Unlawful Gain and Legitimate Profit in Islamic Law: Riba, Gharar and Islamic Banking

Abstract

Since the discovery of oil in the Middle East an increasing number of important contracts must be framed in accordance with the Shari'a. Moreover various factors have helped to create among Muslims a more acute sense of an original Islamic identity and a collective feeling that Shari'a should govern their lives not only with regard to personal and family matters but also as a valid and reasonable corpus of commercial and civil laws. The ban on taking interest (riba) and the rejection of chance contracts (gharar) are two features of an Islamic law of contract which contrast with the secular man-made legal systems of the West. This book is concerned with these two Islamic prohibitory rules and with the interest-free banking system which has developed therefrom. This is a new enlarged edition where the comparative examination of the topics of the book is updated and furthermore extended to cover the Shi'a Ja'fari fiqh. As a result all aspects are examined in the light of the teachings of the four Sunni schools - which hold authority in the Arab states and in Pakistan - of the Ibadis strongly present in Oman and of the Shi'a Ja'faris prevalent in Iran and largely present in Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Lebanon. The new edition will confirm the use of the initial one as a text book with a particular appeal to academics and practising lawyers. It also provides an insight into the religious and ideological foundations claimed by Islamic banking.

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