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Purpose – This chapter examines the application of the concept of maslahah in household debt management.

Methodology/approach – A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches is employed. Questionnaires were used for data collection.

Findings – Malaysian Muslims become indebted for four main purposes: buying their first car, their first home, helping family members, and financing their studies. Thus, Muslims principally borrow funds to fulfil their dharuriyyat (essentials) and hajiyyat (complementary) needs, and in some cases, they borrow for tahsiniyyat (luxury) purposes.

Research limitation/implications – The respondents of this research are working Muslims in the Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Practical implication – This study helps Islamic finance institutions to develop better products to offer customers. Its results can also give a real picture about borrowing activities to the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency.

Originality/value – Prior studies have mainly examined household debt management. This study surveys local Muslims’ household borrowing pattern to understand the nature of personal debt management and then analyses these data against the concept of maslahah. This will enrich the currently available literature.

Money laundering and terrorism financing are financial crimes which affect the economic stability and integrity of the country. In this respect, the relevant regulator has a duty to preserve and protect the financial stability of the country. This duty is in line with the concept of the protection of wealth (hifz al-mal) under the maqāsid al-Sharīʿah or higher objectives of Islamic law framework. The objective of this chapter is to examine the protection of wealth vis-á-vis money laundering and terrorism financing from the maqāsid al-Sharīʿah perspective. This study analyses the primary and secondary legal sources on the laws and regulations on anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism while also considering the primary and secondary sources of Islamic law. This study is significant as it makes an exploration of the maqāsid al-Sharīʿah perspectives and discusses the position of unlawful wealth that is acquired from the illicit gain of property from the abuse of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. This chapter suggests that Islamic law emphasises on the lawful ownership of wealth and prohibits a person from acquiring illicit wealth. This study will contribute towards the study on the deployment of maqāsid al-Sharīʿah, which is beneficial in safeguarding an individual action as well as the country’s commitment against abuse and misuse of wealth for financial crimes.

This chapter provides a case study on a Sharīʿah-compliant home facility contract based on the Bai Bithaman Ājil (BBA) contract, generally used by Islamic banks in Malaysia. The study emphasises on the need to comply with the existing legal framework and execute relevant contracts in line with the Sharīʿah resolutions of the Sharīʿah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia without causing harm (ḍarar) to the customers or introducing uncertain elements or procedures (gharar) in the execution of the agreements. This chapter is based on doctrinal analysis of the relevant issues as well as a qualitative legal research through content analysis of relevant BBA agreements, case law as well as statutory provisions. The case study used in this chapter is completely anonymised. The study finds that the execution of BBA agreements in Malaysia leaves much to be desired. Even though the regulatory framework for Sharīʿah-compliant home financing in Malaysia is robust, there are some legal and Sharīʿah considerations which the stakeholders need to look into in order to project Malaysia as the main global hub of Islamic finance. This study demonstrates the need for proper Sharīʿah auditing of the practical execution of BBA agreements to avoid an incorporated element of gharar at the time of execution of the agreements, which might ultimately lead to unforeseen reputation risks for the bank. Though there are several studies on the Sharīʿah, financing and accounting aspects of the BBA home facility agreement, this study focusses on both Sharīʿah and legal issues, using the case study approach. The recommendations are expected to provide a good policy framework for the stakeholders in the Islamic financial services industry in Malaysia.

This chapter explores the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from an Islamic Shari'ah-compliant perspective. It provides a comprehensive literature review on CSR with an explicit focus on the Islamic perspective of CSR, Islamic models of CSR, CSR practices in conventional and Islamic banks, and the consequences of CSR to Islamic banks. This chapter's main contribution lies in considering the current CSR literature from a Shari'ah perspective. Likewise, it identifies gaps in the current literature and suggests potential areas for future research. This chapter attempts to improve the understanding of how Islamic banks integrate social responsibility into their operations. The insights from this chapter are helpful to practitioners and academic scholars in Islamic finance, accounting, and CSR. This chapter emphasizes the importance of incorporating Islamic values and principles into CSR practices and encourages further research and investigation in this area.

