Muslim and Debt: 5 Practical Steps to Freedom from Debt

What is lacking in both behavioral economics and personal finance is the role of the soul or spirituality which is a central theme in a monotheistic worldview. What constitutes a 'rational' economic behavior? What is the core element of psychological and behavioral aspects of an economic decision-making? Is it the 'mind'? How about the notion of a 'soul'? What is the ultimate goal of managing our personal finance? It is mere financial freedom? In a bid to fill the theoretical lacuna in both behavioral economics and personal finance, this book attempts to examine the case of debt management in behavioral economics and personal finance through the lenses of Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah which is a classical Islamic text on supplications. In this book, it is argued that by advancing the concept of homo islamicus and asserting the role of the soul in explaining human behaviors, the monotheistic worldview of Islam can shed more lights on the roots of economic or financial decisions, such as incurring debt, that are to be made by an economic agent. Inferred from this Islamic text on supplications, five (5) practical steps to freedom from debt are elucidated at the end of the book.