What the study found
The study finds that the meaning of “just price” changed across Islamic intellectual history. In Ibn Taymiyya’s writing, it combined consent, fairness in exchange, and attention to market structures that affect bargaining power. Ottoman Hanafi jurists later recast it in more prescriptive and distributive terms, focusing on profit regulation, provisioning, and social equity.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that this comparison helps clarify the moral and institutional foundations of market exchange in Islamic thought. They also argue that the Ottoman version reflects a historically contingent administrative ethics of market governance rather than a uniquely “Islamic” economic logic.
What the researchers tested
The paper compares the writings of Ibn Taymiyya, who died in 1328, with those of Ottoman Hanafi jurists. It draws on recent historiography and underused primary sources, and it includes a comparative glance at Western scholasticism.
What worked and what didn't
The comparison shows a contraction in the conceptual scope of just price from Ibn Taymiyya to the Ottomans. Ibn Taymiyya’s account joined normative and analytical claims, while the Ottoman approach emphasized regulation and distribution more than processual fairness and bargaining asymmetries. The abstract also says the Western scholastic tradition followed a broadening trajectory, in contrast to the Ottoman one.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not give detailed case studies, specific texts, or methods beyond comparison of writings and use of sources. It also does not state empirical limits in the available summary. The comparison is framed as historical and interpretive, so the conclusions apply to the traditions discussed rather than to all Islamic economic thought.
Key points
- The paper says the meaning of “just price” changed from Ibn Taymiyya to Ottoman Hanafi jurists.
- Ibn Taymiyya linked just price to consent, fairness in exchange, and bargaining power.
- Ottoman scholars reframed just price around profit regulation, provisioning, and social equity.
- The authors describe this as a contraction in conceptual scope from Ibn Taymiyya to the Ottomans.
- The abstract contrasts the Ottoman trajectory with a broadening trend in Western scholasticism.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Just price shifts from process fairness to market governance in Ottoman thought
- Authors:
- Seven Ağır
- Institutions:
- Middle East Technical University
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-22
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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