As the Islamic finance industry continues to gain popularity in the financial sphere, the number of faithful investors who are interested in Shari'ah-compliant avenues for their investments also continues to increase. One of the most important of these is the equity market. However, it is evident in today's world that it is hard to find a joint stock company whose activities are completely compliant to Shari'ah principles and rulings. As a share of a company represents all the activities and underlying assets of the company, the Shari'ah noncompliance issue can emerge in the share. While the primary activities of a company are Shari'ah-compliant, its peripheral activities may be impermissible from the Shari'ah viewpoint. Meanwhile, the assets of the company can also be in the form of cash, debt, goods, usufruct or rights, which can raise the issue of trading ribawi (interest-based) items. Thus, the study addresses the issue of Shari'ah compliance and tradability of shares that represent a mixture of halal (permissible in Islamic law) and haram (impermissible in Islamic law) activities and assets.

Shari'ah has specific rules for dealing in each class of assets and activities; i.e., cash, debt, goods, usufruct, and those classified as either halal (permissible) or haram (impermissible). These rulings can be easily applied when such an asset or activity is an independent subject matter of a transaction. However, the issue becomes complicated when an asset or activity is mixed with others and the combination is represented as a single subject matter. A fine example of this situation is shares of a joint stock company. A company share represents all the activities and underlying assets of that company. Some of the activities and assets of that company may be Shari'ah non-compliant while some may be Shari'ah compliant. Such assets can be in any form; i.e., cash, debt, goods, usufruct or rights. There are two main issues that need to be dealt with in considering a company's shares: (1) when it represents a mixture of halal and haram activities and assets, and (2) when it represents a mixture of ribawi and non-ribawi assets.

Intangible assets are becoming evident in a number of Islamic financial products. Their presence in the Islamic financial market is due to their ability to address and accommodate the pressing need to diversify the asset pool in the industry. Despite their increasing presence in a number of Islamic financial products, their nature and characteristics have not been the subject of the research they deserve. Hence this research is undertaken to examine the definition, concept and legality of this class of asset: intangible assets. This paper aims to achieve the following objectives: i. To explore the definition and concept of intangible assets from Shariah, legal and accounting perspectives; and ii. To examine pertinent Shar??ah issues on intangible assets, particularly with regard to recognition and measurement, financing and trading, and zakah obligation.

A summary of some Q2 2015 sukuk issuances are presented along with ISRA's views on the sukuk tradability, transaction flow and shariah compliance. The following sukuk are reviewed from Hong Kong Sukuk 2015 Ltd, Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd, Garuda Indonesia Global Sukuk Limited, Noor Sukuk Company Ltd, and Perusahaan Penerbit SBSN Indonesia III.

A summary of some Q3 2014 sukuk issuances are presented along with ISRA's views on the sukuk tradability, transaction flow and shariah compliance. The following sukuk are reviewed from Bumi Armada Capital Sdn Bhd, Bumitama Agri Ltd, Hong Kong Sukuk 2014 Limited, Perusahaan Penerbit SBSN Indonesia III, and Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional.

Preference shares have their own characteristics that make them different from ordinary shares. Moreover, they can be divided into various types based on unique features embedded in each type. This paper aims to scrutinise the different types of preference shares to identify related Shariah issues and subsequently propose solutions for the identified issues that would help in structuring Islamic preference shares. This paper employs a qualitative method by analysing relevant documents and literature to understand the subject-matter and Shariah-related issues. This paper finds that several features of conventional preference shares make the instrument as Shariah non-compliant. These are; (i) capital guarantee; (ii) loss sharing disproportionate to capital contribution; (iii) fixed profit; (iv) profit guarantee; and (v) waiving of right prior to realisation of profit. It is noted that there are a few articles discussed on preference shares. Nevertheless, this paper is significantly different from the others in term of in-depth analysis for each type of preference shares and the proposed Shariah-compliant solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different features of preference shares from accounting and Shari'ah perspectives. It also aims to study Shari'ah issues arising from preference shares and to subsequently propose solutions for identified issues that will help in structuring Islamic preference shares. The paper uses a qualitative method by analyzing relevant documents and literature to understand the subject matter and Shariah-related issues. The paper finds that several features of conventional preference shares, such as capital guarantee, loss sharing disproportionate to capital contribution, fixed profit, profit guarantee and waiver of rights before realization of profit, make them a Shari'ah non-compliant instrument.

Intangible assets are regarded as one of the most important asset classes for financial institutions, and their importance and consideration is rapidly increasing. There are existing, well established conventional standards on intangible assets (IA); however the Shariah standard on IA is discussed rather minimally. Thus, this paper attempts to discuss the vital issues related to intangible assets: recognition and measurement, financing and trading, and zakah, which represents a grey area for the Islamic finance industry. The research employs critical analysis. It aims to provide clarification on the concept of intangible assets from the point of view of the Shariah as well as an analysis of pertinent Shariah issues on IA. This research explores the following: (i) there is an issue of gharar in the identification and determination of IA due to non-existence of any physical substance and due to future benefit being a probabilistic matter; (ii) it is generally permissible to finance and trade IA and (iii) zakah is obligatory on IA if the intention is to trade them either at sale price if they are sold or at market price if they are owned by a trader.