Why Islamic Digital Economy?
This afternoon, I have participated in this session moderated by Hizam of MDEC. I was representing Shariah mind in this session. The other two panelists were representing the VC investor and IDE entreprenuer respectively.
I think everyone enjoyed the session very much. I like this kind of topic because it leads to the future.
Hizam has somehow asked me a very difficult question that is "some people say that doing Shariah compliance way will add more work and perhaps cost". He wanted my honest comment.
I said that may be true. However, we need to trade off between the pros and cons. In my view, Shariah compliance appeals to wider segment of the society; provide necessary oversight for real economy; and to a large extent in compliance with sustainability agenda. The latter is very close to the hearts of the millinnia. This is value proposition of doing halal economy.
I was asked to conclude towards the end of the session. My hard conviction is that (Islamic) digital economy is not only of maqasid Shariah, but also humane. Also, I took the opportunity to bring the proper meaning of "halalan tayyiban". For me, halal is known and obvious to everyone throughout ages as this has always been a fixed knowledge and phenomenon. However, what is more important is the qualifier of "tayyiban" whose funtion is to qualify and give the real character of halal.
Tayyib is anything that could bring good and benefit to humanity. By this definition, tayyib, unlike halal, is always a changing and varying standard. It changes with the change of variables of life from cleanliness, standard, quality, tolerance level, disclosure and integrity, etc.
Perhaps digital economy for halal economy is the most effective way of doing economy at this time and in this era. However, be mindful that you need to widen your understanding of digital economy. Many view and understand digital economy in a restrictive manner unfortunately.
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