Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani is a renowned figure in the field of Shariah, particularly in Islamic Finance. He currently holds advisory positions in a number of financial institutions practicing Islamic Banking and Finance.
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani has vast experience in Islamic Shariah, teaching various subjects on Islam for 39 years. He has served as a Judge in the Shariat Appellate Bench, Supreme Court of Pakistan from 1982 to 2002. He is also the Editor of the magazine ‘Albalagh’ (a weekly publication of Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi) as well as an active contributor of articles in leading Pakistani newspapers.
Born in India, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani graduated from Punjab University, Pakistan in 1970 and also holds an LLB from Karachi University, Pakistan. Prior to these, he completed the ‘Takhassus’ course, which is the specialization course of Islamic ‘Fiqh’ and ‘Fatwa’ (Islamic Jurisprudence) from Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi, Pakistan.
In March 2004, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Minister of Defense) presented a special award to Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani in recognition of his lifetime service and achievement in Islamic Finance at the occasion of International Islamic Finance Forum, Dubai, which is one of the biggest events in Islamic Finance Industry.
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani advises a number of international financial institutions including Dow Jones, Bharain Monetary Agency and Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (A Member of the IDB Group) on Islamic law.
Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah
Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah is the Shariah Advisor and Director, Department of Financial Instruments at Al-Baraka Investment Co. of Saudi Arabia. He holds a PhD in Islamic Law from Al Azhar University Cairo, Egypt. He is an active member of Islamic Fiqh Academy and the Accounting & Auditing Standards Board of Islamic Financial Institutions.
Dr. Abdul Sattar teaches Fiqh, Islamic studies and Arabic in Riyadh and has done a valuable task of research and compiling information for the Fiqh Encyclopedia in the Ministry of ‘Awqaf’ and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait. He has been a member of the ‘Fatwa’ Board in the same Ministry from 1982 to 1990.
Dr. Daud Baker
Dr. Muhammad Daud Bakar was an Associate Professor in Islamic Law and Deputy Rector at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He received his first degree in Shariah from the University of Kuwait in 1988 and Ph.D from the University of St. Andrews, U.K. in 1993. He completed his external Bachelor of Jurisprudence at University of Malaya 2002.
He is presently a member of the Shariah Advisory Council at the Central Bank of Malaysia, Securities Commission of Malaysia, Oasis Asset Management (Cape Town, South Africa), Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Dow Jones Islamic Index (New York). Dr Bakar now operates his own Islamic training and education facility.
Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo
Sheikh Yusuf serves as a Shariah advisor to over 20 global financial entities, including index providers, banks, mutual funds, real estate funds, leasing funds, institutional investors, home finance providers, alternative asset managers and others.
Sheikh Yusuf is the author of “A Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks”, the first English reference on the fatawa issued by Shariah boards. His three-volume publication has become the standard reference for Islamic financial institutions. In addition, Sheikh Yusuf wrote the introduction to “Islamic Bonds”, the 2003 book that introduced Sukuk and transformed the world’s Islamic capital markets. His written work has appeared in journals and newsletters and as chapters in books, including Euromoney’s “Islamic Asset Management”, “Islamic Retail Finance and Islamic Finance: Innovation & Growth”. His entries on the terminology of Islamic Finance appear in The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.
Sheikh Yusuf is also a special consultant, appointed by the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah to the International Financial Services Board (“IFSB”) on the subject of Sukuk. IFSB is the international standard-setting body of regulatory and supervisory agencies that have a vested interest in ensuring the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry, broadly defined to include banking, capital markets and insurance.
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby is a graduate in Economics and Comparative Religion from McGill University and is an internationally acclaimed scholar in the Islamic banking industry. He advises a number of banks and financial institutions including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, BNP Paribas, Dow Jones, Lloyds TSB, Citi Islamic Investment Bank E.C. Bahrain and Standard Chartered on matters pertaining to Islamic Banking and Finance.
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby has contributed important original research on many aspects of modern Islamic finance, and is considered one of the world’s leading experts in the field. Since 1976, he has taught tafsir, hadith and fiqh in Bahrain. He is also the author of several articles and publications on Islamic finance and other sciences in English and Arabic.
Dr. Mohamed A. Elgari
Dr. Mohamed A. Elgari holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California. He is a professor of Islamic Economics at King Abdul Aziz University. He is an expert at the Islamic Jurisprudence Academies of the Organization of Islamic Countries and the Islamic World League. Dr. Elgari is member of Shariah Boards of many Islamic Banks and Takaful Companies including that of Dow Jones, International Islamic Fund Market, Citi Islamic Investment bank, Merrill Lynch and Saudi American Bank.
Mufti Hassan Kaleem
Mufti Hassan Kaleem studied Islamic jurisprudence at Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi and specialized in the science of issuing Islamic legal edicts. He serves on the Shariah board of a number of international institutions including Deloitte and Bank al-Baraka. He is renowned as an expert on Takaful (Islamic insurance). He is a student of the renowned Sheikh Taqi Usmani.
