Mu'amalat


Muamalat is a part of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh. Muamalat has been defined as Islamic "rulings governing commercial transactions",
but also more broadly to include civil acts and in general all aspects of fiqh that are not Ibadat, i.e. not acts of ritual worship such as prayer or fasting,
Mu'amalat provides much of the basis for Islamic economics, and the instruments of Islamic financing, and deals not only with Islamic legality but also social and economic repercussions and the rationale of its prohibitions. Even a broad definition of Muamalat does not deal with all aspects of property and money in Islam, as zakat — compulsory alms giving that is one of the five pillars of Islam — is part of Ibadat division of fiqh.

Definitions

  • commercial and civil acts or dealings under Islamic law, ;
  • what involves acts of interaction and exchange of sureties and sales ;
  • “the knowledge of Shariah rulings that relates to the practical aspects of a mukallaf in the area of business and financial dealings and derived from its detailed evidences.”
  • all engagements that take place in business, ;
  • Islamic jurisprudence of transactions, and the principles upon which Islamic finance is based ; also the study of "the legal framework within which economic transactions are conducted in an Islamic society" and that "determines their contracts" ;
  • that aspect of Islamic jurisprudence that deals with civil obligations, ;
  • "any form of mutual dealings held between men to solve their everyday needs, especially in matters relating to trade and commerce"; also "a social relationship which consists of various economic and non-economic activities.".
According to at least one author, Mu'amalat "sets terms and conditions of conduct for economic and financial relationships in the Islamic economy" and provides the "grounds on which new instruments" of Islamic financing are developed. It also extends beyond discussions of Islamic legality "to the social and economic repercussions of alternative legal forms of economic or financial relationship and analyze the rationale behinds it."

Principles

According to Hosein Askar, Zamir Iqbal, and Abbas Mirakhor, a "significant subset" of muamalat "defines the conduct of economic activities" within the economic system, which "ultimately lays down the rules for commercial, financial and banking system."

Basic principles

According to Aznan Hasan, basic principles of muamalat, are that dealings and contracts in Islam...
  • are permissible until evidence is given proving otherwise;
  • must be based on mutual consent;
  • must be in accordance with the maqasid al shariah;
  • should facilitate the circulation of wealth and property;
  • should be transparent;
  • must observe justice and fair dealing.

    Theories of Muamalat

According to Abdullaah Jalil, Asharaf Mohd Ramli, Syahidawati Shahwan there are four "theories" that underlie the framework of Mu'amalat dealings:
  1. Ahliyyah. Legal capacity refers to whether the person is of sound mind and old enough to enter into a legal financial contract.
  2. Mal concerns the nature and types of property that the contract deal with.
  3. #Property must exist at the time of transaction
  4. #seller must be owner of the merchandise
  5. #merchandise must be Islamically lawful
  6. #must be of some use or value
  7. #must be able to be delivered by the seller to the buyer
  8. #the details of the merchandise must be known to both the seller and buyer
  9. Milkiyyah, concerns the types, methods and scopes of ownership, that affect the relationship between the property and its owner in Islamic jurisprudence.
  10. Aqd, describes the framework or structure of a contract in fiqh.
Authors Jalil, Ramli and Shahwan also list differences between Mu'amalat and Ibadat."
Mu'amalatal-'Ibadat
The primary ruling of fiqh is permissibility
except where the Shariah prohibits an action.		The primary ruling is impermissibility
except where the Shariah gives permission.
Specific Quranic and Sunnah resources
to base ruling on are few and general in nature;
hence the rational thinking can be applied extensively.		Specific Quranic and Sunnah resources
to base ruling on are many and detailed in nature;
hence it cannot be developed extensively by rationalization.
Actions are permitted except where
the Shariah states prohibition.		Actions are not permitted except where
the Shariah states permission.
Fatwa or verdict in based on the
most appropriate opinion		Fatwa or verdict is based on the
most cautious opinion.
Legal rulings are heavily based on
rational reasoning 		Legal rulings cannot be heavily based
on rational reasoning.

General Prohibitions

According to muamalat, contracts...
  • should not involve the selling or buying of alcohol or any other haram substances.
  • should not include any financial deal on the basis of usury
  • should not involve gambling
  • should not involve major uncertainty .

    Contracts

At least one source defines as a “legal relationship created by the conjunction of two declarations, from which flow legal consequences with regard to the subject matter”.
The essential elements of a contract are contracting parties, a subject matter, and a legally binding offer and acceptance. They may be written, verbal or even indicated by signs.
Muamalat contracts are prominent in Islamic banking where they are "fundamental factors" that determine whether a "transaction is valid or not".
Some contracts in Mu'amalat include:
  • Sale Contract;
  • Cost plus profit ;
  • Debt ;
  • Hiring/leasing ;
  • Lending ;
  • Agency ;
  • Mortgage ;
  • Partnership ;
  • Profit Sharing.

    Books, documents, etc.

Category:Islamic banking
Category:Islamic practices
Category:Arabic words and phrases
Category:Islamic jurisprudence
Category:Islamic banking and finance terminology