Islamic Banking and Interest

Translation by Imran Ashraf Usmani.

Originally published nearly a half century ago, this book remains one of the best known books by Syed Abul A'la Mawdudi. Also includes the full essay of Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani arguing for the permissibility of interest in India (darul Harb) and its rebuttal by Maulana Mawdudi. An important source book on riba.

A response to questions about and criticism of prevalent Islamic Banking practices.

This book takes a critical look at some of the positions taken by Justice Mufti Taqi Usmani on such issues as corporation as a legal person, shares, Islamic banking, credit cards, and takaful. While its tone could be better, it still raises some questions that need to be debated openly to advance the state of knowledge in this emerging field.

A collection of 41 articles on critical subjects. Most articles deal with fiqh but others deal with other important subjects as well for example criticism of Perennial philosophy of Martin Lings, Detailed account of a lesser known part of India history dealing with the movement of establishing a Shariah governorate for India (proposed and actively pursued by Abul Kalam Azad), history of qira'at, commentary on the hadith that the Qur'an was revealed on seven huroof, and what is meant by Ism A'zam. Many of the fiqhi articles deal with new medical issues (cloning, cosmetic surgery, test tube babies, organ transplants, artificial insemination) and finance (multi-level marketing, foreign exchange, feudalism, charging interest in darul harb, copyrights, Islamic banking etc.).

Can Pakistan (or any Muslim state for that matter) enter into riba based financial transactions with foreign entities? Three petitions were brought up before the Shariat Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1991. Justice Dr. Tanzilur Rehman wrote the judgment which is contained in this very valuable book. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly) mysterious hands stopped the Judgment from being delivered. But the arguments contained here will be of great interest to students and scholars everywhere.

Suk (plural: Sukook) is the term used for bonds and certificates. This book is in two parts. Part 1 is an introduction to sukook. Part 2 discusses author's reservations about them.

Understand the real cause of the financial crisis that is engulfing the world today. This book provides a penetrating look at the banking industry and its role in spreading injustices and misery in the world. Usury is the backbone of modern economic life. See how it, and the mindset behind it, have caused grave damages to the humanity in every walk of life.

Due to significant changes that have taken place in the nature and essence of money and monetary value, and the dominance of interest-based debt financing, the nature of capital and sharing of profit and loss have become complex issues. The book analyses in detail the practical relevance of these in the operation of Islamic financial institutions, and attempts to provide some new insight on the relevant shari‘ah regulations. It studies capital in joint ventures financed by Islamic banks, and scrutinises the method currently used by Islamic banks for determining the profit sharing ratio between the bank and the client.

There is unanimous agreement among Muslim jurists that riba is prohibited strictly by the texts of the Qur’an as well as by those of the Sunnah. When it comes to the identification of the transactions that would fall under the prohibition of riba, however, there is some disagreement among the scholars. Hopefully this book will enrich the debate about Islamic banking by raising new issues.