Muhammad Syukri Salleh
Islamic Development Management Project (IDMP)
Universiti Sains Malaysia

INTRODUCTION

Islamic development may sound familiar to many but Islamic development management may not. Islamic development has
appeared within at least the Muslim academic circle for already almost two decades now[1], but Islamic development
management emerged only since about two years ago, beginning in 1997. Specifically, the Islamic development
management evolved from within a group of academics at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia, under a project
called Islamic Development Management Project, or IDMP, based at the School of Social Sciences. To our knowledge,
it is the first project that deals with the new field called Islamic development management.

The IDMP has introduced the Islamic development management field to deal with more than just the Islamic development.
It believes that not only the development that has to be Islamic, but the management of the Islamic development too has
to be so. An Islamic development that is managed unIslamically would not lead to a realisation of a real Islamic development. This is indeed the core problem of Muslim countries today intending a realisation of Islamic development. While advocating and endeavouring the cause of Islamic development, they are constrained with almost the total absence of Islamically trained development managers. In many cases, there are efforts to realise Islamic development, but
conventional development managers using conventional management systems manage them. The result, understandably,
appear clearly to be much to be desired.

The IDMP at the Universiti Sains Malaysia aims, among others, at providing solutions to these problems. For this, the
IDMP makes itself clear of the answers to three fundamental questions. Firstly, the type of development to be managed.
Secondly, the meaning of Islamic development management. Thirdly, the best method in making the implementation of the
Islamic development management a reality in the present socio-economic and political reality. This short essay attempts
to briefly explain the answers to these three fundamental questions.

THE DEVELOPMENT TO BE MANAGED

Ideally, the development that is to be managed must itself be Islamic. By Islamic development we mean development
whose philosophy and methodology are not confined to scientific, empirical matters and the observable facts alone. It is
also in contrary with the anti-dogmatic, anti a priori, anti-theology and inclination to value-free stance of the conventional
development. So are the basic assumptions of the conventional development theory, be it in the neo-classical or radical
philosophy, which hold to the belief that the substructure (economy) determines the superstructure (religion, law, culture,
social and so forth)[2], that wants are unlimited while resources are scarce, that in the development process, traditional
society must be abolished[3], that the development experience of the West is the absolute method that must be imitated
by other countries wishing to develop, and that development is the ultimate goal of human life.

Instead, Islamic development goes beyond the knowledge of scientificity (daruri) and mental reasoning (aqli) to
encompass abstract knowledge (nadhari) and revealed reasoning (naqli)[4]. Islamic development is dogmatic, receptive
to the concept of a priori and theology, and intimately interwoven with Islamic values. The determining factor is the
religion, the ad-deen, or the superstructure (term used by the radical development theory). Human wants are agreed to
be unlimited, but there are ways to limit them. In spite of the acceptance of the scarcity of physical resources, from the
perspective of Tawhid, the resources are viewed as in abundance[5]. Destruction of traditional society is unacceptable
unless it contradicts Islam. The experience and methods of development of the Western countries are seen as not the
absolute methods that have to be imitated by others. Development is indeed only a means to attain Allah’s pleasure, not
the ultimate goal of human existence.

The foundation of the above beliefs lies firmly in the Islamic worldview (tasawwur), in which the concept of man as the
servant (`abdAllah) and vicegerent (khalifatullah) of Allah is the core principle. In fact, the concept of vicegerent
manifests clearly that the very nature of men is indeed compatible to the managers of the resources in this world[6].

All in all, the development to be managed is the Islamic development itself. It could be defined as a development whose
root lies in the Oneness of Allah SWT, whose ultimate aim is the pleasure of Allah SWT (mardhatillah), whose
methodology is moulded by shari’ah, and whose time scale encompasses the pre-world (the world of roh), the present
world (duniya) and the world Hereafter (akhirah).

THE MEANING OF ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

As the development must be Islamic, so is the management. Islamic development management could only be Islamic if
both the development and the management are based on Islamic doctrines. It cannot be mixed, as it would be very
confusing because, as argued above, the meaning of development in Islam has its own distinctive meaning. But what does
Islamic management mean?

