Islamic Economic Theory

The primary right to wealth is enjoyed by "the factors of production." But "the factors of production'' are not specified or technically defined, nor is their share in wealth determined in exactly the same way as is done under the Capitalist system of economy. In fact, the two ways are quite distinct. From the Islamic point of view, the actual factors of production are three instead of being four:-

1. Capital: That is, those means of production which cannot be used in the process of production until and unless during this process they are either wholly consumed or completely altered in form, and which, therefore, cannot be let or leased (for example, liquid money or food stuff etc.)
2. Land: That is, those means of production, which are so, used in the process of production that their original and external form remains unaltered, and which can hence be let or leased (for example, lands, houses, machines etc.).

3. Labor: That is, human exertion, whether of the bodily organs or of the mind or of the heart. This exertion thus includes organization and planning too. Whatever "wealth" is produced by the combined action of these three factors would be primarily distributed over these three in this manner: one share of it would go to Capital in the form of profit (and not in the form of interest); the second share would go to Land in the form of rent, and the third share would be given to Labor in the form of wages.

Source: Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani, Meezan Bank’s Guide to Islamic Banking.