Designing the Islamic Economic System: Fair Markets and Economic Actors

Abstract

Global economic transformation and the rapid development of the digital economy have generated various challenges, including distributive inequality, market monopolies, economic speculation, and the decline of ethical awareness among economic actors, thereby highlighting the need for an economic system that is oriented not only toward growth but also toward justice and moral responsibility. This study aims to construct a framework of the Islamic economic system based on a fair market by positioning economic actors as moral subjects within contemporary economic activities. The study employs a qualitative approach using library research and a critical conceptual analysis design. Data sources were derived from the Qur’an, Hadith, classical Islamic literature, international scholarly articles, and various academic sources related to Islamic economics, market systems, economic ethics, and maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. Data were analyzed through content analysis and thematic analysis to identify the relationship between market mechanisms, the ethics of economic actors, and the principles of Islamic economics. The findings reveal that the Islamic economic system is constructed through the integration of normative foundations, fair market mechanisms, and ethical economic actors. In Islam, the market functions not only as an economic mechanism but also as a social institution oriented toward distributive justice and collective welfare, while economic actors are positioned as moral subjects with spiritual and social responsibilities in economic activities. The study also finds that maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah serves as an integrative framework connecting economic efficiency, social justice, and moral responsibility within the contemporary Islamic economic system. This study contributes to the development of a more integrative, humane, and contextually relevant conceptual model of Islamic economics in responding to the challenges of the global digital economy.