The Methodology of Islamic Economics

his paper investigates the conformity of market participants’ decisions with the Islamic codes of conduct from the economic and philosophical perspectives. At the outset, the contributions of the renowned contemporary Muslim philosophers on the epistemological issues between the “is” and the “ought” are presented. Subsequently, a synthesized construct that would resolve the dichotomy between the normative and positive economy is outlined. The approach and the conclusions of this paper are expected to alleviate the dissatisfaction expressed by many Muslim economists for the sole application of the normative or positive economic methodology in the field. Furthermore, the paper validates arriving at conclusions in line with Islamic ethical norms by an empirical study of the actual economic behavior of market participants. The conclusions of this paper are not limited to economics but are expected to be applicable to all Islamic social sciences where similar issues are disputed.