The aim of this book is to explore and analyze the Islamic axioms, foundation principles and values underpinning the field of governance in an attempt to construct the architectonics of a new systemic and dynamic theory and formulate the articulation of ‘Islamic governance’. This discursive and abstract, rather than being an empirical exercise, assumes to produce a ‘good governance’ framework within its own formulation through a value-shaped dynamic model according to maqasid al-Shari’ah (higher objective of Shari’ah) by going beyond the narrow remit of classical and contemporary discussions produced on the topic, which propose a certain institutional model of governance based on the classical juristic (fiqh) method. Through an exclusive analytical discursive approach in this book, readers will find that Islam as one of the major religions in the contemporary world with the claim of promising the underpinning principles and philosophical foundations of worldly affairs and institutions through a micro method of producing homoIslamicus could contribute towards development of societies by establishing a unique model of governance from its explicit ontological worldview through a directed descriptive epistemology.

A practical guide for robust sharī'ah governance of the Islamic banking industry Debate in the market on the extent of sharī'ah compliance of Islamic banks, their products, and activities has piqued stakeholders' interest. In Foundations of Sharī'ah Governance of Islamic Banks, Karim Ginena and Azhar Hamid explore the depths of sharī'ah governance to unravel its mysterious dimensions, and equip academics and practitioners with a solid understanding of the subject, which has become a serious challenge and thus deserves dedicated attention. The authors make a strong case for the need to contain the sharī'ah risk that Islamic banks experience, and present a compelling argument for how this should be done. Ginena and Hamid propose a robust sharī'ah governance model that comprehensively tackles thisrisk, and helps improve the extent of sharī'ah compliance of market players. The authors detail the internal, external, and institutional arrangements needed to promote responsible sharī'ah governance, and critically analyze current laws, regulations, and industry practices on the topic. The chapters of the book do the following: Examine the roots, characteristics and objectives of sharī'ah and its relation to financial dealings; Probe the role of regulators in sharī'ah governance, explore the different approaches adopted by banking supervisors, and provide examples of relevant legal and regulatory measures; Explain to bank directors and management the fiduciary duty they assume with respect to sharī'ah compliance, and detail how they could discharge this responsibility in line with best practices; Elaborate on the purpose of the Sharī'ah Supervisory Board (SSB), its responsibilities, competence criteria, internal regulations, and key governance guidelines; additionally, they explore different SSB models; Describe the internal sharī'ah control system including its six components, and examine the internal sharī'ah audit function as well as different stages of conducting a sharī'ah audit; Clarify the role of a sharī'ah auditor, with guidance on reporting lines, scope of duties, authority, and practical ways on fulfilling tasks, such as a sample sharī'ah risk assessment grid and audit checklists; Discuss the newly emerging external sharī'ah advisory firms that are expected to play a key role in the coming years and the services they provide. Through an effective treatment of each of these elements, and the way that they interact with one another, the book offers a fresh take on how robust sharī'ah governance of Islamic banks can be successfully accomplished. It is a comprehensive resource for academics, regulators, directors, lawyers, auditors, consultants, employees, and customers of Islamic banks interested in learning more about these challenges. This essential reading persuasively extends the discourse on the subject and addresses critical sharī'ah issues that have policy implications for decision makers in jurisdictions aiming to attract the fast-growing Islamic finance industry or increase their market share.

The translation of an essay first published in Egypt in 1925, which took the contemporaries of its author by storm. At a time when the Muslim world was in great turmoil over the question of the abolition of the caliphate by Mustapha Kamal Ataturk in Turke

A practical guide for robust sharī'ah governance of the Islamic banking industry Debate in the market on the extent of sharī'ah compliance of Islamic banks, their products, and activities has piqued stakeholders' interest. In Foundations of Sharī'ah Governance of Islamic Banks, Karim Ginena and Azhar Hamid explore the depths of sharī'ah governance to unravel its mysterious dimensions, and equip academics and practitioners with a solid understanding of the subject, which has become a serious challenge and thus deserves dedicated attention. The authors make a strong case for the need to contain the sharī'ah risk that Islamic banks experience, and present a compelling argument for how this should be done. Ginena and Hamid propose a robust sharī'ah governance model that comprehensively tackles thisrisk, and helps improve the extent of sharī'ah compliance of market players. The authors detail the internal, external, and institutional arrangements needed to promote responsible sharī'ah governance, and critically analyze current laws, regulations, and industry practices on the topic. The chapters of the book do the following: Examine the roots, characteristics and objectives of sharī'ah and its relation to financial dealings; Probe the role of regulators in sharī'ah governance, explore the different approaches adopted by banking supervisors, and provide examples of relevant legal and regulatory measures; Explain to bank directors and management the fiduciary duty they assume with respect to sharī'ah compliance, and detail how they could discharge this responsibility in line with best practices; Elaborate on the purpose of the Sharī'ah Supervisory Board (SSB), its responsibilities, competence criteria, internal regulations, and key governance guidelines; additionally, they explore different SSB models; Describe the internal sharī'ah control system including its six components, and examine the internal sharī'ah audit function as well as different stages of conducting a sharī'ah audit; Clarify the role of a sharī'ah auditor, with guidance on reporting lines, scope of duties, authority, and practical ways on fulfilling tasks, such as a sample sharī'ah risk assessment grid and audit checklists; Discuss the newly emerging external sharī'ah advisory firms that are expected to play a key role in the coming years and the services they provide. Through an effective treatment of each of these elements, and the way that they interact with one another, the book offers a fresh take on how robust sharī'ah governance of Islamic banks can be successfully accomplished. It is a comprehensive resource for academics, regulators, directors, lawyers, auditors, consultants, employees, and customers of Islamic banks interested in learning more about these challenges. This essential reading persuasively extends the discourse on the subject and addresses critical sharī'ah issues that have policy implications for decision makers in jurisdictions aiming to attract the fast-growing Islamic finance industry or increase their market share.

