Understanding Islamic Finance

In Understanding Islamic Finance Muhammad Ayub introduces all the essential elements of this growing market by providing an in-depth background to the subject and clear descriptions of all the major products and processes associated with Islamic finance.

The last decade has seen an unprecedented growth not only in the practice of Islamic banking and finance but also in the literature on Islamic finance. This book, however, is not merely another addition to the available literature. It has a marked distinction. It not only places theory and practice in one place along with Shar ̄ı ́ah (Islamic law) underpinnings, but also provides an objective assessment of conformation of the practice to the theory. A good coverage of recent innovation in Islamic financial products is also a distinguishing feature of this book.
Islamic finance is a subject that has now been recognized as a distinct academic discipline to be included in the curricula of economics, business, finance and management faculties of institutions of higher learning. There are several universities and institutions, both in Muslim and other countries, that are teaching courses on Islamic banking and finance. These teaching programmes, however, have been seriously constrained by the non-availability of a standard textbook to be followed. I can say with confidence that this book carries the status of a textbook to be prescribed in the senior levels of undergraduate programmes as well as in graduate programmes in the relevant faculties.
Islamic finance is still a new subject. There is great interest in conducting research on different aspects of its theory and practice in the contemporary set-up. Students of economics and finance keenly look for topics of research in this field. The analytical approach adopted in this book is conducive to bringing to light potential areas of research. Thus, research students in the area of Islamic finance should find this book a must read. The author of the book has a long experience of research in the State Bank of Pakistan (the central bank of the country), which has played, during the last decade, a significant role in promoting Islamic finance in the country. By virtue of his position in the research department of the State Bank of Pakistan, he has a very valuable insight into the operations of Islamic banks as well as their feasibility to survive in competition with the conventional banks in the country. His approach in presenting the material in this book is very pragmatic.

The book, thus, is a useful guide to all those who would like to establish an Islamic bank or would like to work in Islamic financial institutions.

About the Authors

Muhammad Ayub is Director Training, Development and Shari’ah Aspects at IIBI, London. Formerly, he was with the State Bank of Pakistan (central bank) where he headed the Islamic Economics Division and Shari’ah Compliance Division as Senior Joint Director in the Research and Islamic Banking Departments. He also served as Head of Islamic Banking at NIBAF, the training wing of SBP. Besides contributing a large amount of material, he has been serving as Master Trainer on theory and practice of Islamic finance.

Bibliographic Information

Title: Understanding Islamic Finance

Author(s): Karim Ullah & Wafi Al-Karaghouli

Publisher: ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Wiley

Length: 544 pages

ISBN: 9780749480516

Pub. Date: October 2007

Understanding Islamic Finance