Islahi explores the state of Arab Muslim economic thinking in the 19th century. Investigating the works of nine distinguished Arab writers from various fields, Islahi concludes that the intellectual, economic and Islamic awakening seen in the 19th century paved the way for the development of Islamic economics in the 20th century.

Shah Wali-Allah was a great sufi scholar born in the Indian Sub-Continent in the 1700's. He had a deep understanding of Qur'an, Hadith and Fiqh. This book is unique as it focussing on Shah Wali-Allah's thought from an economic perspective. Chapters discuss his economic ideas, his contribution to Tadbir al-Manzil (household management), money and interest, as well as public finance and socio-economic development.

This valuable work presents Ibn Taimiyah's thoughts on the concept of Islamic economics, the state in the economy, on public finance, money, interest, prices, partnership, and profit-sharing, and offers a comparison of his ideas with those of some medieval scholars in Europe, along with a study of his influence on Islamic thinkers in later periods.