Islamic HRM: Systematic Review and Practical Implications

Background and Objectives

With the advent of globalization, an amalgamation of working practices in business is witnessed where Muslims and the West come together under one roof for business matters. When two different cultures are present, there are differences in attitudes toward business perspectives and in how business matters are handled within each culture. The nature and contents of management are distinct for the two cultures and must be managed effectively so that these differences do not adversely affect employees and their performance.

The following paper presents a systematic review of human resource management (HRM) through an Islamic lens in order to provide a research agenda and practical implications for the modern world. The basic Islamic understanding of HRM practices that would be useful for today's modern business systems is reflected in this review.

The systematic review's objective is to evaluate human resource management through an Islamic lens so that management practices can be scrutinized in the context of Islamic culture and considered for application in today's world. Since collaboration among different cultures is a requirement of current times for innovation purposes, diversity across cultures has become a central concern. Islamic human resource management's role is therefore appraised through this systematic review of previous studies to examine how these principles function in both Muslim and non-Muslim contexts.

Methodology and Data Sources

A systematic review from several databases was conducted between 17 March and 18 March 2021. All aspects of human resource management and Islamic culture were included so that different authors' perspectives across different years could be surveyed. A careful selection of studies was made so that identical ones could be excluded, keeping the data precise and free of repetition.

Study eligibility was based on the inclusion of research published no earlier than the year 2000, and all included studies were published in English. Studies were also included based on a selected keyword search. Those studies that were excluded were off-topic and did not match the keyword results. Selected studies had to be relevant to the review's stated objective.

Research articles were drawn from numerous sources, including Personnel Review (three articles), International Review of Management and Marketing (two articles), and additional sources such as the African Journal of Business and Management, Journal of Islamic Business and Economic Review, Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Bangladesh Journal of Islamic Thought, Journal of International Management Studies, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, International Journal of Islamic Business and Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Business Administration, University of Haripur Journal of Management, The Dialogue, Research Gate, European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Qudus International Journal of Islamic Studies, Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, Purushartha: A Journal of Management, Ethics and Spirituality, International Journal of Development Research, Research Journal Al-Basirah, Al-Idah, Business and Economic Review, Asian Social Science, Journal of Entrepreneur Education, Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, and Journal of Managerial Sciences.

Extended research was also conducted: cited articles found at the end of selected studies were retrieved for an expanded view of scholarly opinions. Many articles were selected through this snowball approach because they proved relevant to the research paper's focus.

Possible bias in the selected studies was addressed by omitting identical research and studies older than the year 2000. It was determined that studies predating this year would be outdated and might not reflect views relevant to today's business world and contemporary notions of Islamic human resources. Excluding such studies was therefore considered an appropriate step toward reducing the influence of potentially dated authorial perspectives.

Data were collected through a keyword search. The keywords used were: "Islam and human resource," "Islam and human resource management," "Islamic human resource," "Islamic human resource management," "Islamic culture and human resource management," "teachings of Islam and HRM," "Islamic HRM and modern business culture," "Quran-based HRM," and "Western culture and Islamic human resource management."

Data analysis was conducted by formulating a table and narrative summaries of the selected studies. The systematic review of findings was carried out using narrative synthesis.

Results: Summary of Selected Studies

The search across all databases yielded 578 research articles. Duplicate articles were excluded, as were those older than the year 2000. The relevant studies are presented below in chronological order so that an overview of Islamic HRM perspectives over time can be demonstrated for deeper understanding. A detailed discussion of extracted themes follows the table.

Hashim, J. (2008) — Purpose: To recognize the salient features of Islamic HRM for better HR management by non-Muslim managers. Key findings: The quantitative study revealed that Islamic parameters were highly correlated with increased job satisfaction and commitment among employees. This information is potentially useful for non-Muslim managers overseeing Muslim employees in multinational corporations (MNCs).

Abbasi, A.S., Rehman, K. & Bibi, A. (2010) — Purpose: To understand the Islamic model of management. Key findings: Results revealed that Islam provides a complete guideline package for today's businesses and that this model can be adopted by any kind of business.

