ITE-Index-Watch

Need-Gap Analysis

Islam makes ‘Lawful Earning’ (Halal) mandatory, and in Islam, the spiritual and secular aspects are one. This implies that Islam emphasizes the need to make a living by means that are permissible under the Shariah Laws. The conventional system of Investment and Finance that is prevalent in our society doesnot take into account this very important rule of Lawful Earning and offers a host of products and services that are not Shariah compliant. Particularly in India, there is hardly any financial service that can claim to be fully Shariah compliant that attract the Muslim community which has lagged behind in the field of finance and economics. We believe that Islam guides its adherent in every sphere of our lives, and yet there is no comprehensive system that educates us about the ‘Shariah way of dealing’. This is the need gap that Maulana Mohammad Wali Rahmani addresses by way of this Shariah board (the IIFB) He was immensely moved by the current pathetic situation of the conventional financial system and felt there is a strong need for a governing body that informs, educates and guides the Muslim community about Islamic finance and that is how the idea of creating IIFB was born.
The Evolution of the Board

Thus, under the astute guidance and leadership of Maulana Mohd Wali Rahmani, and other renowned and knowledgeable scholars, a national Islamic Finance Board was formed for the first time in India. The Islamic Investment Finance Board (IIFB) has been established with an object to create an Independent and a Premier Shariah Board for the welfare of the Muslims in matters pertaining to finance.
The Board is entrusted with the duty to

• Give the rulings, advise, guide and certify Islamic Investment and Finance products, in accordance with Islamic Jurisprudence and rules of Shariah known as Fiqh-al-Muamalat (Islamic Rules on Transactions)
• To direct, review and supervise the activities related to Islamic Investment and Finance and ensure their strict Shariah Compliance

Roles and Responsibilities of the IIFB

The primary responsibility of the IIFB is to ensure that all the Islamic investments made are Shariah compliant. The aim is to provide an Alternate Financial System that is free from interest, ethically sound and socially responsible that would benefit the nation and the mankind as whole. The Board in its purview of certification will have Islamic Investment, Finance and Banking. The board upon going through the Shariah validity of financial products presented by a financial corporation would certify the financial products after a thorough examination according to the Shariah compliance criteria.