Ahkam Uqud al-Tamwil fi al-Fiqh al-Islami
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Ahkam Uqud al-Tamwil fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (Rulings on Financing Contracts in Islamic Jurisprudence) is a contemporary treatise on Islamic commercial jurisprudence by Abd Allah al-Muaydi, examining the legal classifications, parameters, and applications of modern financing mechanisms used in banking and financial transactions.
Background and Purpose
Abd Allah al-Muaydi composed the work after teaching the subject multiple times at the College of Economics at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. Observing the absence of a single textbook that aligned directly with the curriculum designed by the Department of Fiqh at the College of Sharia while remaining accessible to university students, he authored the volume to serve as a comprehensive reference work covering the prescribed syllabus. In developing the material, the author drew upon the instructional contributions of scholars who previously taught the course, including Yusuf al-Shubayli, Abd Allah al-Tamimi, and Abd Allah al-Fadli.
Structure and Scope
The book is arranged into an introduction, a preparatory chapter (tamhid), and two main analytical divisions:
- Preparatory Chapter: Focuses on the economic significance of financing contracts and the historical emergence of modern banking institutions from European origins to their expansion in Muslim-majority countries.
- First Chapter (Foundational Concepts): Divided into five sections addressing general contract theory, definitions and characteristics of financing, the development of Islamic banking institutions, the foundational legal maxim regarding the permissibility of financial transactions (al-asl fi al-mu'amalat al-ibahah), and the jurisprudence surrounding legal stratagems (hiyal) in modern financial structures.
- Second Chapter (Contemporary Financing Modes): Comprises twelve distinct sections analyzing specific financial instruments and contracts:
- Loan (al-qard)
- Installment sale (al-taqsit)
- Monetization (al-tawarruq)
- Cost-plus sale (al-murabahah)
- Forward sale (al-salam)
- Manufacturing/commissioned production contract (al-istisna')
- Lease ending with ownership (al-ijarah al-muntahiyah bi al-tamlik)
- Partnerships (al-sharikat)
- Diminishing partnership (al-musharakah al-mutanaqisah)
- Banking and credit cards (al-bitaqat al-masrifiyyah)
- Contracting and construction agreements (al-muqawalah)
- Lease-based Islamic investment certificates (sukuk al-ijarah).
Methodology and Core Concepts
The text evaluates modern financing through traditional jurisprudential principles, distinguishing between permissible (mashru') and impermissible (ghayr mashru') structures. The author emphasizes that legitimate financing must avoid interest-bearing debt (riba), contrasting legitimate commercial profits earned through valid trade or asset ownership with prohibited financial increments. The work also examines the structural properties of financing arrangements, noting that they function inherently as time-bound (zamaniyyah) contracts involving deferred obligations (mu'ajjalah). Throughout the discussions, the text assesses contemporary bank procedures against collective resolutions from bodies such as the International Islamic Fiqh Academy and the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League.
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