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The purpose of this study is to examine donors’ or waqifs’ desire for waqf-based qardhul hassan financing in Malaysia using a maqasid method, where a pragmatic approach is used.

Using judgemental sampling, a total of 275 waqifs participated in this work to identify their preference in donating their money to the facility should it is introduced. Using the developed waqf-based qardhul hassan scale (WAQASCALE), this study examined the preference accordingly. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS 27.

The results obtained were as follows: the first factor considered by the waqifs in donating money was perceived household well-being, followed by perceived recipients’ welfare, perceived mankind benevolence and perceived Muslims’ community security.

The authors developed construct items that had generalisability issues as they were at the infancy stage of development among social finance scientists along with the narrow geographical constraint where the actual survey was conducted.

The results were useful in giving new guidance to state governments and Islamic banks (IBs) in Malaysia to explore further this sort of facility for the improved well-being of those affected by COVID-19. Besides, sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as poverty, hunger and responsible consumption, among others can be addressed effectively for the mutual well-being of those affected by the health crisis in an effort of combating financial hardships in the meeting of basic needs, at least. The partnership between the state government and IBs could lead to the offered qardhul hassan financing-sourced funding from waqf for reduced financial hardships by needy and poor folks.

This study introduced a new WAQASCALE in the context of qardhul hassan financing in Malaysia.

This study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of 1,104 journal articles to explore the multifaceted research field of Islamic finance and banking, explicitly emphasising the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Insights into the evolving trends and dynamics within the academic discourse are presented.

The research highlights different patterns and collaborative networks through co-authorship, co-occurrence and thematic map analyses. Prior to the pandemic, research focused primarily on customer satisfaction and compliance with Shariah principles. However, the pandemic heralded an increased discourse on sustainability, fintech and the financial crisis.

This review describes the prevailing academic terrain and identifies potential avenues for future research, particularly those that examine the socio-economic impact of the pandemic within the context of Islamic finance and banking.

Prominent author such as M. Kabir Hassan, leading institution such as the International Islamic University Malaysia and esteemed journal such as the International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management have been instrumental in shaping academic discussions and creating synergies in research. Moreover, Malaysia’s strong commitment to spatial research, evidenced by its robust global collaborations, underscores its pioneering role in the academic world of Islamic finance and banking.

This study aims to explore the current trends in the literature about environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices within Islamic banking. It also seeks to identify research gaps and propose directions for future inquiry.

Using a bibliometric analysis, this study synthesises 753 articles from the Scopus database from 1988 to 2023. The analysis was conducted using the biblioshiny package in RStudio and VOSviewer.

It reveals an increasing trajectory in the volume of literature on ESG within Islamic banking, with Muslim-majority countries supported by robust regulatory frameworks leading the discourse. Emerging interest from Muslim-minority countries is also noted. This research delineates five principal research streams and proposes future investigative pathways, including the influence of institutional factors on Islamic banks’ ESG practices.

This study offers valuable insights for Islamic bank management and stakeholders, enhancing their comprehension of ESG practices’ current landscape. Additionally, it directs emerging scholars towards novel and pertinent research opportunities within this domain.

Amidst a growing body of work on ESG and Islamic banking, this study is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first bibliometric review dedicated solely to ESG considerations in Islamic banks. It augments the extant literature by adopting a more stringent methodological approach and a rigid quality assessment.

Islamic banks (IBs) place significant importance on their religious identity, prompting the utilization of impression management (IM) strategies to emphasize such identity. This paper aims to discuss the motivations behind using IM in the creation of religious identity by IBs, and to explore the use of religious symbols and language as a form of religious rhetoric. It is argued that to counteract the threats to their religious identity, IBs use IM techniques, predominantly through the inclusion of religious symbols and rhetoric.

An empirical exploratory study, using content analysis, was conducted on the annual reports of the largest IBs for the year 2022. The analyses involved a total of 39 banks based on a filtered list from The Banker’s Top Islamic Financial Institutions of 2022. A manual content analysis was undertaken to extract religious symbols, images and contents.

The findings reveal the use of IM techniques that emphasize the religious identity of these banks. Notably, IBs consistently reaffirm their commitment to Sharia compliance and disclose their contributions to Zakah. In addition, the analysis reveals the incorporation of Quranic verses, religious iconographic images and other religious rhetoric statements in the annual reports of many IBs.

The analysis concludes that the assertion by IBs that their guiding principles are rooted in Islamic values are supported by the religious terminology and imagery embedded in their annual reports. Alongside mere religious symbolism, the terms and images are integral part of the corporate identity of the Islamic that not only sends persuasive signals to stakeholders but also help build an impression on the activities of the IBs.

IM has been a key objective and strategy of companies. This study aimed at exploring whether and how IBs used religious symbolism as an integral part of IM and corporate identity.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Ottoman Empire’s net interest payments and foreign debt were sustainable or not in terms of their burden on budget revenues, using the method of historical econometric analysis.

