Public duties in Islam: the institution of the Hisba

Al-Hisba is both a moral and a socio-economic institution in Islam which regulates public life to achieve a high standard of morality and protects it from bad workmanship, fraud, extortion, and exploitation. This book, of which there are two parts, describes a theory of Hisba in a fair society and an competent market economy. The first part on managing an Islamic economy and society which contains chapters on the basic principles of Hisba, ethical guidelines for regulating business and economic life, collective good and state's responsibility, price controls, and crime and punishment. The second part, on working towards a just society, contains the remaining five chapters on commanding good and forbidding evil, a strategy for reform, men and movements, society and leadership, and a summing up on knowledge, justice and the duties of the rulers and the ruled. This book also provides an appendix on al-Hisba and the Islamic economy, and an index.