This book deals with an old subject, Islamic Finance contracts. Yet, it is very new and unique in its approach, ideas and arguments. The book classifies Islamic finance contracts in three categories; classical nominate, traditional hybrid and new hybrid contracts. The uniqueness of the book comes from its approach of blending the legal (Shari'ah) description, conditions and requirements of each Islamic Finance contract with economic and financial analysis of the circumstances within which the contract fits. The Book also puts a special emphasis on the financial consequences of each of the Islamic finance contracts and always compares Islamic finance contracts with their conventional counterparts. This book is a serious attempt to formulate the main elements of a general theory of Islamic finance which is internally coherent and consistent with other components of Islamic economics. The book consists of seventeen chapters. The first three chapters lay down the foundations of finance contracts in the Islamic system. They discuss the general tenets of ownership and property, conditions of acquision, components, conditions and categories of Islamic finance contracts and the characteristics of return-earning in the Islamic economic system. In these chapters I emphasize the main contribution of Islamic finance in broadening the definition of finance itself and relating its earning to wealth creation in the real market of goods and services. This is compared with conventional finance in which the earning is an increment in debts or merely wealth transfer rather than wealth creation.Chapters four through eight deal with the basic nominate Islamic finance contracts; sale, leasing and sharing and other nominate side-contracts including contributoty and earnest money (Arbun) contracts. Chapters ten through thirteen are devoted to hybrid contracts used in Islamic banks today. These include Murabahah, parallel Salam, parallel Istisna', lease ending with ownership, letters of guarantee, promises and mutual promises, walalah Istithmar, etc. Chapters fourteen to sixteen deal with Islamic finance contracts used for specific objectives. They study contracts of personal finance, contracts of projects and infrastructure and contracts of liquidity management. Finally chapter seventeen discusses Islamic finance contracts and the law including judiciary cases that make precedents.
Monzer Kahf Website: www.kahf.net Present position: Professor of Islamic Finance and Economic, Faculty of Islamic Studies, HBK University, Doha, Qatar. Monzer Kahf has a strong training and knowledge of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) and Islamic Studies. He got his Ph. D. in Economics (Monetary theory and development) from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA 1975. He served as research economist, head of research division and senior research economist at Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) from 1985 to 1999. He was a professor of Islamic Economics and Banking in the graduate program of Islamic economics and banking, School of Shari'ah, Yarmouk University, Jordan for the year 2004/5. He wrote 35 books and booklets in English and Arabic, on Islamic banking and finance, Islamic economics, Zakah, Awqaf, including some which have become the standard reference manuals in the field. Some of Dr. Kahf's books are translated to Indonesian, Turkish, Russian and Korean languages. He also wrote more than 100 articles, in English and Arabic, on Islamic finance and economics, Islamic public and private finance, Islamic banking, Zakah, Awqaf, including entries for the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and other international encyclopedias. Recently he completed three landmarks of his works; 1) four books under the title of Notes on Islamic Economics: Theories and Institutions, the Third Charitable Sector, Islamic Finance and Banking and Public Finance, Economic Policy and Development, 2) an academic book on Islamic Finance Contracts (English), and 3) an Arabic book on Fundamentals of Islamic Finance. Monzer is active in associations, he is a founding member of the International Association of Islamic Economics, founding member of Association of Muslim Social Scientists of the United States of Canada, and he was part of the American Economic Association. He also advises Islamic and conventional banks, courts and other public institutions on Islamic finance, banking and Islamic endowment (awqaf). He won the President of Syria Award for best University Graduating Student in 1962 and the IDB Prize for Islamic Economics in 2001.
