Gold Dinar?... an alternative currency for ALL.

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Money plays a vital role to the economy of any country, not only for providing a medium of exchange but also for the basic survival of the economy of the country. Traditionally, many things have been used by man to accommodate trade and be used as money such as sea shells, gold, silver, special type of stones and so on. Currently the world is using the paper money as the official medium of exchange between individuals and institutions. So far the system has managed to survive many financial crises and it seems to be in use for many years to come. Unfortunately, the paper money system does have its flaws including some that make it an unacceptable medium in the eyes of Islam. These flaws are shared here along with an alternative system (Gold Dinar) that can be used by the world communities as a sustainable one for all. This new system is one that is sure to be just and also in accordance with the Shari’ah standard.

 

Shari'ah Response to Fiat Money

 

• The introduction of paper money has led to the problem of instability of currency that did not exist with the usage of the gold standard. The The production of gold was quite stable and it then automatically guaranteed stability.

 

• Paper money unfortunately can be created anytime based on the decision of the government. This is what makes it so unstable unreliable as a medium exchange. With an ounce of gold could buy the same amount of goods over an extended period of time whereas with a twenty dollar note may not be able to enjoy the same privilege.

 

• The government decides the money matters of a country and is also responsible for increasing or decreasing the value of its currency. For example, a country may require more money to finance all of its programs. On the other hand, the country might be spiraling into a depression, which will result in reduced public spending.

 

Significance in Gold Currency (Dinar) 

Most Islamic scholars asserted that, the usage of fiat money as a medium of exchange should be replaced by another medium that would be fair and just;preferably gold. One advantage would be that the government will not be able to exercise total control over it as is the case of paper money. The government will no longer be able to issue more gold than is available as was the case with the paper currency where the government can print as much currency as it wishes. After all, how much will it cost to print a piece of paper? The value of gold will only change when a new gold mine is found, but that too will not be a severe change. Moreover; the value of gold will eventually stabilize after a period of time.

• A second advantage of gold is that, there will be no Riba al- Fadhuly (interest with extra commodity) as the government will no longer be able to fully influence the circulation of gold or its creation. However, the chance of exploitation will still occur because the gold coin may be debased. Debasement of a gold coin would mean that, it will have less gold in it than is stated on the coin.


• This form of exploitation was quite common during the days when the gold coin was in use. The prince or king of a place would reduce the amount of gold in the coin and cheat his people. He would then keep the extra amount in the royal treasury for his own personal use and comfort. Hence; if a coin stated that, it was a 1.00 ounce coin, in reality it may have contained about 0.8 of an ounce.


• This issue must be resolved before we decide to use the gold Dinar again as it is not much different from the exploitation that one suffers at the hands of paper money. Moreover; the whole purpose of Dinar or gold coin would then be destroyed.

• A solution to this could be an auditing body that would inspect the gold coins to check whether they have the stated amount of gold in them or not. This is just like the quality control department in some firms, which check whether the quality of their goods is up to the standard or not.

• The Muslim countries will be using a currency that will be acceptable to all. The countries dealing with the Muslim countries will know that the gold in itself has value and will not worry about its depreciation or vice versa. This will result in a lot of trade among the Islamic countries and also the rest of the world.
• It will encourage trade and commerce among the Muslim nations. Even though there are many Muslim nations in the world, who have a very low level of trade and commerce exist among them. A single currency will make it easier for the Muslim countries to trade with one another and thus bring them closer in line with the broad principles of Ukhwah (brotherhood).
• By fostering closer ties among the Muslim nations and also better trade relations, the Muslim countries will no longer be as dependant on other non-Muslim countries as they currently are.

• Presently, some Arab countries sell oil in US Dollars as they feel secure knowing that it will not lose as much through depreciation than other countries. These countries can then revert to the Islamic Dinar and ask for payments in that currency. At one hand, they will benefit because, there is a very low chance that the gold coin will lose value. On the other hand, it will help the Muslim countries as a whole by ensuring that the rest of the world will use their currency. Hence, the Islamic Dinar will make the Muslim countries financially stronger and will alleviate their current plight.

Final Remarks

The concept of Islamic Dinar is not new and was in use long before the paper currency came into existence. The inherent flaws in fiat currency makes it unsuitable for the use as a medium of exchange and hence needs to be rejected.

A viable alternative would be to revert to the gold standard and use gold coin that we can name the “Islamic Dinar”. There are numerous benefits associated with the usage of this mode of currency if implemented successfully. Those of importance for the Muslim world are the factors that it will help the Muslim countries unite; make them stronger financially and also aid in increase trade between them. The Muslim countries will have to join hands in this effort to create the Islamic Dinar which will not only provide the world with economic stability but will also be responsible for bringing the Muslim world closer together. Although, Malaysia together with few other Muslim Nations struggle hard to make the dream comes true, but may not be accurately possible unless all Muslim nations are united to achieve the goal and hence, the unity among Muslim countries is essential or rather the foundation for success.