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The purpose of this paper is to examine the meaning, nature and measurement of Shariah non-compliant risk faced by Islamic banks.

Al-bai-bithaman ajil (BBA) contract documentation is analyzed in the light of the legal environment in Malaysia and measurement of Shariah non-compliant risk based on constructed or hypothetical cases.

Shariah non-compliant risk will adversely affect bank’s earnings when BBA contracts are deemed invalid in the court of law, either in a foreclosure or ruling via court declaration.

The paper is written based on content analysis, Malaysian legal cases with hypothetical examples for better understanding.

Islamic banking should be able to use the findings to estimate potential loss from Shariah non-compliant risk and make the necessary provisions.

This paper provides new insights of risks faced by credit-intensive Islamic banks, that when relinquishing critical requirement of Islamic contract such as ownership risk will suffer loss.

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Islamic banks in Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (i.e. Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia). On top of that, the effect of Shariah governance disclosure on Islamic banks financial performance is investigated.

Data underwent quantitative content analysis and a mean comparison of the Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms as well as multiple regression analysis. Shariah governance information is obtained from the Islamic banks' official websites and the Bursa Malaysia Exchange.

The results of the content analysis revealed that the level of Shariah governance disclosure among Malaysian Islamic banks has been more pronounced than in the GCC countries. Additionally, the multiple regression analysis results specified that of the five Shariah governance disclosure mechanisms, the Shariah committee emerged as the strongest determinant in the financial performance of the Islamic banks, followed by transparency and disclosure.

Islamic banks should emphasise publishing Shariah governance information in annual reports to reflect superior accounting practices as assessed by certified Shariah auditors with an effective monitoring system.

The empirical findings are vital for serving as a guideline for Islamic banks in Malaysia and the GCC countries to disclose their practice of Shariah governance and gain empirical insights into its effect on firms’ financial performance. Following that, Islamic banks would improve their accounting practices while adhering to Shariah principles, strengthen internal controls and boost their brand reputation.

This study aims to investigate the extent of Shariah compliance in wakalah sukuk and Shariah non-compliant risk disclosure in the sukuk documents and to analyse the risk management techniques associated with the disclosed risks.

This study uses qualitative document analysis as both data collection and analysis methods. The document analysis acts as a data collection method for 23 wakalah sukuk documents selected from 32 issuances of wakalah sukuk from 2017 to 2021. These sukuk documents were selected based on their availability from relevant websites. Document analysis, both content analysis and thematic analysis, were used to analyse the data. Codes were grounded from that data through keywords search of Shariah noncompliant risk and its risk management. Besides these, interviews were also conducted with four active industry players, i.e. two legal advisors of wakalah sukuk, a wakalah sukuk trustee and a sukuk institutional issuer. These interview data were analysed based on categorical themes, on the aspects of the extent of Shariah compliance in sukuk, and the participant’s views on the risk management techniques associated with the risks or used in the sukuk documents.

Overall, the findings reveal three types of Shariah non-compliant risks disclosed in the sukuk documents and seven risk management techniques associated with them. However, the disclosure and the risk management techniques can be considered minimal in contrast to the extent of Shariah compliance in a sukuk, i.e. Shariah compliance at the pre-issuance stage, ongoing stage and post-issuance stage. On top of these, it was also found from the interviews that not all risk management techniques are workable to manage Shariah non-compliant risk in sukuk. As a result, these findings suggest rigorous reviews of the existing Shariah non-compliance risk (SNCR) disclosures and risk management techniques by the relevant parties.

Sukuk documents used in the study are limited to corporate wakalah sukuk issued in Malaysia. Out of 32 issuances from 2015 to 2021, only 23 documents are available in relevant website. Thus, Shariah non-compliant risk disclosure and its risk management techniques analysed in this study are only limited in those documents.

The findings of this study suggest rigorous reviews on the existing Shariah non-compliance disclosures and risk management techniques. Other than these, future research in relation to uncommon risk management clauses, i.e. assurance, Shariah waiver and transfer of risk, are needed.

The insights presented in the analysis are of importance to sukuk issuers and the sukuk due diligence working group in enhancing the sukuk Shariah compliance and Shariah non-compliant risks disclosure and towards sukuk investors, in capturing and assessing Shariah non-compliant risks in a sukuk and to assist them to make informed investment decisions. More importantly, this study has found few areas of future study in relation to SNCR disclosures and SNCR risk management techniques.

This paper aims to investigate the differences in the practice of tawarruq munazzam contracts based on personal financing products. The researcher will then analyse the said differences based on the potential for risk to occur and risk from a Shariah perspective.

This study’s methodology is qualitative, in which the data are collected through library research and field studies. The library research is conducted by examining books, articles, statutes and related circulars. From the practical aspect, field studies were conducted in an unstructured interview method with officers used in Islamic banks. The snowball method was used to determine the number of Islamic banks to be studied until no new information was obtained on the different practices of tawarruq munazzam contracts based on personal financing products.

The results show that there are differences in the practice of tawarruq munazzam contracts based on personal financing products practised by the Islamic banks studied. These differences have brought significant influence in determining the level of Shariah risk potentials and Shariah risks, respectively. The results also show that the highest number of the Shariah risk potential and Shariah risk in the Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) studied is 10 i.e. covering the issues of customer engagement, wa’ad (promise), commodity asset, gharar (uncertainty), wakalah (representative), ta’wid and gharamah, the willing but not an able debtor, qalb dayn and two prices in a transaction. Meanwhile, the least amount of the Shariah risk potential and Shariah risk in the IFIs studied is four, i.e. covering the issues of customer engagement, wakalah, the willing but not an able debtor and two prices in a transaction. Findings prove that there are opportunities for IFIs to minimise Shariah risk potential and risk in the personal financing products offered.

This study is limited to the practice of tawarruq munazzam contracts based on personal financing products practised by IFIs in Malaysia.

The differences in the tawarruq munazzam contract practice show the distinctive elements in both Shariah risk potential and Shariah risk. Therefore, the findings of this study can be a guideline for IFIs to improve the practice of tawarruq munazzam contracts, especially in personal financing products in minimising Shariah risk potential and Shariah risk.

The public confidence in Islamic banking is increasing as Islamic banks can minimise the Shariah risk potential and Shariah risk in tawarruq munazzam contracts based on the personal financing products offered.

This study analyses the differences in the practice of tawarruq munazzam contracts based on personal financing products by IFIs in Malaysia, which can impact Shariah risk potential and Shariah risk.