A Proposal to Distinguish Sharīʿah commercial-debt-financing from Fictitious Exchanges used as stratagem to Overcome the Prohibition of Ribā

Abstract

This paper provides some observations on the economic maxim proposed by Zarqa to distinguish financial products based on Sharīʿahh-compliant commercial debts from usury-based financing and products, along a proposal to systemize the rule in a way that excludes prohibited financial products using deceitful contracts. The paper highlights the importance of this rule in its revised form, briefly reviews Sharīʿahh-compliant commercial debt-based financial products and highlights the obvious differences between the characteristics of these and other contracts, as well as its potential role in developing the Zarqa Rule's revision. The paper then discusses the additional controls to supplement the Zarqa rule for financial products to avoid deceptive contracts and proposes a practical approach to monitor compliance with this control. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further research in this area.