Like Islamic development, the basis of Islamic management is the Oneness of Allah SWT (Tawhid) and its root lies in
the Islamic worldview. Therefore, in all aspects that relate to management, be it in the decision making process, planning,
monitoring, project implementation, communications, responsibilities between employers and employees, working ethics
and so forth, all must be based on principles and guidelines drawn by Islamic doctrines and worldview. In fact, in all
writings on Islamic management, almost none have left Tawhid from their definition of the field[7]. Mohd Affandi Hassan
(1992) even went to the extent of naming his holistic definition of Islamic management as Tawhidic approach. He says:
“Management and administration, from the tawhidic approach, is the fulfilment of the primordial contract (the amanah)
between God and man, in which man as servant of God, and His vicegerent on earth (khalifah) performs righteous
deeds (‘amal salih) based on the principles of cooperation and consultation (shura). The purpose of
management/administration is the building of a civilization based on tawhidic ethical values; thus management must, at the
same time, ensure the abolishment of corruption, mischief, and injustice (al-fasad) in order to establish ‘adl (justice)
both in organizations as well as in society. The ultimate objective of management is to attain al-falah (felicity)” (Mohd Affandi Hassan (1992:56).

From this quotation, it could be understood that the Islamic management means as follows. Firstly, the framework of
management lies in the secrets of men’s creation and the functions of men’s life as sealed in the agreement between men
and Allah SWT in the world of roh (that men are servants of Allah SWT and vicegerent on this earth). Secondly, the
methodology of Islamic management lies in the cooperation and discussions (mushawarah) embodied in the concept of
shura[8]. Thirdly, the objective of Islamic management is to uphold a just civilisation minus deeds prohibited by Allah
SWT. And fourthly, the ultimate aim of Islamic management is to attain happiness in this world and the Hereafter, the
akhirah.

If this is what Islamic management means, what is then the meaning of Islamic development management?
As development from the Islamic perspective incorporates all aspects of men’s life, from spiritual to family, society, state
and universe levels, Islamic development management therefore refers to the management of all aspects of men’s life,
either from the social, economic and political perspective, in the Islamic way. It goes beyond the conventional
management that limits itself to organisational, human resource and business management. Instead, Islamic development
management covers all men's activities, either for themselves, their family, employment and social organisations, at village,
district, state, national and international levels. It includes, for instance, such efforts of Khalifah Umar Abdul Aziz to clean
governmental instruments, as the abolition of unjust taxes. So are the efforts of Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam
Shafie and Imam Ahmad bin Hambal in their independent reformation (tajdid) works undertaken without the help of the
state; the efforts of Imam Al Ghazali in purifying the faith (aqidah) of the people of his time; the efforts of Ibnu Taimiyah
in attacking blind taqlid and pioneering ijtihad; and the efforts of Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi in purifying the teachings of
tasawwuf (Yusof Ismail 1991: 5-6). All can be regarded as Islamic development management, as long as they are based
on Islamic faith (aqidah) and worldview (tasawwur). All in all, Islamic development management covers all Islamic
management related to all aspects of men’s life, from spiritual management to the socio-economic and political
management, as well as the management of a government[9].

ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REALITY

Since Islamic development management requires both the development and management be fully Islamic, how could it be
executed in the present secularly dominant socio-economic and political reality? All over, development is being
dominated by the Western social science philosophy, with either the neo-classical philosophy that has given birth to growth and redistribution-with-growth theories, or radical philosophy that has resulted in the emergence of structuralist and dependency theories of development. Experiences such as in Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, Malaysia or at a micro level in the States of Kelantan and Terengganu[10] have all shown that liberating themselves totally from the philosophy of the
western development theories is not an easy task.

In such a situation, should an Islamic State be established first? Mawdudur Rahman and Muhammad al-Buraey (1992),
among others, agree with such a proposition. They contend that an `Islamic organisation’ (or in our context, an `Islamic
state’) must be established, before a model that includes material, spiritual, ethical and Islamic principles could be
realised[11]. So are opinions of a majority of Islamic activists such as Pan-Islamic Party (PAS) in Malaysia[12].

