Islamic Consumption Pattern (Restrictions and Assumption)
Authors
Abstract
God has given boundless gifts unsparing to man. Since God created man, only God
had full knowledge of the existence of man’s structure and mechanism. So, all laws
and regulations are justified in the form of religion for promoting man’s status. From
consumption aspect, there are laws and regulations for humans that have placed
them in a special framework of principles and have ensured their success in moving
according to this framework. Undoubtedly, a Muslim who wants to act according to
religion is faced with some restrictions about his consumption. In fact, Islam as a
religion should explain the Muslims’ consumer behavior and institutionalize their
motives and goals within the framework of Holy Quran and
Sunnah
(Islamic
Tradition). Accurate knowledge of laws and regulations and consumption
constraints on a Muslim as an individual consumer, in the framework of Islam are
crucial in determining the pattern of Islamic consumption. In this research it is tired
to survey the axioms and assumptions of this pattern and to outline the factors which
affect this pattern. Since these factors, axioms, assumptions and constraints are the
cause of the behavior of Muslim and non-Muslim consumers, major differences
between the behavior of Muslim consumer and the behavior of an individual in
conventional economics have been surveyed. These differences had proven an
independent consumption patterns in Islam which are different from capitalistic
consumption patterns. The questions and hypothesises proposed in this research, are
about independent consumption patterns for Muslim individuals which are different
from the constraint, axioms and assumptions in capitalistic consumption pattern. The
method of this study is descriptive, analytical and documental, and relevant
documents, articles and theses are used in preparing this paper. Also, for analyzing
the Muslims’ consumer consumption behavior, an Islamic society has been
considered; so the consumption behavior of a real society is not analyzed. In this
study, it is revealed that the main axioms and assumptions and constraint of a
Muslim vary from a person in capitalist economic system, hence the Islamic
consumption pattern is formed according to its own limitations and axioms. In the
Islamic consumption pattern, a Muslim at first allocates his income to his necessary
expenses, then the remained, can be allocated to
Enfagh
or be invested again as
more
Enfagh
in the subsequent periods for satisfying the necessary consumptions in
an optimal form.
Keywords
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