Does Islamic Finance fulfill the objectives of Maqasid Al-Shari’ah?

Authors

  • Ainatul Aqilah Kamarudin Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • Salina Kassim International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Riasat Amin Imon International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Seow Yi Xian Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Keywords:

Islamic Finance, Islamic Banking, Islamic Capital market, Takaful, Maqasid al-Shari’ah

Abstract

This study examines whether Islamic finance is fulfilling the objectives of Maqasid al-Shari’ah. It adopts qualitative analysis, where an in-depth interview session with 7 experts in the industry is undertaken. The findings are classified into 3 themes; 1) Information on the Islamic banking-growth nexus, 2) Information on the Islamic capital market-growth nexus, and 3) Information on the Takaful-growth nexus. The first theme shows that although Islamic Banking (IB) sector is gradually moving towards equity financing, it is still highly-dependent on debt-financing. The second theme shows that Islamic Capital Market (ICM) is significantly contributing to the ESG via the implementation of SRI Sukuk, Bond Grant Scheme, ESG Financing/Sukuk, and value-based judgement projects. The final theme shows that Takaful industry has contributed its own humble quota to economic growth by creating jobs to the society and adding values to both participants and businesses. The work gives some insights into the field of Islamic finance in the light of Maqasid al-Shari’ah from the perspective of a developing country, which is Malaysia.

References

Abdul Rahim, M. S. (2025). Development of Islamic Deposit Product Post-Islamic Financial Services Act 2013: A Retrospective Analysis. Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/123343

Abdul Rahman, A. R. (2007). Islamic banking and finance: between ideals and realities. International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting, 15(2).

Alias, M. A. A., Mohd Jailani, M. R., Wan Ismail, W. A. F., & Baharuddin, A. S. (2024). The integration of five main goals of Shariah in the production of science and technology for human well-being. AL-MAQASID The International Journal of Maqāṣid Studies and Advanced Islamic Research, 5(1), 1-16. https://almaqasid.my/index.php/ojs/article/view/79

Alias, M.N., Lubis, M.A., Kamis, M.S., Samsudin, M.A., Omar, A.F., & Mokhtar, A.I. (2018). Maqasid Syariah Sebagai Sandaran Hukum Menurut Mazhab Syafie. Asean Comparative Education Research Journal on Islam and Civilization (Acer-J),2(1), 48-58.

Al-Shawkani, M. I. A. (1999). Irshad al-fuhul ila tahqiq al-haqq min ‘ilm al-usul. Dar al-Kutub al-‘Arabi.

Al-Zuhayli, W. (1986). Usul al-fiqh al-Islami. Dar al-Fikr.

Ashurov, S., Idris, A.F., & Othman, A.H. (2018). The prospective of introducing Islamic banking system in Tajikistan: using theory diffusion and innovation (TDI) approach. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 6(7), 74-94.

Avdukic, A., & Asutay, M. (2024). Testing the development impact of islamic banking: Islamic moral economy approach to development. Economic Systems, 49(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2024.101229

Boukhatem, J., & Moussa, F. B. (2017). The effect of Islamic banks on GDP growth: Some evidence from selected MENA countries. Borsa Istanbul Review, 18(3), 231–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bir.2017.11.004

Burkab, M. A. (2002). al-Maṣaliḥ al-Mursalah wa Atharuha fi Murunat al-Fiqh al-Islami. Dar al-Buḥuth li al-Dirssah al-Islamiyyah wa al-Iḥya’ al-Thurath.

Chao, C., & Salvendy, G. (1994). Percentage of procedural knowledge acquired as a function of the number of experts from whom knowledge is acquired for diagnosis, debugging, and interpretation tasks. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 6(3), 221–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447319409526093

Chapra, M. U. (1988). Towards an Islamic Financial System. International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting, 1(2).

Chapra, M. Umer. (2003). Development Economics: Lessons that Remain to be Learned. Islamic Studies, 42(4), 639–650.

Farlian, T., Juliansyah, R., & Handayani, M. (2021). The Influence of Sharia Banking on Economic Growth in Banda Aceh. In Proceedings: Dirundeng International Conference on Islamic Studies, 145–152. https://doi.org/10.47498/dicis.v1i1.1035

Gwadabe, N. A., & Rahman, A. A. (2020). The role of Islamic finance in mitigating the economic impact of COVID-19 towards the attainment of maqasid al shariah: A case study of waqf institutions in Kano State, Nigeria. The Journal of Muamalat and Islamic Finance Research, 59–70. https://doi.org/10.33102/jmifr.v17i3.284

Imon, Riasat Amin. (2018). The Malaysian IB sector viewed through systems theory. International Islamic University Malaysia.

