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This study aims to explore the opportunities and challenges in activating a Smart Contract to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Ṣukūk offerings in the Islamic capital market.

The study adopts a mono-method qualitative approach. Data were obtained from survey interviews of two issuances on the fusion of smart contracts in Ṣukūk structures that were Sharīʿah-compliant. A thematic approach was further used to analyze the interview data based on the onion research method while opportunities and challenges of activating the Smart Ṣukūk (SṢ) relied on doctrinal evidence.

The results from the issuances across two jurisdictions showed that deployment of SṢ can resolve contractual ambiguities arising from Sharīʿah interpretations, jurisdictional policies and legal regime issues, which affect Ṣukūk origination and issuances especially on the right of investors in the event of Ṣukūk defaults. Although SṢ is automated, the third party’s presence is not eliminated as the blockchain platform still relies on the validators who are usually blockchain developers functioning as a third party in the Ṣukūk chain.

The study relies on doctrinal literature to explain the features and requirements of SṢ. The empirical approach is limited to interview data based on local SṢ issuances. Future studies need to explore regulators’ role and global standards in cross-border issuance of SṢ with multiple jurisdictions/laws.

The paper concludes that the offering of SṢ using local currency has been successful in the two issuances because of the facilitative regulatory environment. However, addressing Ṣukūk’s challenges in cross-border offerings would require guidance from international standard-setters such as the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and the Islamic Financial Services Board.

This study is an advanced application of smart contracts to alleviate the related Ṣukūk challenges in the Islamic capital market.

COVID-19 pandemic was a health crisis that plunged the world into economic turmoil due to its resultant national lockdowns across economies which brought business and market activities to a standstill. In order to adapt to ensuing restrictions owing to the pandemic, forge ahead in a new way of living, work and interactions with one another (new normal), digitizing business and market operations is considered a necessary option. Sukuk is an essential Islamic capital market product whose operations involve multiple parties/intermediaries alongside some technical financial, administrative and legal/shariah processes. On this note, this chapter aims to study and examine the need for digitizing and automating sukuk operations and related activities to pave way for innovation, development and better continuity of sukuk market. In conducting the study, a review of literature approach is employed where relevant works on sukuk and fintech were examined. Using content analysis, the chapter explored digitization of sukuk in the Islamic capital market via fintech and blockchain and associated benefits, including peculiar challenges therein. An interview was also conducted to better understand the Wethaq case study. The chapter reveals that digitizing sukuk issuance adds value to sukuk and remedies certain inadequacies associated with sukuk transactions; can increase transparency of underlying sukuk assets and cash flows and can reduce costs due to lesser number of intermediaries. Digitization is the future of sukuk issuance and will promote sukuk well through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

This paper aims to explore issues arising from ṣukūk (Islamic bonds) on blockchain, including Sharīʾah (Islamic law) and legal matters.

A qualitative methodology is used in conducting this research where relevant literature on ṣukūk was reviewed. Through a doctrinal approach, the paper presents analyses on the practice of ṣukūk and ṣukūk on blockchain by discussing its legal, Sharīʾah and regulatory issues. This culminates in a conceptual analysis of blockchain ṣukūk and its peculiar challenges.

This paper reveals that digitizing ṣukūk issuance through blockchain remedies certain inefficiencies associated with ṣukūk transactions. Indeed, structuring ṣukūk on a blockchain platform can increase transparency of underlying ṣukūk assets and cash flows in addition to reducing costs and the number of intermediaries in ṣukūk transactions. The paper likewise brings to light legal, regulatory, Sharīʾah and cyber risks associated with ṣukūk on blockchain that confront investors, practitioners and regulators. This calls for deeper collaboration in research among Sharīʾah scholars, lawyers, regulators and information technology experts.

As a pioneering subject, the paper notes the prospects of blockchain ṣukūk and the current dearth of literature on it. The paper would assist relevant Islamic capital market entities and authorities to determine the potential and impact of blockchain ṣukūk in their respective businesses and the financial system.

Blockchain ṣukūk will assist in addressing issues inherent in classical ṣukūk and in paving the way to innovative solutions that will facilitate and enhance the quality of ṣukūk transactions. For that, ṣukūk would require appropriate regulatory technology to address its governance and regulation peculiarities.

Integrating ṣukūk with blockchain technology will add value to it. The paper advances the idea that blockchain ṣukūk revolutionises ṣukūk and enhances its practice against known inadequacies.

