Factors of Production as an Amanah (Trust)

In conventional economics, resources are categorized into four, which are land, labor, capital and entrepreneur. These resources are said to be scarce and within this constraint, they are utilized to fulfill the unlimited wants of man.

As far as resources are concerned, we can divide them into two major categories. The first category is labor and entrepreneur and the second is land and capital. The former is man, himself while the latter is the universe (exclude mankind). We make these divisions because in our discussion on Islamic worldview before, we had seen the Islamic worldview views on man and the universe/nature.

Obviously, from an Islamic perspective, man is not simply a factor of production. Man is a servant and a vicegerent of Allah who bears the responsibility to manage this universe according to the divine laws. He is also responsible for his deeds and actions in this world.

Then, the universe is created to serve mankind (45:13). However, this does not mean we are allowed to explore and exploit the resources to fulfill our wants. In fact, the universe serves us in there broad manners:

First, the universe is created as a gift from Allah, the Most High to His servants. For this, we must be thankful and always glorify Him for His greatness and mercy upon us (1:2).

Second, Allah also has created the universe as a sign for mankind to know Him. From our observation and study of the universe, we could realize His power, greatness and attributes (67:3). This is how Allah wants us to know Him (6:101, 21:30, 51:47). Apart from that, the universe and the resources available in it are also function as the source of knowledge to us – another form of sign. From our observations of the environment, there we derive various forms of disciplines in science and social science.

Third, the universe is also the place where we get our resources and sustenance to maintain our existence (2:168, 67:30). We get food, air, water and material to build our civilization from the universe.

Therefore, in Islamic economics, the resources are not merely to be utilized for man’s material well-being. Resources are amanah from Allah, the Almighty and from this amanah Allah knows whose among us are the best in their deeds (67:2).