Comparative Analysis between Behavioral Economics and Islamic Maqasidic Economics

Abstract This paper investigates the phenomenon of comparative consumption—the tendency of individuals to shape their financial behavior based on social comparison—through a dual analytical lens: behavioral economics and the Qur’anic Maqasidic (purposive) perspective. Drawing upon theories such as relative utility and social comparison, the study argues that much of modern financial decision-making is motivated by positional competition rather than genuine need. From a Qur’anic viewpoint, this reflects a moral distortion of consumption, diverging from the objectives (maqasid) of balance, moderation, and justice that regulate human relations with wealth. Through a comparative analytical approach combining quantitative and qualitative analyses of Qur’anic terms related to consumption (e.g., israf, tabdhir, qasd, qiwam), the study constructs an ethical model of “value-centered comparison.” Findings reveal that the Qur’an redefines financial rationality through a spiritual equilibrium that liberates human desire from social pressure and redirects it toward moral purpose. The proposed framework—“The Behavioral Maqasidic Model of Consumption”—offers an integrative paradigm for behavioral finance that reconciles psychological realism with ethical sustainability.