Quranic Principles of Economic Deterrence in the Face of Economic Blockade

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student of comparative interpretation of Al-Mustafa community, Gorgan branch and associate professor of Sharia Faculty, Balkh University-Afghanistan

2 Head of the Qur'an Interpretation and Sciences Department. Al-Mustafa International University. Gorgan. Iran

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explain and extract the Quranic principles of economic deterrence in confronting economic blockades and to provide a framework for reducing economic vulnerability while strengthening the economic power of Islamic societies.
Method: Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology with an inferential approach, the research draws upon the verbal and rational indications and the governing logic of the verses of the Holy Quran to analyze the foundations and principles of economic deterrence. Inspired by the logic of the “Irhab” (deterrence) verse (Surah An-Anfal: 60) and within the Quranic semantic system, the concept of economic deterrence is examined.
Findings: Findings demonstrate that although the Holy Quran does not explicitly use the term “economic deterrence,” it articulates a coherent set of strategic principles categorized into three levels: Cognitive/Insight Principles (Monotheism and Economic Independence); Structural Principles (Prevention of Economic Harm, Reliance on Domestic Production, Production System Dynamism and Empowerment, and Industry-Centered Production); and Defensive Principles (Possession of Economic Power, Economic Threat, Retaliation in Kind / Tit-for-Tat, and Destruction of the Attacker's Economic Resources). This ensemble of principles solidifies the foundations of economic power and raises the cost of imposing economic blockades for aggressive actors.
Conclusion: The Holy Quran provides a comprehensive, multi-tiered strategic framework that reinforces economic resilience and deterrence, enabling target societies to dissuade aggressive actors from imposing or maintaining economic blockades through threats of punishment, denial of objectives, or mitigation of potential damages.

