The Issues in Islamic Financial Products: Based on the Scientific Maqasid al-Shari‘ah Perspective

Abstract

In fact, Islamic financial industry constitutes one important area of Islamic financial transactions (fiqh al-mu‘amalat). Since its formation in early 1970s, Islamic financial practice has been demonstrating its tremendous progress in offering Shari‘ah compliant products which eventually becomes a new banking alternative in Malaysian financial system. Even though the Islamic financial practice is compliant with Islamic law (Shari‘ah), but it is not immune from any controversies and issues. One of these was the divergence of Islamic Islamic legal opinion (ijtihad) and interpretations of Shari’ah among Muslim jurists in assessing Shari’ah compliant products. Hence, Islamic financial industry needs to find the ways in which explore the objectives of Shari‘ah (maqasid al-Shari‘ah) through the theory of Maqasid-cum-Masalih (the objectives of Shari‘ah for the public interests), towards strengthening the Shari‘ah compliant products in order to bring the social welfare and justice, among others. Maqasid are the key to better understand the Shari‘ah in its true perspective. Significantly, maqasid al-Shari‘ah can be seen as the main proxy to cater main proxy to unify the divergence of legal opinion (ijtihad) among the Muslim juristconsults (Usuliyyun) of different schools of law. Therefore, this study discusses issues related to Islamic financial products via the scientific of Maqasid al-Shari‘ah Perspective, which could be used by the Shari‘ah scholars as guidelines and source of reference in the assessment with proper solutions to the financial products from maqasid al-Shari‘ah perspective.