The Garden of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

19 Shawwal 1446/18 April 2025

All praise is due to Allah, the Cherisher, Sustainer, Nourisher and Provider of the entire creation. May peace, blessings and salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

According to a conventional economy, scarcity is the foundation of economics. Scarcity is the gap between theoretical literal wants and limited resources. It is when the limited resources are insufficient and unable satisfy the needs and wants of people.

Conventional economics is built around methods and structures to solve this fundamental problem of scarcity.

Conventional economists believe that the wants of people are unlimited whilst the resources are limited. They devise strategies by asking 3 main questions. What and how much to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce.

Islamic/Muslim economists view scarcity in a different light. The understanding is that Allah has made available sufficient resources for the usage of all of creation however we are unable to attain access to all these resources due to our limited knowledge and capabilities as human being. This was highlighted in the Quran in many places.

For instance in Surah Ebrahim, verse 34 it is mentioned:

وَءَاتَىٰكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلۡتُمُوهُۚ وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآۗ إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ

“And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful.”

In Surah Al-Hijr, verse 21, the Quran highlights that Allah is the supplier of all things (resources) and it is sent down in due and ascertainable measures.

وَإِن مِّن شَىۡءٍ إِلَّا عِندَنَا خَزَآئِنُهُۥ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَّعۡلُومٍ

“And there is not a thing but that with Us are its depositories, and We do not send it down except according to a known measure.”

Allah Almighty has blessed us with knowledge yet our knowledge is limited and Allah expands our knowledge over time to allow us to access these resources.

In my opinion the Islamic economic approach is the best approach and it will fulfil human needs and wants in a just and fair manner.

If a person has conviction that everything is from Allah and Allah has sent down for us adequate resources, through hard work and patience Allah will open up the minds and expand our knowledge to access those resources.

The Islamic economic approach is based on justice and social upliftment. Having the belief and understanding that resources are scarce could be considered as a sign of ingratitude and ungratefulness from us as creation. A simple example could be that of coal to generate electricity. Coal is one of the main resources to provide electricity in many countries, however we find that there is a notion that there is not enough coal to provide power to all of humanity. There may be coal but we may have not located these resources as per the will of Allah or we may have not yet utilized it in the proper manner hence the possibility of us not being exposed and able to locate these resources.

May Allah accept our efforts from us and grant us understanding In Sha Allah!