This paper aims to provide a reflective discussion on the different avenues of blockchain application in Islamic finance in promoting trust and transparency for increased accountability between parties involved in the delivery of Sharīʿah-compliant products and services.

This paper discusses on blockchain benefits in Islamic finance while providing an illustration with smart Sukuk. Having identified the advantages of the development of Islamic financial technology (i-FinTech), this study ends by debating a couple of challenges (computational codification of Sharīʿah principles and environmental impact) that have to be addressed to promote the development of a real sustainable Islamic FinTech.

This paper also identifies two challenges in using blockchain in i-Fintech. The first challenge refers to the extent to which Sharīʿah principles can be computationally encoded. Blockchain makes public all transactions that ease Sharīʿah compliance checks and determine if these transactions are Islamic in nature but this check can be done only after their operation. The second challenge is related to the algorithmic protocol used to validate smart contracts (including smart Sukuk). This situation calls into question the principles of Maqasid al-Sharīʿah according to which transactions should not harm society.

In the current debates related to the development of Islamic FinTech, this paper also identifies two challenges in using blockchain in i-Fintech.

This study aims to propose and verify the suitability and applicability of Islamic equity-based microfinance models for financing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the State of Libya. The proposed models combine the unique features of social solidarity, cooperation “Ta’awan,” meeting religious requirements and providing financing more fairly and equitably.

A qualitative approach is applied in this study through semi-structured interviews with several Libyan experts, including Islamic bankers, Shariah scholars, MSMEs experts, Islamic microfinance experts and academicians. The data collected from 2019 to 2021 and thematic analysis by computer-based software NVivo is used to analyze the data.

The results indicate that the proposed Islamic equity-based microfinance models are suitable and applicable in Libya. This study also reveals that the proposed models have numerous potential benefits not only in meeting the financial needs of MSMEs but also in meeting the government objectives in economic divarication and socioeconomic development.

First, the study proposes the applicability and suitability of Islamic equity-based models in financing MSMEs only, while large firms are excluded from the study. Second, the study only proposes and tests the applicability of Islamic equity-modes of financing contracts, namely, Musharakah and Mudarabah, while Islamic debt-based financing models are not included. Finally, as there is no practical evidence of using those models for financing MSMEs in Libya, this study lacks empirical evaluations of equity models’ real benefits on income, employment generation, living standards improvement and business growth and sustainability.

Given the importance of the MSMEs sector for the State of Libya’s economic growth, it is expected that the findings of this study can be of assistance in formulating guidelines and implementing Islamic equity-based microfinance programs. Besides, it can be a valuable source of information for policymakers for improving the functions of the current microfinance programs in the country. Additionally, as studies concerning Islamic alternative models for financing MSMEs are scarce, the current study can also be a reference point for researchers, academicians, practitioners and other stakeholders.

Providing capital support for the underfunded economy segment, attracting small savings, increasing investments and developing entrepreneurial skills could lead to improved economic productivity and growth.

The present study proposes the structure of Islamic equity-based microfinance models for MSMEs in Libya and verifies the suitability of those proposed models among Libyan experts. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has been conducted on uncovering and exploring the potentials of Islamic equity-based microfinance models for financing MSMEs in Libya.

The choice between different financing sources is governed by a number of finance theories, particularly, trade-off theory and pecking order theory. However, the special characteristics of Islamic finance, which forces the exclusion of conventional bonds, leave Islamic banks with limited number of alternatives. Tier 1 sukuk are distinguished type of sukuk that combines the features of conventional bonds and stocks. This paper aims to answer the following question: Does the issuance of Tier 1 sukuk positively affect Islamic banks’ profitability or is their impact concentrated on enhancing Islamic banks’ capital adequacy ratios?

The data set used in this study consists of all United Arab Emirates (UAE) Islamic banks that issued Tier 1 sukuk over the period 2010–2020. Pooled and fixed effects panel regressions of Tier 1 sukuk and other control variables on three proxies of Islamic banks’ profitability were run. The selection of fixed-effect model is based on Hausman test, redundant fixed effects and likelihood ratio test.

This study reveals novel findings. Tier 1 sukuk increases both earnings per share (EPS) and capital adequacy ratios. That is, this study finds that there is a positive significant impact of Tier 1 sukuk on EPS, which indicates that issuing more Tier 1 sukuk will generate more return to shareholders in terms of higher EPS because of the lower cost of Tier 1 sukuk compared to equity. However, this study finds that there is an insignificant impact of Tier on sukuk on both return on assets and return on equity. Hence, it is concluded that Tier 1 sukuk does not increase the risk appetite of UAE Islamic banks.