Islam can contribute towards the development of societies by establishing a unique model of governance from its explicit ontological worldview through a directed descriptive epistemology. The research on governance in this study does not only focus on the positivistic materialist components such as institutions or mechanisms or growth per se, but it encompasses the value-laden holistic nature of human life in accordance with the Islamic worldview as an important contribution. In doing so, it formulates ‘good governance’ in Islam in relation to the conceptualized ‘ihsani social capital’, which constitutes the main thrust of the constructed model.

International institutions have promoted a?good governance? agenda as an archetypal model to achieve development for underdeveloped and developing countries. However, closer scrutiny can trace the root of this agenda back to the hegemonic nature of modernity that proposes a specific meta-narrative upon others, as part of Eurocentrism. Many, however, have criticized this Eurocentric paradigm, since the non-Western communities with their own constructed version of?good? in governance have also proven their ability to develop and prosper in the present or in the past. Thus, the cultural and value-laden nature of such vernacular concepts provides the rationale for the existence and practice of other paradigms. In line with this argument, Islam, with its long history of governance and richness of its values can be considered as another alternative, which should be thoroughly examined to disclose and depict its conceptualization and paradigm of?good governance?. The aim of this research, thus, is to explore and analyze the Islamic axioms, foundation principles and values underpinning the field of governance in an attempt to construct the architectonics of a new systemic and dynamic theory and formulate the articulation of?Islamic governance?. This discursive and abstract, rather than being an empirical exercise, assumes to produce a?good governance? framework within its own formulation through a value-shaped dynamic model according to maq??id al-Shar??ah (higher objective of Shar??ah) by going beyond the narrow remit of classical and contemporary discussions produced on the topic, which propose a certain institutional model of governance based on the classical juristic (fiqh) method. In this new dynamic paradigm, a discourse-oriented approach is taken to establish the philosophical foundation of the model by deriving it from Islamic ontology, which is then articulated using the Islamic epistemological sources to develop and formulate the discursive foundations of this new theoretical framework. A deductive method is applied to the ontological sources and epistemological principles to explain the architectonics of this new theory, which are represented by the constructed axioms, which later help to articulate the working mechanism of the proposed?Islamic good governance? framework through a specifically formulated typology to function as an alternative conceptualization of?good governance?. This study, through an exclusive analytical discursive approach, finds that Islam as one of the major religions in the contemporary world with the claim of promising the underpinning principles and philosophical foundations of worldly affairs and institutions through a micro method of producing homoIslamicus could contribute towards development of societies by establishing a unique model of governance from its explicit ontological worldview through a directed descriptive epistemology. Thus, the research on governance in this study does not only focus on the positivistic materialist components such as institutions or mechanisms or growth per se, but it encompasses the value-laden holistic nature of human life in accordance with the Islamic worldview as an important contribution. In doing so, it formulates the?good governance? in Islam in relation to the conceptualized?ihsani social capital?, which constitutes the main thrust of the constructed model. Nonetheless, this generative (non-cumulative) paradigm of looking into the governance issue should be viewed as an incomplete certainty as production of the continuous ijtihad (reasoning) progression will continue to reveal ways through which its working mechanism can be expanded along with potential developments in its philosophical formation.

This book advances an Islamic political philosophy based on the concept of Ihsan, which means to do beautiful things. The author moves beyond the dominant model of Islamic governance advanced by modern day Islamists. The political philosophy of Ihsan privileges process over structure, deeds over identity, love over law and mercy and forgiveness over retribution. The work invites Muslims to move away from thinking about the form of Islamic government and to strive to create a self-critical society that defends national virtue and generates institutions and practices that provide good governance.