Since the discovery of oil in the Middle East an increasing number of important contracts must be framed in accordance with the Shari'a. Moreover various factors have helped to create among Muslims a more acute sense of an original Islamic identity & a collective feeling that Shari's should govern their lives not only with regard to personal & family matters but also as a valid & reasonable corpus of commercial & civil laws. The ban on taking interest (riba) & the rejection of chance contracts (gharar) are two features of an Islamic law of contract which contrast with the secular man-made legal systems of the West. This book is concerned with these two Islamic Prohibitory rules & with the interest-free banking system which has developed therefrom. This is a new enlarged edition where the comparative examination of the topics of the book is updated & furthermore extended to cover the Shi'a Ja'fari fiqh. As a result all aspects are examined in the light of the teachings of the four Sunni schools -which hold authority in the Arab states & in Pakistan -of the Ibadis strongly present in Oman & of the Shi'a Ja'faris prevalent in Iran & largely present in Iraq, Bahrein, Kuweit & Lebanon. The new edition will confirm the use of the initial one as a text book with a particular appeal to academics & practising lawyers. It also provides an insight into the religious & idealogical foundations claimed by Islamic banking.

Islamic Commercial Law: Contemporariness, Normativeness and Competence offers new perspectives on why for centuries Islamic commercial law has been perceived as arbitrary and unpredictable, and on its evolution to a contemporary, consistent, reliable and credible body of law. The book also examines why Western positivists have viewed Islamic commercial law in a simplistic or archaic religious framework and counters those arguments with an examination of its normative legal qualities. The work analyses the competencies of Fiqh (jurisprudence) for structuring new financial instruments, and restructuring conventional financial products more equitability.