The current world business meltdown: Islamic religion as a regulator

Purpose - This paper aims to provide an account of how Islam regulates the processes and interactions in areas of the economy and trade. It seeks to provide insights on business ethics and social responsibility from the perspective of the Islamic religion. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of literature on the two issues business ethics and social responsibility is carried out. The various arguments advanced here rest on the teachings of the holy book of Islam (The Quran) and the teachings of the Prophet of Islam (Mohammed). Findings - For Muslims, ethics in business may only be obtained if one has complete faith in God. From the perspective of the Quranic revelations, it is apparent that Islam has given the solution for ethical problems and the religion of Islam teaches about good morals and ethics in a business life. Research limitations/implications - The paper can be enhanced and extended further to examine the reality of business ethic conduct and social responsibility in Muslim countries. Practical implications - The existence of irregularity in the spheres of honesty and transparency (i.e. information), and the existence of uncontrolled greed have led to the deterioration of morals in business dealings. The world has an opportunity to share information and learn. Originality/value - The paper provides good information on the two issues of business ethics and social responsibility particularly from the view point of Islam. This is very important since the provided insights will add to the body of knowledge in those areas in business. Theoriginality of the paper is based on the careful interpretation of some Quranic verses and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. It can be a good source of information for persons who have business dealings in Muslim countries.