Tier 1 sukuk is a niche instrument that has been recently used by Islamic banks. Hence, there are a limited number of Islamic banks that have issued this type of sukuk and consequently limited number of observations. Therefore, with the increased use of this instrument, a larger set of data will be available for examination. In addition, future research could examine the relationship between issuing Tier 1 sukuk and profitability in other countries where such sukuk have loss absorption feature. The impact of other types of sukuk, such as liability sukuk, on Islamic banks’ profitability could also be an interesting field of study.

This study recommends Islamic banks to issue more Tier 1 sukuk to enhance their profitability indicators while meeting Basel III accord. This study also recommends investors to purchase the stocks of Islamic banks that issue Tier 1 sukuk because they are able to offer them higher EPS. The authors advise the UAE regulators to allow Islamic banks to issue Tier 1 sukuk with loss absorption feature to enable Islamic banks engage in more risky activities that usually provide larger profits. This study also suggests that the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) reclassifies Tier 1 sukuk, with loss absorption feature, within the highest quality of capital, common equity Tier 1, to encourage Islamic banks to issue this type of sukuk, especially Basel III accord and IFSB 15 require higher ratios of common equity Tier 1 to risk-weighted assets.

This research contributes to the existing literature in two ways. First, it adds to the existing literature on the impact of sukuk on Islamic banks profitability. That is, contrary to prior studies that merely investigate the impact of issuing ordinary sukuk on profitability, this study explores a distinguished type of sukuk, that is Tier 1 sukuk, that has been surprisingly ignored so far. Second, this study shows that it is not only capital adequacy ratios that have improved as a result of issuing Tier 1 sukuk but also Tier 1 sukuk reduce the cost of capital of UAE Islamic banks which has been reflected in a higher profitability proxied by EPS. Hence, these sukuk serve a dual function for Islamic banks by improving both capital adequacy and profitability ratios.

This paper aims to explore the prospects and the challenges of Islamic fintech in Indonesia. This study also proposes a comprehensive legal framework to encourage and accelerate the growth of the Islamic economy.

This study is the result of legal research with a statute approach and conceptual approach. The types of data used are legal materials consisting of primary legal materials and secondary legal materials. The technique of collecting legal materials is done by using library research techniques. The legal materials were analyzed using the legal norm method.

Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. However, the market size of Indonesia’s Islamic fintech is still below Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia’s Islamic fintech is the biggest market in the world, with $17.9bn worth of transactions in 2020 while Iran is at $9.2bn, UAE $3.7bn, Malaysia $3.0bn and Indonesia $2.9bn. This condition was due to various challenges in the Islamic fintech industry in Indonesia, including inadequate regulations; complicated permit procedures; misuse of fintech for financing terrorism; rampant occurrence of illegal fintech businesses; and consumer disputes in the fintech sector. These challenges require the construction of a comprehensive legal framework through the formation of an Act on Fintech.

The focus of this research was limited to the problems occurring in the Islamic fintech sector in Indonesia as a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

The results of this research can be used as recommendations for the formulation of comprehensive policies for the growth and development of Islamic fintech.

Islamic fintech requires a comprehensive legal framework that functions to encourage the development of the Islamic fintech industry, digital economy growth and legal mitigation of various legal risks and misuse of fintech for financial crime and financing terrorism.

This paper proposes an original idea of creating a legal framework in a form of the Islamic Fintech Act. The Act should cover such legal substances as follows: Islamic compliance; an integrated one-stop permit procedure; division of authority, coordination and synergy among authorities; prevention and resolution of digital financial system crisis; criminal sanctions; and consumer dispute resolution mechanisms and alternative institution for fintech consumer dispute resolution.

Purpose: FinTech is exploding all over the world. FinTech companies play a critical role in growing the banking industry. This chapter reviews existing literature on FinTech in banking, particularly its publication trend, journal productivity and impact, affiliated organisations and related themes.

Need for the Study: FinTech is reshaping the banking sector as banks move towards digitisation. FinTech has eliminated the need for paper, reduced the requirement for physical presence, and destroyed the necessity for cash. Several researchers have studied the features and benefits of FinTech technologies in the banking field. So, there is a need to analyse the available literature to identify the scope of further research in this field.

Methodology: For a comprehensive review, Bibliometric and content analysis of 77 open access green articles collected through the structured database of ‘Dimensions’ is done. These articles are published in the UGC Journal List Group II.