In this study, the period between 1847 and 1882 of the Ottoman Empire is analyzed for sustainability analysis. Within the framework of the study, unit root tests and econometric analysis methods frequently used in the literature were used to analyze the sustainability of public debt. In the econometric analysis, in addition to various unit root tests, current econometric analysis methods, in particular Fourier expansion, were also used.

The results of econometric analyses showed that the burden of interest payments and foreign debt on the budget of the Ottoman state was unsustainable. This situation clearly shows the reason for the official bankruptcy of the Ottoman Empire, which was declared in 1875.

Although this study reveals the bankruptcy process of an important structure such as the Ottoman Empire in the historical process through econometric analyses, it also gives a very important message to today’s states. Accordingly, today’s state policies and decision-making mechanisms should take these results into account and strive to make the burden of public interest payments sustainable. It is believed that the study will shed light on the public finance policies of today’s states by drawing lessons from the collapse process of the Ottoman state.

Unlike the historical assessments in the literature on the decline of the Ottoman Empire, this study presents a cliometric approach by applying current econometric analysis techniques to past historical data. The study explains the unsustainability of the Ottoman Empire’s interest payments and external debt burden in the period under consideration in a way that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has not been done before.

Zakat, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, holds the potential to significantly contribute to fiscal consolidation, particularly in developing nations. However, the national-level potential of Zakat often remains unexplored. This study aims to explore the potential of national-level Zakat and the opportunity to integrate it into the fiscal framework.

This study estimates Zakat’s potential on national financial and economic components. The components include bank deposits, shares and securities, pensions (provident fund), industrial production and trade services, mining resources, Ushr on agro-crops and forestry, Ushr on livestock, Ushr on fishery, gross domestic product (GDP), national budget and national revenue. The study gathers data, ranging from FY2000 to FY2018, on national economic sectors from reliable secondary sources. The net value (NV) of each indicator is calculated as NV = TV − LA, where NV is the wage-adjusted net value after deducting the living adjustment (LA) value from the sectoral total. The proposed LA value, approximately 20%, is suggested to be deducted from the total sectoral value of each sector (excluding specific industries with preadjusted wages), equating to the Nisab value.

It is estimated that the aggregate potential of Zakat in Bangladesh was US$9,749m in FY2018, compared to US$809m in FY2000, revealing the value is 3.77% of GDP and 21% of the national fiscal budget. In FY2018, the service sector was the largest contributor (30%), followed by bank deposits (23%). Pension funds made minimal contributions, whereas shares and bonds, as well as the manufacturing sector, each made a 10% contribution to the estimated Zakat potential. Zakat on agriculture output accounted for 15% of the total. The aggregate potential Zakat in FY2018 was 12% higher than that in FY2000.

The paper highlights a novel contribution through its nuanced analysis of sector-specific Zakat on macrolevel data and its implications within the fiscal framework. The results suggest that Zakat has substantial potential to impact fiscal dynamics, providing valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to recognize the national-level Zakat for development plans such as the five-year plan. The study suggests piloting a central and independent national body to study the feasibility of national-level Zakat collection and its utilization in the fiscal budget. It will help the government reduce the burden of external debt and deficit budget and, instead, will promote revenue collection in collaboration with the National Board of Revenue.

In this study, the authors analyze the impact of geopolitics risk on Sukuk, Islamic and composite stocks, oil and gold markets and portfolio diversification implications during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine conflict period.

The study used a mix of wavelet-based approaches, including continuous wavelet transformation and discrete wavelet transformation. The analysis used data from the Geopolitical Risk index (GP{R), Dow Jones Sukuk index (SUKUK), Dow Jones Islamic index (DJII), Dow Jones composite index (DJCI), one of the top crude oil benchmarks which is based on the Europe (BRENT) (oil fields in the North Sea between the Shetland Island and Norway), and Global Gold Price Index (gold) from May 31, 2012, to June 13, 2022.

The results of the study indicate that during the COVID-19 and Russia–Ukraine conflict period geopolitical risk (GPR) was in the leading position, where BRENT confirmed the lagging relationship. On the other hand, during the COVID-19 pandemic period, SUKUK, DJII and DJCI are in the leading position, where GPR confirms the lagging position.

The present study is unique in three respects. First, the authors revisit the influence of GPR on global asset markets such as Islamic stocks, Islamic bonds, conventional stocks, oil and gold. Second, the authors use the wavelet power spectrum and coherence analysis to determine the level of reliance based on time and frequency features. Third, the authors conduct an empirical study that includes recent endogenous shocks generated by health crises such as the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as shocks caused by the geopolitical danger of a war between Russia and Ukraine.

1. We analyze the impact of geopolitics risk on Sukuk, Islamic and composite stocks, oil and gold markets and portfolio diversification implications during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine conflict period.

