In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, various Islamic trends influenced Islamic law and thought. The debate on interest and conventional banking did not escape these intellectual trends. It is largely accepted that the primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur’ān and the Sunna. Although there are differences as to what parts of the Sunna are deemed authentic, there is little debate among the various schools of thought that the Qur’ān and Sunna formulate the scriptural basis of the religion. Where Muslims differ, however, is on the reading of the texts and this explains the diverse Islamic trends that interact with and make references to the texts. The status of the texts, the role of reason and literal versus contextual interpretations are just some of the factors that facilitate plural readings of the same texts. In this episode, we provide a bit of background to the Islamic trends that are important in the discourse on interpreting ribā and their approaches to banking and finance.
Check out:
Book: A Comparative Study of Islamic Finance in Australia and the UK (Routledge, UK, 2022)