One of the most important objectives of Islam is to realize greater justice in human society. According to the Qur’an all the messengers of God were sent to promote justice and any society where there is no justice will ultimately head towards decline and destruction. One of the essential requisites for ensuring justice is a set of rules or moral values, which everyone accepts and complies with faithfully. The financial system may be able to promote justice if, in addition to being strong and stable, it satisfies at least two conditions. One of these is that the financier should also share in the risk so as not to shift the entire burden of losses to the entrepreneur or the borrower, and the other is that an equitable share of the society’s financial resources becomes available to even the poor on affordable terms in keeping with their ability to repay so as to enable them to realize their dream of owning their own homes, pursuing higher education and vocational training, and establishing their own micro enterprises.
To fulfill the first condition of justice, Islam requires both the financier and the entrepreneur to equitably share the profit as well as the loss. For this purpose, one of the basic principles of Islamic finance is: “No risk, no gain.” This should help introduce greater discipline into the financial system by motivating financial institutions to assess the risks more carefully and to effectively monitor the use of funds by borrowers. The double assessment of risks by both the financier and the entrepreneur should help inject greater discipline into the system, and go a long way in not only increasing efficiency in the use of resources but also reducing excessive lending.
Islamic finance is based on Shari’ah, an Arabic term that is often translated into “Islamic law”. Shari’ah provides guidelines for aspects of Muslim life, including religion, politics, economics, banking, business, and law. Shari’ah-compliant financing (SCF) constitutes financial practices that conform to Islamic law.
Islamic finance was practiced predominantly in the Muslim world throughout the Middle Ages, fostering trade and business activities with the development of credit. In Spain and the Mediterranean and Baltic states, Islamic merchants became indispensable middlemen for trading activities. In fact, many concepts, techniques, and instruments of Islamic finance were later adopted by European financiers and businessmen.
In contrast, the term “Islamic financial system” is relatively new, appearing only in the mid-1980s. In fact, all the earlier references to commercial or mercantile activities conforming to Islamic principles were made under the umbrella of either “interest free” or “Islamic” banking. However, describing the Islamic financial system simply as “interest-free” does not provide a true picture of the system as a whole. Undoubtedly, prohibiting the receipt and payment of interest is the nucleus of the system, but it is supported by other principles of Islamic doctrine advocating risk sharing, individuals’ rights and duties, property rights, and the sanctity of contracts.
Similarly, the Islamic financial system is not limited to banking but covers capital formation, capital markets, and all types of financial intermediation. Interpreting the system as “interest free” tends to create confusion. The philosophical foundation of an Islamic financial system goes beyond the interaction of factors of production and economic behavior. Whereas the conventional financial system focuses primarily on the economic and financial aspects of transactions, the Islamic system places equal emphasis on the ethical, moral, social, and religious dimensions, to enhance equality and fairness for the good of society as a whole. The system can be fully appreciated only in the context of Islam’s teachings on the work ethic, wealth distribution, social and economic justice, and the role of the state.
The Islamic financial system is founded on the absolute prohibition of the payment or receipt of any predetermined, guaranteed rate of return. This closes the door to the concept of interest and precludes the use of debt-based instruments. The system encourages risk-sharing, promotes entrepreneurship, discourages speculative behavior, and emphasizes the sanctity of contracts. Modern Islamic finance has existed internationally since the 1970s. Currently, Islamic finance represents a small but growing segment of the global finance industry. In some countries, such as Iran and Pakistan, Islamic banks are the only mainstream financial institutions. In others, Shari’ah-compliant financing (SCF) exists alongside conventional banking. Estimates vary of the total size of assets held internationally under Islamic finance, generally ranging from $800 billion to $1 trillion, with growth rates of 10% to 15% annually over the past ten years. The Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia historically have been and continue to be the major centers for SCF. For oil producers in the Gulf region, Islamic finance may offer investment opportunities for their growing revenues from oil exports. There also has been a growing awareness of and demand for Islamic-based financial products by Muslim consumers. In 2007, Iran was the largest market for Islamic finance, reportedly accounting for close to 40% of Shari’ah-compliant financial assets worldwide.6 However, according to some analysts, the reach of Iran’s Islamic finance market may be limited because of international sanctions. Following Iran, the largest Islamic finance markets in 2007 were Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Support for Islamic finance varies in the Middle East. In some countries, such as Libya and Morocco, Islamic banks are considered by some to be tied to Islamic political parties and consequently have been refused licenses. Other countries, including Jordan, Tunisia, and the Sudan, have been receptive to Islamic finance, viewing Islamic financial products as an opportunity for creating capital and fostering economic development.
In recent years, SCF has expanded to other parts of the world. Islamic finance is growing in Europe and North America, areas in which Muslims are in the minority. In August 2004, the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) approved a banking license for the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), the country’s first Islamic bank. The IBB would serve the consumer market with Shari’ah-compliant products. In March 2006, the FSA licensed the European Islamic Investment Bank as the United Kingdom’s first independent bank for Shari’ah-compliant investments. In 1999, the Dow Jones presented its first Islamic market index, which follows Shari’ah-compliant stocks internationally. The Dow Jones maintains more than 70 indices in its Islamic series and is advised by an independent Shari’ah Supervisory Board counsel.
Shari’ah (or Islamic) law is meant to regulate all aspects of a Muslim's way of life. It is broadly divided into two sets of rules: one relates to the obligatory worship of God (ibadah) and the other relates to daily life outside the context of obligatory worship (muamalat), including commercial and financial dealings. Shari’ah is not a codified body of law. It consists of general rules and principles derived from the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book), the practices (sunnah) and sayings (ahadith) of the Prophet Mohammed (as discussed in further detail below). These general principles are capable of interpretation and development to address new issues or circumstances that arise from time to time. Indeed, the Shari’ah has been supplemented by extensive Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) developed over centuries by different schools of thought (the madhaa'hib). The key point to note is that, while all the schools of thought agree on the fundamental Shari’ah principles enshrined in the Qur'an, sunnah and hadith, they sometimes hold differing views on their interpretation and application.
Shari’ah law is derived from a number of primary and secondary sources.
a) Qur'an
The Qur'an is a primary source of law and is believed by Muslims to contain the word of God as revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. Evidence found in other sources of Shari’ah law is subject to the Qur'an.
b) Sunnah
Sunnah literally means "well known path". The Sunnah is a primary source of law and comprises traditional accounts of what the Prophet Mohammed said or did during his life
Which have legal content. Sunnah also comprises the sayings of others tacitly approved by the Prophet's silence.
c) Hadith
A further primary source of law is the narrative record of sayings and actions of the Prophet Mohammed known as hadith (plural ahadith). The extent to which sunnah is derived or differentiated from ahadith depends on the context and school of thought being considered.
d) Qiyas
Qiyas represents the process of reasoning whereby the principles found in the Qur'an and sunnah are extended to new cases by analogy.
e) Ijma
Ijma represents the consensus of the Islamic community (whether at a local or global academic level) on a particular issue.
(f) Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the interpretation and the opinion of Islamic jurists on a particular issue. Qiyas,ijma and ijtihad are all secondary sources of Shari’ah law.
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