Description
Book SynopsisThe Islamic finance industry faces the challenging task of attempting to reconcile the risk management demands of business entities with the difficulties posed by the seemingly rigid stance taken by some
Shari''ah scholars over hedging practices.
Offering a fresh perspective, Sherif Ayoub confronts the challenge by reformulating how we might think about the theorisation of economic matters in the Islamic faith. He also considers the associated perceptions of permissibility that have until now been confined to the legal sphere, with a focus on contractual elements.
Ayoub sheds light on the way the Islamic finance industry conceptualises the role of financial instruments. Paying particular attention to derivatives in a market risk management framework that adheres to the objectives of Islamic jurisprudence, readers will come to understand the issues surrounding the avoidance of
Riba (usury),
Gharar (excessive uncertainty) and
Maysir (gambling).
Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Truth Formation in Mua'amalat; a. The Path to the Truth: The Role of Maslaha, Qiyas, an Igma'a; b. Truth-seeking in the Scripture: The Reality Imposed by Critical Rationalism and Hermeneutics; 3. Market Risks and Their Management; a. Risk and its Management; b. Risk Identification; c. Risk Measurement; d. Risk Strategy; e. Rationale for Hedging; 4. Conventional Derivatives: Theory and Practice; a. Economics of Derivatives; b. Conventional Derivative Instruments; 5. Derivatives in Islamic Finance; a. Resolutions by Standard-setting Bodies in Islamic Jurisprudence; b. Theoretical Shari'a Issues; c. Contractual Shari'a Issues; d. Contemporary Derivatives in Islamic finance; 6. Permissibility of the Underlying Variables and the Recognition of the Contract; a. Permissibility of the Underlying Variables: Interest Rate Benchmarks; b. Permissibility of the Underlying Variables: Currency Benchmarks; c. The Nature of Money in Islam; d. The Recognition of the Derivatives Contract; 7. Maysir, Hedging, Derivatives; a. A Conceptualization of Maysir in Islamic and Western Thought; b. Maysir, Gharar, and the Indeterminacy of the Zero-sum Prohibition; c. Investment, Speculation, and Gambling: The Environment of Risk Management; d. The Role of Financial Intermediaries as Speculators; 8. Conclusion and Ending Remarks.
