a r t i c l e i n f o The Dow Jones Islamic Market indices (DJIMI) are constructed by screening out stocks that are incompatible with Islam's prohibition of interest and certain lines of business. However, as a blunt instrument, the interest rate can affect discounted cash flows of any firm, even a firm with no financial leverage. This study reveals that the aggregate portfolio of Islamic stock...

The core principles of Islam lay great emphasis on social justice, inclusion, and sharing of resources between the haves and the have nots. Islamic finance addresses the issue of “financial inclusion” or “access to finance” from two directions — one through promoting risk-sharing contracts that provide a viable alternative to conventional debt-based financing, and the other through specific ins...

The objective of this study is to model and estimate the effect of financial services in the agricultural sector of Iran on the value added of this sector. Moreover, since as of 1984, the Interest Free Banking law was implemented, the effect of this change on the value added of the sector will be studied as the second objective. The model of the study consists of three tions. The volume of real...

Islamic finance is a prohibition-driven industry, aiming to avoid the prohibitions of riba and gharar. It is well accepted in Islamic jurisprudence that riba and gharar do not affect the legal validity of non-commutative financial contracts (e.g. gifts). Jurists have long viewed this as a potential solution to the problem of gharar in commercial insurance, proposing mutual insurance as a non-co...

I was asked by ISNA to produce a short guide to Islamic Banking and Finance for the Muslims of North America. To keep this guide short, we had to define our target audience rather carefully. This introductory guide is meant to address the Muslim who is familiar with the fundamental tenets and sources of legislation in Islam. The reader is not assumed to have elaborate prior knowledge of Islamic...

Replacement of the traditional interest based credit system with an Islamic credit system was one of the fundamental changes in Iran since 1979. The Islamic credit system, offers the prospect of risk sharing between the borrower and the lender. Small farmers are likely to be risk averse and they are reluctant to go heavily into debt in order to finance investments in new technology and capital ...

The main purpose of this paper is to trace epistemological roots of conventional and Islamic finance. Based on an extensive literature review, this paper aims to highlight, explain, and discuss an ideal conventional and Islamic financial system. The ideal conventional financial system is discussed in light of various writings by Smith and Arrow, based on Arrow-Debreu model. On the other ...