Four Generations of Islamic Economists أربعة أجيال من الاقتصاديين الإسلاميين

The present discussion falls under the broad category of modern history of Islamic Economic Thought which needs to be documented. As far as the earlier history of Islamic economic thought is concerned, we have several works starting from the first century Hijrah to the 9th century Hijrah (corresponding 7th century to 15th century Christian era), the age of Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqrizi. What was the situation after that period, there was no work to answer this. First time this writer tried to explore the subsequent centuries. After investigation of 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, I am planning to undertake the 19th century. The 20th century will be a subject next to it, insha-Allah. The topic of present discussion and participants’ valuable observations are expected to provide guidance how to deal with the twentieth century development of Islamic economics. It may be used a synopsis for Ph D. works. Another reason for raising this topic is to present a summary account of the modern history of the subject, and to discuss the question who may be considered as the pioneers of Islamic economics. At certain occasions it has been noted that someone, unaware of the modern development of Islamic Economics, mentions his favorite celebrity as “father of Islamic economics” or “pioneer of Islamic Economics” while many seniors are ignored.The present classification of generations and sorting the features of their work is important to understand the development of modern Islamic Economics since its inception during the early 20th century. --