But in reality, even in countries that have attempted the establishment of Islamic states, Islamic development management
could not happen fully. Pakistan, for instance, has declared itself as an Islamic Republic but its development and
development management could hardly be considered as Islamic, except in the management of zakat and Islamic
banking[13]. Iran also has attempted the establishment of an Islamic Republic after the revolution in 1979. But its
Islamisation of development is said to have gradually returned to the Western version of development. In the early part
of the Islamic rule (1979-81), Iran adopts an economic theory called `divine harmony’[14]. But this has been changed
afterwards to an Indian-Soviet method[15]. And beginning in 1989, the Islamic Republic of Iran has changed its
development model to a China-Saudi Arabia model[16]. At present, it has been regarded that the Iran’s development
model is gradually moving back towards the old life style known in Iran as `Westoxification’ (Amuzegar 1993:328-329).
The Pan-Islamic Party (PAS) too, now in the second term of its rule in the State of Kelantan in Malaysia, attempts the
establishment of an Islamic state. But its development could also hardly be considered as a total Islamic development, let
alone its development management. With varieties of constraints, especially political constraints it has to face as an
opposition party, Kelantan with all its efforts and enthusiasm could only realise some aspects of development, but still
has to be within the framework of the dominant conventional development[17].

All the above examples exhibit that in the present socio-economic and political reality, it is not easy to destroy a secular
state and replace it fully with an Islamic one. Similarly, in the present socio-economic and political reality, it is not easy to
destruct completely the conventional development paradigm and replace it with Islamic development. Moreover in
managing development, it is not easy to manage development Islamically in its ideal form because it is not easy to
establish an Islamic state, Islamic management and Islamic development in a complete and comprehensive manner.

However, the argument on these difficulties does not in the least reflect a pessimistic view. In the present socio-economic
and political reality, opportunity in realising Islamic development management is not as dark as above. Though without a
complete Islamic state and development, Islamic development management could certainly be realised, though not in its
total ideal. In the present socio-economic and political reality, Islamic development management could begin with the
management of the existing conventional development without having to wait for a total Islamic State and development.
Managing development in the Islamic way at the moment has to mean managing the unIslamic development towards an
Islamic one. The main task of Islamic development management at this stage is to Islamise development itself. In other
words, it has to be Islamising development rather than establishing Islamic development. It has to be evolutionary rather
than revolutionary, adopting an accommodative method, minus apologetic and permissive tendencies. What is necessary
is the wisdom in injecting Islamic principles with dynamic and flexible characters, as long as they are compatible with Islam.

All these necessitate a systematic and concrete plan and strategy. It cannot be done in an ad-hoc, occasional or
impromptu manner. It has to have a blue-print or a master plan. As Islamic development is an all-embracing
development, the blue-print and master plan must incorporate both domains in an integrated way. Material development must be developed within the context of spiritual development. Managing spiritual development means managing men’s iman (faith) and nafs (desire). The iman must be accelerated from the lowest to the highest iman[18]. So is the
nafs[19]. With these accelerations of iman and nafs, material development will not be having side-effects as being experienced by the conventional development. In fact, the spiritual development as the foundation could culminate in a concrete and progressive material development. This means that the plan must be integrated into a master plan. And
with this integrated master plan, the conventional development could be managed till eventually a complete development
is Islamised.

CONCLUSION

Ideally, Islamic development management means managing Islamic development using Islamic management methods. But
within the present socio-economicand political realities, this is not easy to realise. Conventional development and
management are still dominant, while the Islamic State needed to enhance Islamic development and management does
not really exist in its real sense. The Islamic development management, therefore, has to be realised by accommodative and evolutionary approach. Firstly it has to manage development based on conventional ideology, so that gradually the
development could be Islamised. For this, a systematic and dynamic plan and strategy has to be formulated, for instance
by formulating a master plan and a blue-print that serves as a guideline towards the realisation of a complete Islamic
development management.