Keywords


  1. al-Marāghī, Aḥmad ibn Muṣṭafā, Tafsīr al-Marāghī (Commentary of al-Marāghī), Egypt: Muṣṭafā al-Bābī al-Ḥalabī, 1365 AH (1945–46 CE).
  2. al-Zuḥaylī, Wahbah, al-Tafsīr al-Wasīṭ (The Intermediate Commentary), Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1422 AH (2001–02 CE).
  3. ʿAmīd, Ḥasan, Farhang-i ʿAmīd (ʿAmīd Dictionary), Tehran: Amīr Kabīr, 1362 SH (1983–84 CE).
  4. Āqābakhshī, ʿAlī, Farhang-i ʿUlūm-i Siyāsī (Dictionary of Political Sciences), Tehran: Iran Information and Scientific Documentation Center, 1376 SH (1997–98 CE).
  5. Balkhī, Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (Commentary of Muqātil ibn Sulaymān), Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1423 AH (2002–03 CE).
  6. Darwīsh, Muḥyī al-Dīn, Iʿrāb al-Qurʾān al-Karīm wa Bayānuh (The Grammatical Analysis and Explanation of the Holy Qurʾān), Homs: al-Irshād, 1415 AH (1994–95 CE).
  7. Dehkhodā, ʿAlī-Akbar, Lughatnāmah (Dictionary), Tehran: University of Tehran Press, 1377 SH (1998–99 CE).
  8. Dougherty, James E., and Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Nazariyyahā-yi Mutaʿāriḍ dar Rawābiṭ-i Bayn al-Milal (Contending Theories of International Relations), trans. ʿAlī Riḍā Ṭayyib and Vaḥīd Bozorgī, Tehran: Qūmis, 1396 SH (2017–18 CE).
  9. Eftekhārī, Aṣghar, Muqāwamat dar Islām: Naẓariyyah wa Algū (Resistance in Islam: Theory and Model), Tehran: Andīshah-Sāzān-i Nūr, 1399 SH (2020–21 CE).
  10. Faḍl Allāh, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Min Waḥy al-Qurʾān (From the Revelation of the Qurʾān), Beirut: Dār al-Malāk, 1419 AH (1998–99 CE).
  11. Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Muḥammad, Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb (The Keys to the Unseen), Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH (1999–2000 CE).
  12. Forrer, John,. “Economic sanctions: intensifying a vital tool of foreign policy”, Washington: Atlantic Council, pp. 1-10, 2017.
  13. George, Alexander L. Smoke, Richard, Deterrence in American foreign policy: theory and practice, New York: Columbia University Press: 1974.
  14. Ḥabībullāhī, Mahdī, Naẓariyyah-yi Bāzdārindigī-yi Hastehī: az Tūrī tā ʿAmal (Nuclear Deterrence Theory: From Theory to Practice), Rahbord, no. 34, pp. 49–57, 1383 SH (2004–05 CE).
  15. Ḥaddādī, Mahdī, Taḥrīmhā-yi Bayn al-Milalī: Abzār-i Siyāsat-i Millī yā Ḍamānat-i Ijrāyī-yi Bayn al-Milalī (International Sanctions: An Instrument of National Policy or an International Enforcement Mechanism), Ḥuqūq-i Khuṣūṣī, no. 3, pp. 109–128, 1382 SH (2003–04 CE).
  16. Ḥājī, Jaʿfar ʿAbbās, Falsafah-yi Fiqhī-yi Iqtiṣād-i Bāzdārindah wa Muqāwamatī (Jurisprudential Philosophy of a Deterrent and Resistance Economy), trans. ʿAbbāsʿAlī Barātī et al., Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1396 SH (2017–18 CE).
  17. Ḥaqqī, Ismāʿīl, Rūḥ al-Bayān (The Spirit of Explanation), Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, n.d.
  18. Hāshimī Rafsanjānī, Akbar, Tafsīr-i Rāhnamā (The Guiding Commentary), Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1386 SH (2007–08 CE).
  19. Holsti, K. J., Mabānī-yi Taḥlīl-i Siyāsat-i Bayn al-Milal (The Foundations of International Politics Analysis), trans. Bahrām Mustaqīmī and Masʿūd Ṭāram-Sarī, Tehran: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Publications, 1373 SH (1994–95 CE).Berger, Thomas U. “Japan in Asia: A Hard Case for Soft Power”, Published by Elsevier Limited on behalf of Foreign Policy Research Institute, Fall: p565-583, 2010.
  20. Hudson Institute. Deterrence of non-traditional nuclear actors. Washington: Office of Network Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense: 2009.
  21. Ibn al-ʿArabī, Muḥammad, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (The Legal Rulings of the Qurʾān), Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, 1408 AH (1987–88 CE).
  22. Ibn ʿĀshūr, Muḥammad ibn Ṭāhir, al-Taḥrīr wa-l-Tanwīr (The Liberation and Enlightenment), Tunis: al-Dār al-Tūnisiyyah li-l-Nashr, 1984 CE.
  23. Jaṣṣāṣ, Aḥmad, Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (The Legal Rulings of the Qurʾān), Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1405 AH (1984–85 CE).
  24. Kāẓimī, ʿAlī-Aṣghar, Naqsh-i Qudrat dar Jāmiʿah wa Rawābiṭ-i Bayn al-Milal (The Role of Power in Society and International Relations), Tehran: Qūmis, 1369 SH (1990–91 CE).
  25. Khādimī, Mūsā, Tahdīdāt-i Iqtiṣād-i Millī (Threats to the National Economy), Tehran: National Defense University Press, 1390 SH (2011–12 CE).
  26. Khodādādī, Muḥammad Ismāʿīl, Mabānī-yi ʿIlm-i Siyāsat (Foundations of Political Science), Qom: Nashr-i Yāqūt, 1381 SH (2002–03 CE).
