This paper investigates the underlying psychological and practical factors that motivate Muslims to pay their mandatory religious alms to specific Charity Organizations (COs) in Pakistan. Moving away from traditional quantitative approaches, the authors employ a qualitative phenomenological design, utilizing in-depth interviews with 16 participants from diverse urban and rural backgrounds.
The book discusses the vast contributions of Dr. Muhammad Nejatullah Siddiqi in disciplines like economics, finance, Islamization, Maqasid-e-Shar’iah and contemporary socio-political and economic issues. As one of the chief contributors in Islamic economics, Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqi firmly believed that Islamization, or the acquisition of knowledge, should not be pursued for the sake of gaining power and authority. Instead, the creation, acquisition, and utilization of knowledge are fundamentally intended for the betterment of humanity. Its goal is not the universal domination of Muslims, but rather the overall welfare of humanity as a whole.
This note does not seek to examine the various juristic definitions of māl. Rather, it argues that merely describing cryptocurrencies as digital numbers or ledger entries does not seem sufficient to exclude them from the category of māl. The same description applies to modern banking, electronic money, and numerous forms of intangible financial rights. In fact, what we call fiat currencies—such as the Pakistani Rupee or the US Dollar—have themselves largely become ledger entries. The balances held in bank accounts (including those of Islamic banks) are, in reality, digital records.
The most common objection to crypto assets in Shar’iah discussions is not about risk. It is not about volatility either. It is more basic than that. The objection says there is no ‘thing’ here to judge in the first place. A crypto asset, based on this view, is not property that happens to be risky. It is not property at all. It does not exist. It is only an imaginary or a fictional number in a database, created by a computation. And numbers in a database are not wealth or assets (mal).
If this premise is correct, every later question is already settled. Is a crypto asset property (mal)? Does it carry financial or economic value (maliyyah) in the Shar’iah sense? Is it a form of wealth Shar’iah recognizes (mutaqawwam)? None of these questions need to be asked if the object itself does not exist. This series of articles explores these questions in depth.
In his exhaustive deconstruction of capitalism, Chapra exposes what he terms the limits of capitalism and the logical flaws inherent in its foundational architecture. He explores the historical genesis of the market system, tracing its roots back to the Enlightenment worldview, which systematically unseated Christian scholastic moral constraints in favour of secularism, utilitarianism, and social Darwinism. The reason behind capitalism’s failure to actualize the socially-desired goals is the conflict between the goals of society and the worldview and strategy of capitalism. The goals were humanitarian, based on a moral foundation; the worldview and the strategy were social Darwinist.
The global Islamic financial services industry reached $4.4 trillion in assets in 2025, with growth in banking, capital markets, and insurance sectors. Islamic banking remains dominant, but non-banking segments are growing faster. The industry is concentrated in GCC and EAP regions (75% of assets). Sukuk markets expanded to $1.10 trillion, with strong growth in sustainability and climate-related issuances. Islamic insurance grew double-digit, driven by emerging markets and mandatory insurance requirements.
For many consumers, halal simply means avoiding pork and alcohol. Yet in today’s globalised world of complex supply chains, food technology, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and automated manufacturing, determining whether a product is genuinely halal has become far more challenging.
The paper begins by addressing the post-colonial emergence of Islamic economics, which sought to establish an independent discourse based on interest-free commerce, moral behavioral norms eschewing self-interest, and the pursuit of social justice. Despite these ideal goals, the field has faced severe criticisms from scholars such as Prof. Timur Kuran, Prof. Akram Khan, and Prof. Syed Tahir for failing to develop a unique value set, an original methodology, or the analytical power necessary to solve modern economic problems.
The AlBaraka Forum held the 6th AlBaraka Forum Regional Conference on 19 & 20 January 2026 at the Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi, under the theme “Islamic Economy in the Digital Age: Innovation within the Framework of Compliance”. On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Yousef Hassan Khalawi, Secretary General of AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy, assured that Islamic finance now has the potential to be on the same stage as conventional banking, as both enter the digital age at the same moment, asking the question: “Will we follow the same trend for the last fifty years? No. From today, by entering this age, either you choose to be innovative, or again, you will be number two, always like before.”
The book begins with an incisive academic criticism of dialectical materialism, the philosophical backbone of Marxist thought. Al-Sadr argues that history is an incredibly complex phenomenon that cannot be reduced to a single driving force, such as the economic factor or the means of production. He asserts that various other elements, including religious convictions, political structures, and social dynamics, play primary and often independent roles in shaping human destiny. He challenges the foundational logic of materialism by pointing out that it cannot explain the “first push” of the universe or human development without acknowledging a non-material or Divine cause. For al-Sadr, the materialist view is a narrow lens that fails to capture the multidimensional nature of human existence.
Islamic Economics Project 