NOTES

[1]Among the earliest literature published on Islamic (economic) development was Khurshid Ahmad’s article, published in 1979. See
Khurshid Ahmad 1979.
[2]For an Islamic critique of this, in particular of S.Husin Ali’s opinion, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1987:69-70.
[3]Neo-classical theorist Rostow (1960) for example, believes that all societies wishing to develop must pass the following five stages:
traditional society, pre-requisite to take-off, take-off, maturity and mass consumption. Radical theorist Karl Marx suggests the following
three stages: pre-capitalist society (charaterised by feudalism and Asiatic mode of production without class conflict and therefore static),
capitalist society, and post—capitalist society, that is socialist and communist. In both development ideologies, traditional society
(Rostow’s term) or pre-capitalst society (Marx’s term) must be abolished if they wish to develop. The climax of Rostow’s and Marx’s
development is mass consumption and communist society respectively.
[4]For further discussion on these, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1987:20-48.
[5]Islamic development believes that, for instance,Allah SWT has determined the provision (rizq) of every creation, and the measurement
to satisfaction (qanaah) is the barakah, not the quantity.
[6]See, for instance, An Nahl 16:10, 14 and Al-Mulk 67:15.
[7]See, for instance, Ahmad Ibrahim Abu Sin (1991), Yusof Ismail(1991), Mohd Affandi Hassan (1992), Mustafa Haji Daud (1994), Mohd
Shahar bin Sidek (1996), and Wan Liz Ozman Wan Omar (1996).
[8]Mohd Affandi Hassan (1992) presents his management by shura model in the final part of his writing. See page 59-74.
[9]However, there is also opinion that the management thinking only refers to the rigorous, careful and practical execution of political
philosophy. Management is said to function in formulating plans and arrangements, giving directives and guidelines, and implementing
and supervising what is decided by politics. For an example, see the opinion of Mustafa Haji Daud (1994:18) as extracted from Ahmad
Ibrahim Abu Sin (1991:283-290).
[10]For a discussion on the efforts attempted by the States of Kelantan and Terengganu, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1995, 1996b and
1998.
[11]Mawdudur Rahman and Muhammad al-Buraey (1992) said so when suggesting the implementation of a model to incorporate Islamic
doctrines in organisational personnel, motivation and performance evaluation. This Islamic organisation refers to an economic
organisation that follows Qur’anic and Sunnatic principles fully.
[12]For a detailed discussion on this, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1996a.
[13]Author’s communication with Deputy Auditor-General of Republic of Pakistan who is also a well-known Islamic economist,
Muhammad Akram Khan, March 1998.
[14]The basic premise of the `divine harmony’ theory goes beyond the concept of scarcity and the lack of resource allocation of the
Western economic theory. The `divine harmony’ theory instead believes in the concept of plenty and the responsibility of income
redistribution. The theory, however, was short-lived, similar to the political career of its writer, Abol Hassan Bani-Sadr.
[15]This India-Soviet method was characterised by economic insularity and inclination to self-reliance, state domination over the
economy, rejection of consumerism, and emphasis on import substitution instead of export.
[16]This model is characterised by nationalistic/pragmatic elements, in which capitalist, free market and market economy co-exist with
non-capitalist ideology as an absolute reference and political beacon.
[17]Among the constraints are conceptual deficiencies, political constraints, lack of experience, insufficient assistance from the central
PAS, absence of Islamic development experts, State-Federal conflicts, and the limitation of Federal Constitutions. For a detailed
discussion on this, see Muhammad Syukri Salleh 1995.
[18]Iman could be divided into five categories. The lowest is iman taqlid, followed by iman ilm, iman `ayan, iman haq and the highest,
iman haqiqat.
[19]Nafs could be divided into seven categories. The lowest is nafs ammarah, followed by lawwamah, mulhamah, mutmainnah,
radhiyyah, mardhiyyah and the highest is kamilah.

REFERENCES

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Yusof Ismail, 1991. Mengurus Secara Islam: Model dan Prinsip-Prinsip Pengurusan Islam Bagi Individu dan
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