Ali, A.J. (2010) — Purpose: To interpret whether Islamic HR perspectives are sufficient to manage the evolving human resource landscape in the present world. Key findings: The article draws on examples from Judaism and Christianity to elaborate on Islamic HR perceptions. Challenges are outlined that require further research and practical steps for resolution.

Branine, M. & Pollard, D. (2010) — Purpose: To explore the nature and contents of Islamic management practices and their direct implications for HRM in Arab countries. Key findings: Islam is frequently misunderstood, and its unnecessary negative image affects the business world as well. MNCs need to understand that Islam gives importance to friendship, family, and kinship. Islam is not in opposition to other religions and seeks to resolve the frictions that arise among different cultures in the workplace.

Khan, B.M., Farooq, A. & Hussain, Z. (2010) — Purpose: To understand modern-day human resource practices in accordance with Islam. Key findings: The secondary research article noted that Islam promotes the peaceful co-habitation of different cultures based on equality and justice. These and other Islamic teachings could be applied within contemporary business HRM practices to foster a nonviolent and sincere organizational culture.

Noufal, P.K. (2012) — Purpose: To reveal Islamic aspects of management that are applicable to modern business HR areas such as reward, benefits, employee engagement, and accountability. Key findings: The secondary research article revealed that Islam is based on unity, purpose, responsibility, autonomy, an all-inclusive decision-making process, trust, dialogue, cost and time efficiency, honesty, expertise, and a keen desire to learn. Leadership must be held accountable and must act solely for the welfare of followers.

Nik Ab. Rahman et al. (2013) — Purpose: To evaluate the role of theoretical frameworks of Islamic HRM practices and their effect on levels of organizational trust. Key findings: The cross-sectional research showed that Islamic HRM strongly influenced trust within the firm, although the appraisal system did not show any significant relationship.

Zaman, G., Afridi, F.K. & Saleem, M. (2013) — Purpose: To highlight Islamic features ingrained in Islamic HRM that have proven successful in the modern world. Key findings: The secondary research article revealed that Islamic HRM does not promote materialistic approaches that are prevalent in modern HRM. Instead, Islamic HRM builds an employee-employer trust relationship, which is a positive sign for organizational commitment and performance.

Malik, M., Malang-East, I. & Java-Indonesia (2014) — Purpose: To implement Quran-based HRM practices in Islamic banking, incorporating organizational justice to improve employee job satisfaction. Key findings: Quantitative results indicated that Islamic HRM practices do not directly increase job satisfaction but do so indirectly through the path of organizational justice. Justice and honesty are central to Islamic teachings, and Muslim employees have internalized these values and apply them in their work.

Sulaiman, M., Sabian, N.A.A. & Othman, A.K. (2014) — Purpose: To measure the impact of Islamic HRM on Muslim managers' organizations. Key findings: The qualitative study found that Muslim managers were well aware of Islamic HRM practices and had employed them in their organizations, yielding positive results in overall organizational functioning.

Azmi, I.A.G. (2015) — Purpose: To investigate the effect of Islamic HRM practices in a developing country. Key findings: Quantitative analysis revealed that one Islamic HRM practice—training and development—is significantly related to organizational performance, more so than Islamic recruitment and selection.

Balla et al. (2016) — Purpose: To gauge Islamic HRM's implementation in relation to employees' organizational knowledge, performance, faith, commitment, and devotion toward supervisors. Key findings: The mixed-methods research revealed that Islam provides values that, when incorporated into HRM practices, yield better organizational performance results.

Khan (2016) — Purpose: To scrutinize the effect of Islamic values on HRM in the modern world and to address contemporary workplace issues. Key findings: The article indicates that Islamic HRM, with its core principles of integrity, equal rights, obligatory emphasis, justice, and loyalty, produces positive employee motivation outcomes. Organizational success and harmony are attainable when Islamic principles are observed within organizational HRM practices.

