Anzimat al-Daf al-Elektroni al-Muasir Ghayr al-Itimani fi al-Fiqh al-Islami
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- Anzimat al-Daf al-Elektroni al-Muasir Ghayr al-Itimani fi al-Fiqh al-Islami
Anzimat al-Daf al-Elektroni al-Muasir Ghayr al-Itimani fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (Contemporary Non-Credit Electronic Payment Systems in Islamic Jurisprudence: A Comparative Study) is a contemporary treatise in comparative Islamic law authored by Salah al-Din Amir (completed in 1433 AH / 2012 CE) examining the legal rulings governing modern electronic payment mechanisms.
Academic Origin and Purpose
The work originated as a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Comparative Jurisprudence in the Faculty of Sharia and Law at Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan, prepared under the supervision of al-Wathiq Ata al-Mannan Muhammad.
The author states that the primary purpose of the study is to evaluate non-credit electronic payment systems from a Sharia perspective, establish Islamic legal guidelines for their use, and analyze their economic advantages and risks for both card issuers and consumers. Amir was prompted to write the book due to the rapid spread and necessity of electronic transactions in modern commerce, the scarcity of integrated foundational (taʾṣīlī) legal studies on the subject, and the need to distinguish permissible financial practices from impermissible ones to contribute to the field of Islamic economics.
Contents and Structure
The book comprises an introductory chapter followed by five substantive chapters, a conclusion, and reference indexes:
- Introductory Chapter: Discusses the evolution of money, defines contemporary electronic payment systems and their objectives, and reviews their general characteristics and operational risks.
- Chapter One: Dedicated to the automated teller machine (ATM) card, covering its origins, fundamental elements, legal characterization (takīyf sharʿī) for cash withdrawals, deposits, and account transfers, as well as its use at point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
- Chapter Two: Examines open-loop prepaid cards, outlining their definitions, categories, and legal characterization under Islamic jurisprudence.
- Chapter Three: Investigates closed-loop stored-value cards, detailing their definition, types, practical drawbacks, and jurisprudence-based legal classification.
- Chapter Four: Focuses on smart cards and electronic wallets, explaining their technical features, distinctions from other payment cards, and legal characterization.
- Chapter Five: Analyzes electronic cheques (e-cheques), contrasting them with paper cheques and credit cards, and assessing their legal status and associated risks.
The book concludes with analytical findings, practical recommendations, and indexes for Quranic verses, Hadith reports, cited sources, and subject contents.
Findings and Recommendations
The study concludes that dealing with modern non-credit electronic payment systems is generally permissible in Islamic law, noting that their practical advantages outweigh their shortcomings. Amir demonstrates that transactions performed through these systems can be adapted to established classical contractual forms, such as agency (wakālah), transfer of debt (ḥawālah), or sale (bayʿ). He recommends that legislative bodies establish specific legal frameworks for emerging electronic financial technologies, and urges Islamic financial institutions to adopt contemporary banking innovations while ensuring strict adherence to Sharia verification before widespread deployment.
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