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1. Preamble In the wake of the 2007-2009 financial and economic meltdown, a lot of intellectual and practical work is being done in the area of monetary and economic reform. [...]

The Islamic Gift Economy (IGE) is an integrative Islamic economic system that is autonomous and can stand and prosper on its own ethical and economic principles while in constructive engagement with current neo-liberalism, instead of one that is co-opted, wittingly or unwittingly, into the mainstream, free-market capitalist system, as is largely the case with what currently goes by the name of Islamic Banking & Finance (IBF). Keywords: Islamic Gift Economy, mu'amala, partnership, cooperation, moderation, economics of abundance, waqf, common good., Introduction The Islamic Gift Economy (IGE; al-Iqtisad al-Infaqi) can be envisioned as an integrative economic system based on the operative principles of cooperation (ta'awun), (2) mutual consent ('an taradin/muradattin) (3) [...]

Ja'far ibn 'Ali al-Dimashqi (circa 600/1200) is an important thinker in the history of Islamic economic thought. His ideas resonate rather well with current economic rethinking in view of the ongoing financial and economic turmoil. Here, four interesting excerpts from his Kitab al-Isharat ila Mahasin al-Tijarat are translated with light annotations. Keywords: Ja'far ibn 'All al-Dimashqi, Islamic economics, Kitab al-Isharat ila Mahasin al-Tijarat, community, gold, silver, commerce, expenditure, good management., Introduction: The Author and His Work He is the Damascene Shaykh, father of al-Fadl, Ja'far son of 'Ali (al-Shaykh Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn 'Ali al-Dimashqi), and the work for which [...]