Mastering Islamic Finance

This book, as the title suggests, is written for practitioners who wants to have an overview of the functionality of Islamic finance in the market. It addresses four main areas: background information, Islamic banking, takaful (Islamic insurance) and Islamic capital market. It is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on some background information on Islamic finance for those new to the field. The information is up-todate with relevant figures. The second part deals with the main products adopted in the three main streams of the Islamic finance industry alluded to above. The background information consists of the usual data found in most sources of Islamic finance and banking. However, it is important for a practitioner to grasp the environment in which one is to operate. There are four chapters in part A. The main chapter is chapter 4 on valid commercial contracts in Islamic finance. Practitioners should appreciate that Islamic finance is highly legalistic in nature and at times fundamentally different. The author has alluded to the main problematic areas one would encounter when drafting contracts. One of the main issues faced in the development of Islamic product is the issue of wa[d (promise). The author has eloquently addressed this issue because ‘promise’ is a mechanism not used in conventional product development. Practitioners might find this approach strange.