Mahesar, H.A., Chaudhry, N.I., Ansari, M.A. & Nisar, Q.A. (2016) — Purpose: To analyze the effect of Islamic HRM on employee outcomes and engagement in Pakistani Islamic banks. Key findings: Quantitative analysis showed that Islamic HRM has a highly significant relationship with employee outcomes and is beneficial for engagement.

Saleem, Z., Malik, M.T. & Khattak, S.R. (2016) — Purpose: To highlight fundamental Islamic principles regarding HRM for employing better policies in an effective management system. Key findings: The extensive literature review found that if Islam's basic principles are instilled within HR practices, employee commitment levels are likely to increase, which is conducive to better organizational performance based on equal rights and a just reward system.

Siddique, M., Khan, A. & Zia, K. (2016) — Purpose: To compare the role of religion and culture on HR practices in Saudi Arabia and Iran. Key findings: Results indicated that religious culture directly affects policymaking within a country's businesses. Islamic influence was more pronounced in Saudi Arabia and its effects were visible in business operations, social relations, and employee-employer interactions.

Berher, L.J., Essers, C. & Himi, A. (2017) — Purpose: To examine the role of Muslim employees in Western organizations and their contribution to religious diversity in the workplace. Key findings: The qualitative study revealed that Muslim employees in Dutch organizations face religious friction. HRM policy in such firms must be designed to manage religious diversity appropriately across different cultures.

Islam, K.M.A. & Barghouthi, O.A. (2017) — Purpose: To observe the practical implications of Islam in contemporary HRM. Key findings: Drawing on verses from the Holy Quran, the article demonstrates that Islam has addressed all important HRM aspects—including hierarchy, gender, and leadership—that are practiced in today's business world.

Khan, M.T. (2017) — Purpose: To examine the role of Islamic HRM practices from the perspectives of employees, employers, and customers. Key findings: The secondary research article corroborated prior literature showing that Islamic work ethics are strongly related to job satisfaction. Compensation and salaries based on justice are more highly regarded among employees and employers and contribute more effectively to organizational harmony.

Nadvi, M.N. & bin Junaid, Z. (2017) — Purpose: To compare Islamic HRM practices and their impact on organizational commitment from the perspective of employees. Key findings: Survey results indicated that Islamic HRM produces different organizational outcomes from modern HRM. Results were framed in terms of employees' perceptions of their organizations where Islamic HRM was being practiced.

Razimi, Romle & Pakinathan (2017) — Purpose: To assess Islamic human resource practices in relation to work motivation and overall organizational performance. Key findings: Islam teaches its followers values—such as kindness, equal treatment, and respect—that are incorporated into Islamic HRM, leading to increased work motivation and improved firm performance.

Rahman (2018) — Purpose: To interpret Islamic approaches and contexts for HRM in today's organizations. Key findings: The secondary research article concluded that Islamic organizations are under Western cultural influence despite following Islamic religious parameters, even in predominantly Islamic countries.

Sabir & Bhutta (2018) — Purpose: To understand the Islamic approach to recruitment and selection in the modern business world. Key findings: The secondary research article found no substantive difference between Islamic teachings on recruitment—based on proficiency, justice, honesty, humbleness, and patience—and contemporary HRM practices.

Uyun, Q. & Muafi (2018) — Purpose: To measure the influence of Islamic HRM practices on organizational learning and overall social, environmental, and religious performance. Key findings: Quantitative results showed that Islamic principles positively impact organizational learning and social, environmental, and religious engagement.

Abbazi, U. & Zarqan, I.A. (2019) — Purpose: To understand the relationship between Islamic teachings and HRM in addressing current human resource challenges. Key findings: Statistical results demonstrated that all basic HR aspects, when followed according to Islamic principles, yield better outcomes in terms of job satisfaction and organizational trust. A positive relationship was found between trust and the firm's reward system.