  27. Kim, Dong Jung. Economic Deterrence Through Economic Engagement, Foreign Policy Analysis, Vol 15, No. 2, pp. 176-186, 2019.
  28. Lawrence, Freedman, Bāzdārindigī (Deterrence), trans. Farībā Pālīzī, Tehran: Nashr-i Muhājir, 1386 SH (2007–08 CE).
  29. Lopez George and Cortright David A. “The Sanctions era: An Alternative to Military Intervention”, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 65-85, 1995.
  30. Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, al-Amthal fī Tafsīr Kitāb Allāh al-Munazzal (The Exemplary Commentary on the Revealed Book of God), Qom: Madrasah-yi Imām ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, 1421 AH (2000–01 CE).
  31. Mazarr, Michael. J. «Understanding Deterrence». RAND Corporation, 2018, pp. 1-14.
  32. Mughnīyah, Muḥammad Jawād, al-Tafsīr al-Kāshif (The Revealing Commentary), Qom: Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH (2003–04 CE).
  33. Muqaddas Ardabīlī, Aḥmad, Zubdat al-Bayān fī Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (The Essence of Explanation Concerning the Legal Rulings of the Qurʾān), Tehran: Murtazavī Bookstore, n.d.
  34. Qannūjī, Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān, Fatḥ al-Bayān fī Maqāṣid al-Qurʾān (The Clear Explanation of the Objectives of the Qurʾān), Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1420 AH (1999–2000 CE).
  35. Qarāʾatī, Muḥsin, Tafsīr-i Nūr (The Light Commentary), Tehran: Markaz-i Farhangī-yi Dars-hāyī az Qurʾān, 1388 SH (2009–10 CE).
  36. Qurṭubī, Muḥammad, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (The Comprehensive Commentary on the Legal Rulings of the Qurʾān), Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah, 1384 AH (1964–65 CE).
  37. Quṭb, Sayyid, Fī Ẓilāl al-Qurʾān (In the Shade of the Qurʾān), Beirut: Dār al-Shurūq, 1425 AH (2004–05 CE).
  38. Rāghib Iṣfahānī, Muḥammad, al-Mufradāt fī Gharīb al-Qurʾān (Lexicon of Qurʾānic Terms), Beirut: Dār al-Qalam, 1412 AH (1991–92 CE).
  39. Rahimi, A. Husseini, S. K. & Lakzaʾi, N. The Principles of Passive Defense from the Holy Quran's Viewpoint and their Deterrent Role in Confronting Military Threats. Journal of Islamic Political Studies, 5(9), 7-36, 2023.
  40. Riḍāʾī Iṣfahānī, Muḥammad ʿAlī, Tafsīr-i Qurʾān-i Mehr (Mehr Commentary of the Qurʾān), Qom: Research Institute of Qurʾānic Interpretation and Sciences, 1387 SH (2008–09 CE).
  41. Snyder, Glenn H. “Deterrence and Power” Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 163-178, 1960.
  42. Sulṭān ʿAlīshāh, Sulṭān Muḥammad, Bayān al-Saʿādah fī Maqāmāt al-ʿIbādah (The Explanation of Felicity in the Stations of Worship), Beirut: Muʾassasah al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1408 AH (1987–88 CE).
  43. Ṭabarānī, Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad, al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr (The Major Commentary), Jordan: Dār al-Kitāb al-Thaqāfī, 2008 CE.
  44. Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn, al-Mīzān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān (The Balance in the Interpretation of the Qurʾān), Qom: Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, 1417 AH (1996–97 CE).
  45. Ṭabrisī, Faḍl ibn Ḥasan, Jawāmiʿ al-Jawāmiʿ (Compendium of Compendia), Qom: Qom Seminary, 1412 AH (1991–92 CE).
  46. Ṭanṭāwī, Sayyid Muḥammad, al-Tafsīr al-Wasīṭ li-l-Qurʾān al-Karīm (The Intermediate Commentary on the Holy Qurʾān), Cairo: Dār Nahḍat Miṣr, 1997 CE.
  47. Ṭūsī, Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan, al-Tibyān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān (The Explanation in the Interpretation of the Qurʾān), Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
  48. ʿUmar, Aḥmad Mukhtār, Muʿjam al-Lughah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Muʿāṣirah (Dictionary of Contemporary Arabic), Cairo: ʿĀlam al-Kutub, 1429 AH (2008–09 CE).
  49. Weber, Max.” Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology”, trans. Ephraim Fischoff et al. Berkeley, CA: University of California Pres: 1987.
  50. Ya’u, Abba, et al. “Effects of Economic Deterrence Theory and Environmental Regulation on Tax Evasion: Evidence from Energy Sector”, International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Vol. 13, No. 5, pp. 289-302, 2023.
  51. Yong, Li. Industrialization as the Driver of Sustained Prosperity. United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2020.
  52. Zarshānāsī, Shahrīyār, Vāzhah-Nāmah-yi Siyāsī–Farhangī (Political-Cultural Dictionary), Qom: Nashr-i Maʿārif, 1398 SH (2019–20 CE).