Introduction to Islamic Banking and Finance

Preface xiii

About the Author xvii

1 Muslim Beliefs 1

1.1 Five Pillars of Faith 1

1.2 Six Islamic Creeds 4

1.3 Belief in Allah and His Attributes 5

1.4 Belief in Destiny 6

1.5 Belief in Angels 7

1.6 Belief in Apostles 7

1.7 Belief in the Revealed Books 8

1.8 Belief in the Hereafter 9

2 Sharia'a Law and Sharia'a Boards: Roles, Responsibility and Membership 13

2.1 Definition of the Sharia'a 13

2.2 Allah is the Law Giver 13

2.3 Objectives of the Sharia'a 14

2.4 Sources of the Sharia'a 16

2.5 Sharia'a Islamic Investment Principles 22

2.6 Conditions for Investment in Shares 23

2.7 Sharia'a Supervisory Board (SSB) 23

2.7.1 Function and Responsibilities 24

2.8 Sharia'a Board Scholar Qualifications 27

2.9 State Bank of Pakistan (SBP): Proper Criteria for Appointment of Sharia'a Advisors 29

3 Definition of Islamic Banking 31

3.1 Conventional Bankers and Islamic Banking 31

3.2 Six Key Islamic Banking Principles 33

3.3 Definition of Asymmetric Information 36

3.4 Origins of Asymmetric Risk within Islamic Banking 37

3.5 Riba in the Qur'an and Sunnah or Hadith 37

3.6 Five Reasons for the Prohibition of Riba 39

4 Murabaha as a Mode of Islamic Finance 43

4.1 Murabaha Transactions 43

4.2 What Makes Murabaha Sharia'a Compliant? 45

4.3 Islam Treats Money and Commodities Differently 46

4.4 Murabaha and the Sharia'a 47

4.5 Practicalities of Implementing Murabaha 47

4.6 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Murabaha 48

4.7 Reasoning Behind Sharia'a Rules 49

4.8 Practical Examples of the Application of Murabaha 50

4.9 Key Issues Associated with Murabaha 52

4.10 Comparison of Murabaha with Interest-Based Finance 58

4.11 Murabaha Differences from the other Islamic Financing Techniques 58

4.12 Summary 60

5 Mudaraba as a Mode of Islamic Finance 63

5.1 Definition of Mudaraba 63

5.2 What makes Mudaraba Sharia'a Compliant? 67

5.3 Practicalities of Implementing Mudaraba 68

5.4 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Mudaraba 68

5.5 Practical Examples of Mudaraba 69

5.6 Key Issues Associated with Mudaraba 72

5.7 Comparison of Mudaraba with the Conventional Banking Equivalent 72

5.8 Mudaraba: Differences from the other Islamic Financing Techniques 73

5.9 Summary 75

6 Musharaka as a Mode of Islamic Finance 77

6.1 Definition of Musharaka 77

6.2 What makes Musharaka Sharia'a Compliant? 78

6.3 Practicalities of Implementing Musharaka 79

6.4 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Musharaka 79

6.5 Practical Examples of Musharaka 80

6.6 Problems Associated with Musharaka 84

6.7 Comparison of Musharaka with the Conventional Banking Equivalent 85

6.8 Summary 87

7 Ijara as a Mode of Islamic Finance 89

7.1 Definition of Ijara 89

7.2 What makes Ijara Sharia'a Compliant? 91

7.3 Practicalities of Implementing Ijara 91

7.4 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Ijara 92

7.5 Basic Rules of Islamic Leasing 93

7.6 Practical Examples of Ijara 95

7.7 Key Differences between an Ijara Contract and a Conventional Lease 97

7.8 Comparison of Ijara with the Conventional Banking Equivalent 98

7.9 Ijara: Differences from the other Islamic Financing Techniques 98

7.10 Summary 101

8 Istisna'a as a Mode of Islamic Finance 103

8.1 Definition of Istisna'a 103

8.2 What makes Istisna'a Sharia'a Compliant? 105

8.3 Practicalities of Implementing Istisna'a 105

8.4 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Istisna'a 106

8.5 Practical Examples of Istisna'a 107

8.6 Key Issues Associated with Istisna'a 108

8.7 Comparison of Istisna'a with the Conventional Banking Equivalent 111

8.8 Istisna'a: Differences from the other Islamic Financing Techniques 111

8.8.4 Differences between Istisna'a and Ijara 114

8.9 Summary 114

9 Salam as a Mode of Islamic Finance 117

9.1 Definition of Salam 117

9.2 What makes Salam Sharia'a Compliant? 118

9.3 Practicalities of Implementing Salam 118

9.4 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Salam 119

9.5 Sharia'a Rules Concerning Parallel Salam 120

9.6 Practical Examples of Salam 121

9.7 Benefits of the Salam Contract 121

9.8 Problems Associated with Salam 121

9.9 Comparison of Salam with the Conventional Banking Equivalent 122

9.10 Salam: Differences from the other Islamic Financing Techniques 122

9.11 Summary 124

10 Takaful: Islamic Insurance 127

10.1 Case for Islamic Insurance 127

10.2 Islamic Issues with Conventional Insurance 127

10.3 Definition and Concept of Takaful 128

10.4 Islamic Origins of Takaful 129

10.5 Where Insurance Fits within Islam 129

10.6 Definition of the Parties to a Takaful 129

10.7 Takaful in Practice 130

10.8 Takaful and Conventional Insurance 130

10.9 Alternative Models of Takaful 130

10.10 Sharia'a Law as Applied by Takaful Operators 132

10.11 Takaful Operators 135

10.12 Definition of ReTakaful (Reinsurance) 136

10.13 Retakaful 136

10.14 Role of the Sharia'a Board in Takaful 137

Appendix 1. Comparative Features of Islamic Financing Techniques 141

A.1 Nature of the Financing 141

A.2 Role of the Finance Provider in the Management/Use of Funds 141

A.3 Risk Bearing by the Finance Provider 142

A.4 Uncertainty of the Rate of Return on Capital for the Finance Provider 142

A.5 Cost of Capital for the Finance User 144

A.6 Relationship Between the Cost of Capital and the Rate of Return on Capital 144

Appendix 2. Top 500 Islamic Institutions 1–73 145

Glossary 151

Bibliography 157

Index 165