Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn 'Ali al-Dimashqi
Encyclopedia
Abū al-Faḍl Jaʻfar ibn ʻAlī al-Dimashqī was a prosperous Muslim
merchant from Damascus
. He is best known for being the author of Kitab al-Isharah ila Mahasin at-Tijarah wa Marifat Jayyid al-A’rad wa Kadiiha wa Ghush-ush al-Mudallisin fiha (A Guide to the Merits of Commerce and to Recognition of Both Fine and Defective Merchandise and the Swindles of Those Who Deal Dishonestly).
Almost nothing is known about al-Dimashqi’s life. He was among the Muslim writers who were influenced by Greek sources, particularly by the neo-Pythagorean Bryson of Heraclea
.
and the uncertainty associated with them. According to Louis Baeck, professor of International Economics and Development at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), al-Dimashqi "formulated what modern economists would call price theory". In this theory, al-Dimashqi "makes a distinction between normal periods in which market prices are based on cost of production, as opposed to periods of scarcity or oversupply, in which speculators’ drive manifest itself".
In the Guide to the Merits of Commerce, he expresses disapproval of the state becoming directly involved in the economy. Al-Dimashqi also emphasizes the necessity of division of labour
for economic development
:
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
merchant from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. He is best known for being the author of Kitab al-Isharah ila Mahasin at-Tijarah wa Marifat Jayyid al-A’rad wa Kadiiha wa Ghush-ush al-Mudallisin fiha (A Guide to the Merits of Commerce and to Recognition of Both Fine and Defective Merchandise and the Swindles of Those Who Deal Dishonestly).
Almost nothing is known about al-Dimashqi’s life. He was among the Muslim writers who were influenced by Greek sources, particularly by the neo-Pythagorean Bryson of Heraclea
Bryson of Heraclea
Bryson of Heraclea was an ancient Greek mathematician and sophist who contributed to solving the problem of squaring the circle and calculating pi.-Life and work:...
.
Economic views
In contrast to many other Muslim writers, Al-Dimashqi approved of wealth for its own sake. His work praises trade as an economic activity and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the roles of supply and demandSupply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
and the uncertainty associated with them. According to Louis Baeck, professor of International Economics and Development at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), al-Dimashqi "formulated what modern economists would call price theory". In this theory, al-Dimashqi "makes a distinction between normal periods in which market prices are based on cost of production, as opposed to periods of scarcity or oversupply, in which speculators’ drive manifest itself".
In the Guide to the Merits of Commerce, he expresses disapproval of the state becoming directly involved in the economy. Al-Dimashqi also emphasizes the necessity of division of labour
Division of labour
Division of labour is the specialisation of cooperative labour in specific, circumscribed tasks and likeroles. Historically an increasingly complex division of labour is closely associated with the growth of total output and trade, the rise of capitalism, and of the complexity of industrialisation...
for economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
:
"No individual can, because of the shortness of his life span, burden himself with all industries. If he does, he may not be able to master the skills of all of them from the first to the last. Industries are all interdependent. Construction needs the carpenter and the carpenter needs the ironsmith and the ironsmith needs the miner, and all these industries need premises. People are, therefore, necessitated by force of circumstances to be clustered in cities to help each other in fulfilling their mutual needs"
See also
- Islamic economic jurisprudence
- Islamic economics in the worldIslamic economics in the worldIslamic economics in practice, or economic policies supported by self-identified Islamic groups, has varied throughout its long history. Traditional Islamic concepts having to do with economics included...
- Ibn KhaldunIbn KhaldunIbn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...