Chowdhury, A.H., Hoque, N. & Mawla, M.M. (2019) — Purpose: To evaluate Islamic HRM practices as an important strategic tool for organizational effectiveness. Key findings: Results indicated that with proper knowledge of Islamic practices, successful organizational outcomes are achievable. Islamic HRM practices positively influence recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, training, and development.

Hadjri et al. (2019) — Purpose: To assess the effect of Islamic HRM on organizational commitment and employee performance. Key findings: A quantitative study of Indonesian bank employees found that Islamic recruitment and selection criteria strongly influenced organizational commitment and employee performance.

Wiryanto, W. (2019) — Purpose: To assess whether increased knowledge of Islamic management principles is needed for contemporary business problem-solving. Key findings: When comparing Western and Islamic concepts, the results showed a need for greater awareness in the Western world of Islamic HR values for more effective problem-solving.

Hossin, Ali & Sentosa (2020) — Purpose: To review and discuss Islamic HRM practices and their relevance in banking firms. Key findings: The secondary research article indicated that nine principles of Islamic HRM exert a positive effect on four organizational systems: recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and compensation.

Javed, S., Malik, A. & Alharbi, M.M.H. (2020) — Purpose: To evaluate the relevance of Islamic ethics to leadership styles and their impact on managerial effectiveness. Key findings: Statistical analyses showed that transformational and transactional leadership styles were positively related to managerial effectiveness; however, Islamic ethics as an intervening variable did not yield statistically significant results.

Conclusion

Islam has all the salient features within its teachings that are applicable to this world, including the business world. Since humans run businesses, and religion exists for humankind's betterment, incorporating the fundamental teachings of Islam into enterprises' human resource planning would benefit the people working in both Muslim and non-Muslim firms. Employees would know that they are respected, treated with kindness, given just and fair compensation for their struggles and hard work, and that both leadership and followers are held accountable for their deeds. No one would be held responsible for acts they did not commit. All employees would work together as a collective family—which lies at the soul of the Quran's teachings.

The evidence synthesized in this systematic review demonstrates a consistent link between Islamic management principles and positive organizational outcomes across diverse settings. If these conditions prevail in the workplace, no challenge should prevent firms from thriving in a globalized arena marked by tough competition. Future research should continue to examine how Islamic HRM principles can be operationalized across varied cultural and institutional contexts, and how the resistance from non-Islamic frameworks can be navigated constructively.

References

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Abbazi, U. & Zarqan, I.A. (2019). Islamic pedagogy on human resource management based on Islamic references. Journal of Islamic Business and Economic Review, 2(1), 34–42.

Ali, A.J. (2010). Islamic challenges to HR in modern organizations. Personnel Review, 39(6), 692–711.

Azmi, I.A.G. (2015). Islamic human resource practices and organizational performance: Some findings in a developing country. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 6(1), 1–14.

Balla, Z.I., Alias, R., Isa, A.A.M., Zaroog, O.S. & Osman, Y. (2016). Impact of Islamic value as strength of human resources management practice on the organization commitment: Conceptual framework. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(S8), 306–309.

Berher, L.J., Essers, C. & Himi, A. (2017). Muslim employees within 'white' organizations: The case of Moroccan workers in the Netherlands. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(8), 1119–1139.

Branine, M. & Pollard, D. (2010). Human resource management with Islamic management principles: A dialect for a reverse diffusion in management. Personnel Review, 39(6).

Chowdhury, A.H., Hoque, N. & Mawla, M.M. (2019). Human resource management from Islamic perspective. Bangladesh Journal of Islamic Thought, 7(10), 19–35.

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Saleem, Z., Malik, M.T. & Khattak, S.R. (2016). Principles of effective management according to Quran and Sunnah. Al-Idah, 33(2), 102–110.

Siddique, M., Khan, A. & Zia, K. (2016). The influence of religion and culture on HR practices: A comparative study of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Business and Economic Review, 8(2), 35–54.

Sulaiman, M., Sabian, N.A.A. & Othman, A.K. (2014). The understanding of Islamic management practices among Muslim managers in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 10(1), 189–199.

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