Purpose – Women are more susceptible to specific health risks such as breast cancer, cervical cancer, and risk during pregnancy and childbirth. These can affect women’s well-being and also need to be managed to avoid financial loss. Takaful operators in Malaysia have been offering special takaful products for women. Women can mitigate exposure to these risks through insurance. This study examines the risks faced by Malaysian women and the coverage they are offered by Islamic insurance.

Methodology/approach – The study used a qualitative methodology involving documentary evidence and interviews with four Islamic insurance agents and four product development officers from four Islamic insurance providers in Malaysia.

Findings – Among the risks faced by women are female-specific illnesses, the cost of expensive treatments, crime-related accidents or loss, social or career risks and privatisation policy. Due to these risks, women are in need of female-specific takaful products to reduce risk and protect themselves.

Originality/value – Specific takaful products for women are crucial to protect them from risks, improving their well-being and increasing their participation in the nation’s economic and social development.

Purpose – This chapter examines whether the underwriting processes of takaful operators for health takaful products conform to shariah.

Methodology/approach – A qualitative research method has been used for this study. Data have been collected from primary sources through interviews and from secondary sources by examining relevant documentation. Interviews were conducted with underwriters from takaful operators A, B, C and D. Interviews were also conducted with the shariah executives of these takaful operators and with shariah experts from two institutions – University A and Research Institute B – for their opinions on the underwriting process. This selection of respondents from those responsible for the underwriting process and from experts in shariah has assisted us in locating data for our research, based on their experience and the practices in which they are involved.

Findings – The study found that the underwriting process used by takaful operators was in accordance with Islamic principles.

Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to four takaful operators in Malaysia who have received awards for best operators; this study focuses on health takaful products.

Originality/value – This study provides a view about the process of risk selection which determines the contribution rate and whether a risk will be acceptable or not to the company.

The unique characteristic of Islamic bank leads in governance and disclosure. Using stakeholder, signaling, and market discipline theory, governance and adequate disclosure may increase bank soundness. This study aims to investigate the relationship of sharia disclosure and Sharia Supervisory Board in influencing Islamic bank soundness in the different regulatory framework of the country. Using purposive sampling, the research covered 84 Islamic banks in 16 countries during the period 2013–2015 with lag data of Islamic bank soundness. The result shows sharia disclosure influences on Islamic bank soundness for management efficiency, capital adequacy ratio, asset quality, and liquidity. The results also show that sharia disclosure mediates the indirect effect of SSB on Islamic bank soundness. The regulatory framework (sharia accounting standard and SSB regulation) shows moderating effect of regulation framework proved on the association of sharia disclosure with management efficiency, capital, and liquidity. The effect is indirectly depending on the regulatory framework for proxy management efficiency, capital, and liquidity. The implication of the research suggests that sharia disclosure could increase the market discipline mechanism of Islamic bank stream. The Islamic bank can increase the transparency using sharia disclosure as a branding for increasing public trust, even though in the deficient Islamic bank regulation countries.

Islamic finance and Halal product sectors are thriving successfully. This chapter is a general review of the perception of Asian consumers on Islamic finance and Halal sectors in the global Halal economy.

The first section will briefly describe the Halal concept in both Islamic finance and Halal industries, and the growth of both sectors in Asian countries. The second part highlights the review of Asian consumers’ perception towards Islamic finance products and Halal products.

The review found that the consumers’ perception towards the Islamic finance products and Halal products is distinctive. This is due to the diversity of Asian countries in terms of geography, religion, culture, ethnic, school of thoughts (madzahib), income per capita and government’s involvement.

The third part of the chapter concentrates on planning towards Halal marketing, which involves the move and future challenges in different layers of industries to gear up and strengthen the Halal economy.