Findings: It is revealed that the execution of FinTech is continuously increasing in the banking sector, which has resulted in automation in various banking activities. The study revolves around technology and Banking, Financial Inclusion and Growth, and the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Banking and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending.

Practical Implications: The conclusions of this study can help academia and industry improve their understanding of FinTech in Banking, specifically its publication trend, geographical distribution, and creation of coherent themes. Careful analysis of collected articles will help to explore the scope of further research.

The purpose of this study is to examine the management of cash waqf fund generation through the implementation of istibdal in Kedah.

The data are obtained through literature and empirical data. The authors first review the literature on the importance of waqf fundraising, the implementation factors of istibdal waqf and the relevance of istibdal method as a waqf fund generation medium to understand the extent to which the scholarly articles have discussed these topics. Furthermore, the authors conducted face-to-face interviews with two Kedah Islamic Religious Council (Majlis Agama Islam Kedah [MAIK]) officers, who were directly involved in the affairs of istibdal waqf to obtain holistic information regarding implementing istibdal waqf properties in Kedah. As a result, several themes are defined from the interview data before being analysed based on the content analysis method.

The results of the study show two istibdal implementation processes outlined by the Kedah Islamic Religious Council (MAIK), namely, the istibdal implementation process for waqf land registered title deed, and waqf land registered as reserve certificate for religious use like mosque and cemetery. The results also showed three factors in implementing istibdal in Kedah: the acquisition of waqf land by the state authority (PBN), istibdal application by the state education department (JPN) and istibdal application by the mosque committee. Out of eight cases of istibdal implementation, four have generated cash funds for MAIK through investment methods from the sale of waqf lands and rental of replaced shophouses that are able to cover the expenses of managing waqf properties in Kedah. Several suggestions are also recommended for MAIK to improve its istibdal policy, thus enabling the institution to generate cash waqf funds at the maximum rate.

This study only focused on the implementation factors and the generation of cash waqf funds through istibdal in Kedah, while it can be expanded to other states like Terengganu, Kelantan and Penang. Furthermore, this study only interviewed officers who manage matters related to the affairs of waqf properties, as the session can actually be extended to other respondents, such as those specialising in cash fund generation investments and others.

This study proposed some improvements to the policy and guidelines of istibdal waqf property to MAIK after a few shortcomings were identified throughout this study. If improved, these proposals will have a significant impact, especially on the waqf properties involved in the implementation of istibdal, where it has the potential to bring cash generation and ensure the constant economic value of waqf properties.

This study has a tremendous impact on society, in which their areas have cash waqf funds that can be developed. It can benefit the needy and increase funds for the welfare expenditure of Muslims through rental income, investment and development. Progress on waqf property provides a high indication of the efficiency of an organisation in managing the waqf property. Thus, the public, especially the rich, is motivated to fulfil their charitable practices through waqf mechanism and share their wealth with the needy.

This study contributes to comprehensive field data on the implementation factors and generation of cash waqf funds through the implementation of istibdal in Kedah. The results of this study are significant to be used by waqf property management.

This study aims to examine the effect of several factors on Muslims' intentions to invest in the Hajj fund Sukuk, Jordan. The study's hypothesis and model were derived from previous studies.

The present study was undertaken based on a self-administered questionnaire of 356 Jordanians who are Muslims and non-investors in Hajj Fund Sukuk. The sample was selected using a purposive sampling method. The data were analyzed using Smart-PLS version 4.

The results indicated that social influence, knowledge, religion and return on investment significantly affect the purchase intention of Jordanian Muslims to invest in Hajj Fund Sukuk.

There are some limitations to this study. First, the study was done in Jordan; thus, additional research might be conducted in other parts of the Islamic world to learn more about the perception of investing in Islamic Sukuk, particularly Hajj Sukuk. Second, while the present study used a quantitative research technique to achieve its purpose, it would be advantageous if the researchers used more qualitative techniques, such as interviews or focus groups, in the future to explore additional factors that may impact Muslims' intent to invest in Hajj Fund Sukuk.

The findings of the current study could help practitioners in the Islamic sukuk industry by identifying the key factors that encourage Muslims to invest in Hajj sukuk. They may use the results of this study in the formulation of marketing policies and the development of marketing strategies to persuade more investors to invest their money in these sukuk.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study carried out to better understand the main factors that may influence Muslims to invest in Hajj Sukuk in the Jordanian context. Hence, this study contributes to increasing the body of knowledge in the area of Islamic marketing in general and in the field of Islamic sukuk investment specifically.