SHARIAH

Definition

Any definition of Shariah supervision must begin with the idea of ensuring authenticity, of certifying to a client, consumer, or investor that the financial product or service being offered is indeed compliant with the principles and precepts of Islamic law or Shariah. Such a certification of authenticity also implies an ongoing process of oversight, however configured, to ensure that compliance is maintained throughout the life cycle of the financial product or service that is offered. Practice has led to the expansion of Shariah supervision to include the essentially internal pre-certification processes of product conceptualization and development. By means of such certification, companies mitigate Shariah risk or the possibility that the financial products and/or services they offer are not, or will not be considered, Shariah-compliant.

Process

As a process, Shariah supervision begins with product conceptualization, generally in collaboration with a business and a legal team. This is followed by the developmental stage in which the financial product or service is given form and substance, in legal and commercial terms. At the completion of work on this stage, formal certification is accorded the product by means of a fatwa. Thereafter, once the product has launched, the ongoing oversight of the same may begin, including audits for Shariah compliance and possibly recertification as well, often on an annual basis. To summarize, Shariah supervision encompasses four different life cycle functions:

1. Conceptualization
2. Development
3. Certification
4. Oversight

In brief, Shariah supervision is a method for authenticating, by means of a process of advice and oversight, that a financial product or service is compliant with the rules of Shariah law.

Shariah Supervisory Boards

The process described above for Shariah supervision has, from the early days of Islamic finance, been conducted as a group effort. This reflects the Islamic legal tradition that prudence dictates collective decision making. This also accords with the AAOIFI (the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institution) Shariah Standard requiring that Shariah supervision be entrusted to an independent supervisory board consisting of at least three members. Shariah supervision is undertaken by panels or Shariah supervisory boards whose membership is governed by a variety of considerations, beginning with academic qualifications and often including commercial considerations as well. A local Islamic bank or home finance originator, for example, might draw upon three local scholars for membership on its Shariah supervisory board whereas an international index provider might constitute a large Shariah supervisory board representing several different regions and schools of legal thought.

Rather than maintain one Shariah Supervisory Board for all of its projects, Shariah Capital draws upon the top tiers of internationally-recognized Shariah scholars to form a separate Shariah Board for each of its projects. This way, Shariah scholars are convened with more efficiency to work on projects best suited to the particular areas of their expertise. It's a process which ensures that the right scholars, in the right numbers, develop, certify and supervise the financial products and services endorsed by Shariah Capital. This executive level of Shariah capability likewise ensures that Shariah Capital's products and projects are guided by the standards for Shariah supervision set by the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), of which Shariah Capital is an active member. Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer at Shariah Capital is a member of AAOIFI's Shariah Board and acts as the executive representative for each of Shariah Capital’s client Shariah Boards.

Affiliated Shariah Scholars

Among the noted Shariah scholars with whom Shariah Capital works regularly are the following:

Shaykh Nizam Yaquby (Bahrain)

Shaykh Nizam Yaquby has been recognized by Bloomberg as “the gatekeeper to the $1 trillion market for managing Muslim wealth”. With an advanced degree in Economics and Comparative Religion from McGill University and having authored numerous fatawa related to innovative Shariah compliant financial products, Shaykh Nizam is internationally acclaimed as one of the leading scholars of modern Islamic finance.

Shaykh Nizam serves on the Shariah Supervisory Boards of over fifty financial institutions worldwide, including several key memberships on the boards of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes and the Auditing and Accounting Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). He is an advisor to a number of multinational banks and financial institutions including HSBC Islamic, Citi Islamic Investment Bank, AIG Takaful, Credit Suisse, CIMB Islamic, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Arcapita, Gulf Finance House, Islamic Bank of Britain, Lloyds Bank TSB, and European Islamic Investment Bank. On matters pertaining to Islamic banking and finance, in fact, The Wall Street Journal lists Shaykh Nizam as “one of Islamic finance’s foremost scholars”.

Having taught tafsir, hadith and fiqh in Bahrain since 1976, Shaykh Nizam continues to contribute important original research on many aspects of modern Islamic finance and is an author of several articles and publications that have been published in both English and Arabic. AsiaMoney calls Shaykh Yaquby “one of the most important people in the Islamic banking industry”. In February, 2007, Shaykh Nizam won the Euromoney Award for “Outstanding Contribution to Islamic Finance”.

Shaykh Nizam is called upon frequently to consult with governmental and regulatory authorities on issues related to Islamic finance, and he is a regular speaker at seminars and conferences worldwide.

Dr. Mohammad Daud Bakar (Malaysia)

Dr. Daud Bakar has been called “the Kuala Lumpur-based rising star of Shariah scholars” by AsiaMoney. He is currently the President/CEO of the International Institute of Islamic Finance and Amanie Business Solutions, a consulting firm providing Islamic advisory services to financial institutions and corporate clients. Considered the leading authority on Islamic finance in Malaysia, Dr. Daud is the Chairman of the Central Shari’ah Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Malaysia and a member of the Shariah Advisory Council of the Malaysian Securities Commission.

A former Associate Professor in Islamic law and Deputy Rector, Student Affairs and Disciplines at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Dr. Daud's areas of specialization include Islamic legal theory, Islamic banking and finance, and Islamic law of zakah. Dr. Daud is a member of numerous international Shariah Supervisory Boards, including the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, HSBC (Malaysia), Unicorn Investment Bank (Bahrain), BNP Paribas, Oasis Asset Management, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Shariah board of Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and many others.

Dr. Daud advises institutions around the world on capital market product structures such as sukuk. The Middle East North Africa Financial Network reports that Dr. Daud is “internationally recognized as an authority on Islamic finance."

Receiving his first degree in Shariah from the University of Kuwait in 1988, Dr Daud obtained his PhD from the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom in 1993. He went on to complete his external Bachelor of Jurisprudence at the University of Malaya in 2002. Often quoted and interviewed by global publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Daud has published more than 30 articles in various academic journals and presented more than 200 papers at various international conferences.

Dr. Mohammad Abdul Rahim Sultan Al Olama (UAE)

Dr. Mohammad Abdul Rahim Sultan Al Olama is a member of the faculty of Shariah at the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain and an acknowledged expert in Shariah compliant finance. Dr. Al Olama has written extensively on modern Islamic finance and has presented numerous research papers at industry conferences around the world. He holds a PhD in Islamic law from Umm Al Qurra University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A member of the Shariah Board of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Dr. Al Olama serves as a member of numerous Shariah Boards including Mawarid Finance in Dubai, Manazel Real Estate in Abu Dhabi, Al Mada'in Finance in Dubai, the Al Safi Trust, and Dubai Gold Securities, among others. He is also a member of the Fatwa Committee at the Department of Religious and Charitable Affairs in Dubai.

Dr. Yousef Abdullah Al-Shubaily, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Al-Shubaily is a professor of Comparative Law at the Higher Judicial Institute in Saudi Arabia and an expert in Shariah compliant finance. He is a member of the Shariah Supervisory Boards of Al Bilad Bank, United International Bank, Al Mayma Financial and Dar al Arbah in Saudi Arabia; the Kasb Financial Group, Siraj Advisory in Kuwait; Al Iltizam and Dubai Gold Securities in Dubai and other financial institutions in the Gulf region. Dr. Al-Shubaily has published several books and papers on the jurisprudence of Islamic finance and is regularly featured on local TV programs as an expert on Islamic Finance. Dr. Al Shubaily serves as a member of several important government commissions, including the Saudi Arabian Commission for Islamic Financial Transactions and the Saudi Arabian Commission for Auditing Charitable Contributions.