were not an obsession for the discussions to be more precise, this work would have been completed long ago and at the same time, it would have been convincing from a scholarly perspective. But well, I think that in any case, it is the first work being done in this field, and I feel it is necessary to use all my efforts so that it is close to the ideal level from a scholarly perspective. In any case, the reason for the lengthiness of this research, in addition to the scholarly precisions, is also some of my executive engagements.
Regarding the results of the research, it is also necessary to note that the discussions of applied philosophy are fundamental research, and their results also appear in those foundations. When the philosophy of Islamic economics is written, the expectation is not that this research will, for example, solve the country’s recession problem. This is fundamental research; it is not an applied or strategic research. Its effect is that it builds the foundation for the establishment of this science. Its effect is that it answers many of the questions that researchers in the field of Islamic economics are currently facing and cannot answer. Its effect is that it strengthens the methodological and foundational basis of the research of researchers who have entered into the strategic and applied discussions in the areas of banking, cooperatives, and the environment, and they can discuss with documentation. They can, based on what has been said, continue their movement with greater scholarly strength. The things that were mentioned are among the effects and results of this work.
The work you are doing, is its foundation on our own philosophical schools of thought, or has something else been done? Please explain a little about the basis of your work.
In general, for applied philosophies, one of its discussions is foundations. One of the axes of discussion is foundations, which in reality is the main axis of discussion. When you state the foundations, you can, based on these foundations, answer the questions that are asked about the nature of Islamic economics, its subject, its goals, its method. Whatever you want to say, you must document it with these foundations. In reality, the philosophy of Islamic economics moves from the foundations towards the second-order questions about the science and answers them. Those foundations consist of Islamic ontological, epistemological, axiological, and religious-ontological foundations. The ontological foundations are themselves divided into the foundations of theology, anthropology, cosmology, and sociology. The axiological foundations talk about values, meaning the what and why of values are discussed. The religious-ontological foundations talk about Islam, what kind of religion Islam is, and how the relationship between Islam and science is established. The discussions related to religious science and Islamic economics are relevant.
Whether Islam has the potential and capacity for a science to be attributed to it or not, and if it has this capacity, how the attribution occurs, these are also other discussions. All in all, these discussions must be discussed in the philosophy of Islamic economics, the foundations must be seen correctly and explained, and this is the starting point of the movement in the discussion of the philosophy of Islamic economics. I too, in the research I have done, have advanced the discussion based on these same axes. That is, I first discussed the philosophical foundations in the same 4 branches that I mentioned. However, because it is discussed in the field of the philosophy of Islamic economics and it is not a place for a scholarly discussion about the philosophical foundations, only the positions of Islam have been stated. In reality, the presuppositions of the discussion are stated, and then we enter into the second-order discussions of the science of Islamic economics.
In conclusion, if you have any other points in mind, please state them.
The final word is that the discussion of the philosophy of Islamic economics is a very important discussion, and unfortunately, it is given little importance. Now the researchers who are working in Islamic economics, in a way, it can be said that apart from perhaps a few individuals, the rest are dealing with superficial discussions and have abandoned the discussion of the philosophy of economics.
Therefore, this discussion, because it is a heavy and very difficult discussion, requires that many people enter this discussion, and each person discusses a subject and an axis and answers a question, a spark ignites in his mind, and he advances this discussion one step. Unfortunately, researchers of Islamic economics give little value to this discussion, and this has caused that when we define the field of Islamic economics, we write the syllabi and course units, the experts of the Ministry of Science sometimes object that if this is a scientific field, where is its applied philosophy? Because every field has a philosophy that explains it. They say, where is the philosophy of the science of Islamic economics? And they ask us to add this to the units.
Although this course unit has also been defined, in practice, when it is time for that unit to be taught, worthy research work has not been done, and usually, it suffices to mention a few translated articles and present them in the classrooms. This is a problem that exists from an educational perspective. From the perspective of research works too, superficial research is done, and patterns and models are presented, while they have not yet given a correct answer to the fundamental philosophical questions of Islamic economics that are raised in the philosophy of Islamic economics—such as method.
This also creates doubt for a person, that in any case, if an established method has not been presented regarding the science of Islamic economics, how do you defend the models that you present in various strategic and applied fields in the name of Islamic models? How can one defend these scientifically while you have not yet reached an established method for this science? This is a fundamental issue and a major gap in this science, and in my opinion, it is a very important discussion. Therefore, I request all friends who work in these fields to pay more attention to this discussion and give it more consideration.
Source: Mehr News Agency.