2. The results of the wavelet-based approach show that Dow Jones composite and Islamic indexes have observed the highest mean return during the study period.

3. GPR and BRENT are estimated to have the highest amount of risk throughout the observation period.

4. Dow Jones Sukuk, Islamic and composite stock show similar trend of volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic period and comparatively gold observes lower variance during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine conflict.

We analyze the impact of geopolitics risk on Sukuk, Islamic and composite stocks, oil and gold markets and portfolio diversification implications during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine conflict period.

The results of the wavelet-based approach show that Dow Jones composite and Islamic indexes have observed the highest mean return during the study period.

GPR and BRENT are estimated to have the highest amount of risk throughout the observation period.

Dow Jones Sukuk, Islamic and composite stock show similar trend of volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic period and comparatively gold observes lower variance during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia–Ukraine conflict.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Islamic finance segment within the Updated Commercial Transactions Law in the UAE and opine whether the new alterations will have a significant impact on the Islamic financial industry in the UAE.

This research uses a qualitative methodology, and the UAE as a case study. A single/embedded case study design is adopted, to analyse several chapters within the Updated Commercial Transactions Law in the UAE (multiple units of analysis).

The study revealed that the introduction and incorporation of fiqhi and Islamic financial principles within the Updated Commercial Transactions law in the UAE was done so in its rudimentary form, indicating that its purpose was to enhance the UAE’s position as a leading global Islamic financial hub – as opposed to the sole purpose of its usage during disputes between counterparties.

This research is limited to the UAE as a case study and thus does not provide a comparative analysis with other GCC countries. A separate study would be required for a comparative analysis.

Given that the Updated Commercial Transactions Law in the UAE is relatively new, limited research papers have analysed this segment of the updated law in particular. This research, thus, contributes to knowledge by paving the way for future research pertaining to the same matter.

This paper aims to investigate the immediate effect of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating volatility transmission and dynamic correlation between stock (conventional and Islamic) markets, bitcoin and major commodities such as gold, oil and silver at different investment horizons before and after 161 trading days of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MGARCH-DCC and maximum overlap discrete wavelet transform -based cross-correlation were used in the estimation of the volatility spillover and continuous wavelet transform in the estimation of the time-varying volatility and correlation between the assets at different investment horizons.

The authors observed a sudden correlation breakdown following the COVID-19 shock. Oil (Bitcoin) was a major volatility transmitter before (during) COVID-19. Digital gold (Bitcoin), gold and silver became highly correlated during COVID-19. The highest co-movement between the assets was observed at medium and long-term investment horizons.

The study findings have a financial implication for day traders, investors and policymakers in the understanding of volatility transmission and intercorrelation in a bid to actively manage stylized and well-diversified asset portfolios.

This study is unique for its employment in estimating the time-varying conditional volatility of the investable assets and cross-correlations between them at different investment horizons, particularly before and after COVID-19 outbreak.

While the world is yet to fully recuperate from the social and economic repercussions of COVID-19, the Russia–Ukraine conflict poses another major threat causing a humanitarian crisis and economic shock. Although the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its pledge to “leave no one behind” is a universal commitment to protect the livelihoods of vulnerable groups, the Russia–Ukraine ongoing conflict is causing immense suffering and a gloomy future for the 2030 Agenda. The purpose of this study is to provide a holistic understanding of the ramifications of the Russia–Ukraine war in SDGs progress around the world. Further, the authors shed light on how stakeholders can help engage in support of SDGs in such a challenging time.

This study is qualitative in nature and relies on secondary sources. The motive behind this study is to allow social and economic policy researchers and practitioners to learn from the Russia–Ukraine dispute. The authors conduct a preliminary factual analysis to determine patterns of how the conflict affects the SDGs Agenda. On this basis, the authors propose some recommendations.

While it is still early to measure the full impact of the war on crises worldwide, it is clear that the repercussions will be multi-dimensional. The authors argue that the conflict in Ukraine is severely threatening the achievement of the SDGs. As such, the authors identify patterns of this crisis that have halted progress on SDGs worldwide. Of all SDGs, the authors argue that SDG16 (i.e. peace and justice) is an absolute pre-requisite to sustaining other goals. Further, refugees should be economically empowered, resilient and sustainable food systems need to be put in place and renewable energy transition is required.

This study serves as a springboard for future research by identifying patterns of war crises that have halted progress in achieving sustainable development worldwide. Empirical evidence needs to be conducted on the impact of this ongoing conflict on sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda.

This study could provide guidance to leaders and stakeholders across the globe on patterns for the impact of the Ukraine–Russia conflict on undermining global sustainable development while highlighting the need for major additional efforts to achieve the relevant SDGs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyse the threats the Russia–Ukraine dispute presents to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs.