Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of rent-seeking behaviour and rentier state in the context of ẓulm (injustice and exploitation), which is one of the key concerns in Islam in general and Islamic economics and finance in particular. Design/methodology/approach - As...

Recent calls by prominent Islamic scholars to shift the focus of Islamic Finance away from bond-like sukuk have been met with great unease by bankers in the industry. Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs), which hold the majority of all sukuk issued, face deposit side constraints on the types of...

This paper reports on the convergence of Basic Needs Approach (BNA) and institutionalism in their views about technological development and the role of institutions. There exists a vast literature on BNA, including empirical works on almost all the least developed countries. However, despite its...

There is no controversy that Islam prohibits 'riba.' However, the meaning and scope of the concept have generated impassioned controversy, especially on whether riba and bank interest are to be considered equivalent. The focus of this essay is not on whether interest is riba, a topic that often...

For all practical purpose, qard and qard hasan are generally regarded synonymous from orthodox Islamic viewpoint, because, due to the categorical prohibition of riba in the Qur'an, qard (loan) is considered ribawi, and therefore only gratuitous monetary loans – without any benefit to the...

Scholars and researchers in the field are almost unanimous that poverty reduction is one of the primary goals of zakat and targeted upliftment is pivotal for poverty alleviation. Generally it has been argued that faqir (destitute) and miskin (needy) are the primary target groups and their...

Contemporary Islamic economic thought has its roots in the Islamic revivalism of the twentieth century. Since the time of Prophet Muhammad, Muslims had a vibrant and dynamic civilization, where the economic life did go on both at the individual and collective level. While economics as a...

Environment and climate change are generally considered a systemic risk, not as part of the systematic risk. The view of Islamic finance industry and institutions is no different. However, with greater awareness about the existential threat of climate crisis, there is call for treating it as...