PhD

This research will look at the reasons for the civil courts being the preferred mode of dispute resolution for Islamic finance disputes in Malaysia and how arbitration, based on the shari'ah can play an active role to resolve disputes in Islamic finance cases. Various features of arbitration in general and Islamic arbitration in particular will be looked into, followed by a study of the arbitration rules under two arbitration centres to find the common themes of these centres and the differences in their approach, if any ...

Beneficial ownership is applied in the modern Islamic financial contracts such as financing and sukuk structure, especially in countries where common law is dominant. It has been recognized by some scholars and rejected by others. In this regard, the concept of beneficial ownership in Shari'ah should be analysed to develop a clear interpretation of the concept of beneficial ownership from the Shari'ah perspective. The purpose of this study is to examine the meaning of beneficial ownership in Common Law system and its recognition from the Shari’ah point of view. It begins with identifying the meaning of milkiyyah (ownership) and its characteristics in the Islamic law and followed by the analysis of beneficial ownership in the current practice of Islamic finance as to whether it fulfils the Shari’ah requirements. The approach that is applied in this study is qualitative research in nature, with regards to documentation and secondary sources by reviewing and analysing the application of beneficial ownership in Islamic banking; in addition, some interview sessions were conducted with practitioners involved in the financial industry. The findings of the research are that the transfer of ownership in Shari’ah immediately occurs after the execution of ijāb and qabūl and interestingly, this idea is also shared by the Common law, which actually borrowed it from the Islamic law.

This study examines the concept of combination of contracts in Islamic commercial law and its application in the Malaysian Islamic financial services. Combination of contracts encounters some juridical issues by virtue of the three prohibiting ahadith mentioned by the Prophet (s.a.w.). The ahadith stated that the Prophet (s.a.w.) prohibited combining two sales in one sale, loan and sale, as well as two transactions in one transaction. Many debates have been raised among classical and contemporary Shari'ah scholars regarding the interpretation of these ahadith and the types of contracts that are combinable or non-combinable. Given the fact that these issues remain obfuscated, therefore this study is commenced. In so doing, this study employs two research methodologies; content analysis of Islamic jurisprudence's sources and case studies. The result of the study demonstrates that combination of contracts is generally permitted in Islamic commercial law, as long as there is no Quranic verse or Prophetic tradition that prohibits the combination. Concerning the understanding of three ahadith reported, they must be interpreted within specific context ...

This dissertation examines financial crimes from a Shari'ah perspective by looking at the specific offences of illegal deposit taking and criminal breach of trust in Malaysia. The underlying principles of criminal law in Islam is espoused to give rise to the nomenclature of financial crimes within the Shari'ah by exposing elements of criminal activities that are acted in the realm of finance. The elements of offences for Illegal Deposit Taking and Criminal Breach of Trust are examined through statutes and case laws and compared to the elements of crime available in the Shari'ah ...

Due to the fact that Islamic financial securities may consist of ribawi (cash and debt) underlying assets, it is crucially important to discern whether or not the trading of these securities is subject to the Shari'ah rules for bay' al-sarf and bay' al-dayn. If they do not then what criterion is pertinent to their secondary trading; and on what jurisprudential basis? In answer to that question, the current scholarly views and suggested Shari'ah criteria for tradability of Islamic securities are not only diverse, but also at times incongruous with one another. Based on the qualitative approach of text analysis and semi-structured-interviews, this study critically analyse this issue ...

Every human needs a good and quality life. A quality living is essential to ensure positive physical, mental as well as spiritual development in an individual. This balanced individual will form a stable family unit and later on contribute to a progressive community in a bigger social entity. A comfortable life is usually challenged by indispensable social ill called poverty. It is a global phenomenon that has challenged the economic, social and political landscape of every society in the world including Malaysia ...

This research aims to look into nomination practice and its issue for takaful operators and social takaful (takaful Ijtima'i) from Shariah perspective. The major issue is to what extent the takaful benefit is the estate of participants. Various practices by takaful operators has established few perspectives on the matter. By adopting the qualitative research method specifically through content analysis, this research will begin with the review on fundamental concepts of insurance and takaful based on the opinions of scholars from various schools of jurisprudence ...

Current sukuk structures often fall short of adequately meeting the Shariah conscious investors' needs. The objective of this dissertations is, therefore, to address this issue by conceptualizing and operationalizing three innovative models of sukuk. The first proposed model of sukuk is based on the concept of musharakah and is meant for companies and revenue generating infrastructure projects. The model has an incentive-compatible feature by making the share of the issuing entity in the profit positively related to its performance ...

The study investigates the Shariah non-compliant risks in shared and outsourced functions of takaful operators through content analysis and interviews from the perspective of Maqasid al-Shariah. Shared services are generally functions that are provided in-house while outsourcing refers to the functions provided by a third party or outside the company. While these arrangements have been allowed by the regulator, the requirement for takaful operators to be Shariah-compliant end to end is paramount. The study focuses on identifying whether such risks while incorporating maslahah and cost analysis to aid decision-making on such services ...

Shariah compliance is the core of Islamic finance and it is the most significant feature for any Islamic financial institutions. It is the very objective of Islamic financial institutions in all their operations, products and affairs. With the enforcement of IFSA 2013, penalties and consequences of not following Shariah compliance can be severe. Notwithstanding all the efforts that have been taken to strengthen the Shariah compliance framework and mitigate the occurrence of Shariah non-compliance at the Malaysian Islamic banking institutions, incidences of Shariah non-compliance do still emerge and materialise. Thus, this study is an effort to examine the subject of Shariah non-compliant (SNC) events in selected Malaysian Islamic banking institutions. The researcher attempts to explore the nature and framework of SNC events in the Malaysian Islamic banking industry by giving emphasis on on the four main aspects of SNC events i.e. (i) detection, (ii) rectification, (iii) implication and (iv) cause. This research is a qualitative study in nature. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. The selected interviewees and participants are individuals who are involved directly with the day-to-day Shariah non-compliance management at the Malaysian Islamic banking institutions. The first chapter dealt with the introduction to this study, covering the objectives, problem statements, research questions, motivation and significance of the study. Then, the second chapter elaborated on the main SNC elements form Islamic legal perspective as well as the development of Malaysian Islamic banking system based on the principles of Shariah compliance. The third chapter reviewed previous literature related to Shariah non-compliance in Islamic banking and finance. The fourth chapter described the methodology adopted to realise the objective of this study namely interview, focus group, triangulation and content analysis. The fifth chapter discussed the results of the interviews and focus group discussion. Then, the sixth chapter presented the main findings of this research based on its four objectives. Both chapters five and six constitute the findings of this research. The final chapter concluded the study with several implications and recommendations.

A good financial sector is an important requirement in any country in achieving economic growth. Withour proper regulations, a financial sector will not be deemed productive. The Somalia Federal Government has identified the development of the banking sector as one of the six crucial factors for reviving the country's economy. Hence, the federal government has allocated more than $2.5 million to regulate this sector. The Central Bank of Somalia Act 2011 states that all the banks should comply with Shariah laws, as Somali society being one hundred percent Muslim. However, with the absence of any Islamic bank regulations in Somalia, it enables the country to develop or adopt any regulation that is deemed workable ...