Kamali, Mohammad Hashim. (2008). Maqasid al-Shariah made simple. International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).

Lestari, R. H. S., Damayanti, A. K., & Masuwd, M. A. (2025). Optimising Societal Welfare: The Strategic Role of Maqashid Shariah and Maslahah in Contemporary Islamic Economics and Business. Al-Insyiroh: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 11(1), 20–40. https://doi.org/10.35309/alinsyiroh.v11i1.363

Mohd Zain, F. A., Wan Abdullah, W. A., Muhamad Nasir, M. N., & Hassan, M. F. (2025). Development of a comprehensive sustainability performance index for takaful operators: integrating Maqasid Al-Shariah and stakeholder perspectives. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 18(3), 628–648. https://doi.org/10.1108/imefm-07-2024-0343

Prasojo, P., Muhfiatun, M., Syarifah, L., & Rosman, R. (2025). Conformity of Indonesian Islamic bank CSR practices with maqashid shariah rules. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 16(9), 2596–2616. https://doi.org/10.1108/jima-01-2024-0047

Rahmawati, R., Syamsuddin, R., & Khalik, S. (2025). Maqasid Shari’ah Analysis of Shari’ah Bank services in Makassar City. Khatulistiwa Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Sosial Humaniora, 5(1), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.55606/khatulistiwa.v5i1.6021

Sarwer, D. B., Moore, R. H., Spitzer, J. C., Wadden, T. A., Raper, S. E., & Williams, N. N. (2012). A pilot study investigating the efficacy of postoperative dietary counseling to improve outcomes after bariatric surgery. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, 8(5), 561–568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soard.2012.02.010

Shaikh, S. A., Ismail, A. G., & Shafiai, M. H. M. (2017). Application of waqf for social and development finance. ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance, 9(1), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijif-07-2017-002

Sheikh, R., & Hussain, K. (2024). Reimagining Islamic banking in the light of Maqasid Shariah. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 17(5), 1113–1134. https://doi.org/10.1108/qrfm-04-2024-0108

Smolo, E. (2026). Does Islamic banking promote environmental sustainability? Evidence from QISMUT countries. Green Finance, 8(1), 113–141. https://doi.org/10.3934/gf.2026005

Suzuki, Y., & Pramono, S. (2020). The Growth of Islamic Banking in Indonesia: Theory and Practice (1st ed.). Routledge.

Syaichoni, A., Huda, Q., Pangestu, N., & Sampurno, R. W. (2025). Integrating Maqasid al-Shariah and Sustainable Development Goals Islamic Financial Planning: A Framework for Ethical Wealth Distribution. (2025). International Journal of Islamic Finance, 3(1), 81-94.

Yas, H., Mardani, A., & Alfarttoosi, A. (2020). The Major Issues Facing Staff in Islamic Banking Industry and its Impact on Productivity. Contemporary Economics, 14(3), 392–405. https://doi.org/10.5709/ce.1897-9254.412

Yusuf, M. Y., & Bahari, Z. B. (2015). Islamic corporate social responsibility in Islamic banking: Towards poverty alleviation. Ethics, Governance and Regulation in Islamic Finance, 73(5), 92-99.

Published

2026-04-06

How to Cite

Kamarudin, A. A., Kassim, S., Imon, R. A., & Xian, S. Y. (2026). Does Islamic Finance fulfill the objectives of Maqasid Al-Shari’ah?. International Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(4), 373–386. Retrieved from http://www.ijeponline.org/index.php/journal/article/view/1300

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 4 (2026)

Section

Peer Review Articles
Copyright & Licensing

Copyright (c) 2026 Ainatul Aqilah Kamarudin, Salina Kassim, Riasat Amin Imon, Seow Yi Xian

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Allows users to: distribute and copy the article; create extracts, abstracts, and other revised versions, adaptations or derivative works of or from an article (such as a translation); include in a collective work (such as an anthology); and text or data mine the article. These uses are permitted even for commercial purposes, provided the user: gives appropriate credit to the author(s) (with a link to the formal publication through the relevant URL ID); includes a link to the license; indicates if changes were made; and does not represent the author(s) as endorsing the adaptation of the article or modify the article in such a way as to damage the authors' honor or reputation. CC BY