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani
Dr. Muhammad Imran Ashraf Usmani is a M. Phil and Ph. D. in Islamic Finance and is a graduated as a scholar from Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan. He has also completed the specialization course in Islamic Jurisprudence from Jamia Darul Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan. Currently he is involved in conducting training sessions for Meezan Bank’s staff in the area of Islamic finance and has been teaching several subjects of Islamic Fiqh since 1998 at Jamia Darul-Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan. Dr. Usmani has also authored various books on Islamic Shariah and especially his book ‘Meezan Bank’s Guide to Islamic banking’ has been the guiding light in the area of Islamic Banking.
Dr. Usmani serves as a Sharia Supervisory Board Member / Sharia Advisor to State Bank of Pakistan, HSBC Amanah Finance, Credit Suisse, Lloyds TSB, Meezan Bank, Pak Kuwait Takaful Co and others.
Mufti Najeeb Khan
Mufti Najeeb Khan is Shariah Advisor at Habib Metropolitan Bank and a leading authority on Shariah compliancy. He holds the notable distinction of having personally overseen the execution of over one thousand murabaha transactions and is keenly familiar with the issues involved in the area of Shariah compliancy related to execution. He delivers talks at a variety of institutes and conferences including the National Institute for Banking and Finance, Jamia Darul Uloom, and the Centre for Islamic Economics. He holds the Alamiyyah and Takhassus from Jamia Darul Uloom.
Mufti Muhammad Zubair Usmani
Mufti Muhammad Zubair Usmani completed his Doctorate in Islamic Finance form Karachi University. He is also the Fazil Takhassus (specialist of Islamic Fiqh and Fatawa) from Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi and is also a research scholar and teacher.
Besides being the Shari’ah Advisor, Muslim Commercial Bank; he is also the member Transformation Commission Sub-committee, State Bank of Pakistan; Islamization of Economic Committee Chamber of Commerce, Karachi; Implementation of Supreme Court Judgment on Riba Committee, Institute of Chartered Accountant of Pakistan and governing body Al-Markaz-ul-Islami, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Sheikh Essam Ishaq
Sheikh Essam M. Ishaq graduated in Political Science from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Currently he is teaching Fiqh, Aqeeda and Tafseer courses in Bahrain. He holds the position of Shariah Advisor at Discover Islam, Bahrain and is on the Board of AAOIFI as well as First Islamic Investment Bank.
Sheikh Al-Siddiq Mohamed al-Darir of Sudan is one of the leading Islamic Finance scholars of today. He serves as the head of the Shariah Board at Faisal Islamic Bank of Sudan and Methaq Islamic Insurance Company. He is also a member of the Shariah Council of AAOIFI. He lives in Khartoum, Sudan, where he Dean of the Faculty of Law at Khartoum University.
Sheikh Al-Manea of Saudi Arabia is a member of the Shariah Council of AAOIFI. He also serves on the Shariah Boards of Alahli Takaful Company, HSBC, SABB Takaful and others. He is a former judge of the Court of Cassation of Saudi Arabia.
Sheikh Al-Atram of Saudi Arabia is chairman of the Shariah Board of Al-Rajhi Investment Corporation and is a member of the Shariah Council of AAOIFI. He has written numerous legal verdicts in his capacity as Shariah Advisor.
Dr. AbdulAziz Al-Qassar is a Kuwaiti national holding a Bachelor’s degree in Shari’a from the University of Kuwait, a Masters degree and a PhD degree from the Al-Azhar University in Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh). He is currently an assistant professor of the Shari’a College at Kuwait University.
Dr. AbdulAziz is a member in the Shari’a Board of many Islamic financial institutions and banks around the world.
18 responses so far ↓
Necmeddin GUNEY // June 12, 2008 at 4:42 pm |
Thank your for this list dear brother.
Hanif // July 2, 2008 at 10:55 am |
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaykh Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) was born in Deoband, India.
He graduated from Darul Uloom Karachi.
Please, check the following link for more details,
http://www.ashrafiya.com/sayyidi-mawlana-mohammad-taqi-usmani-db/
Dr. Imamuddin // July 28, 2008 at 3:53 pm |
thank you for information
Yahiya // August 17, 2008 at 1:37 pm |
Masha Allah.. Keep up the good work.. what about having a digest to round up recent happenings & news in Islamic Finance around the glob? May Allah strengthen your good efforts…
imfaizal // August 20, 2008 at 6:40 am |
thank you for this list
amiralfatakh // December 15, 2008 at 9:56 am |
Thank you for the list! I am putting a link in my blog for this very interesting page.
Shukran brother.
SCF Journal Entry - 1/06/09 « United Against Islamic Supremacism // January 9, 2009 at 9:04 pm |
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jawad saeed // June 6, 2009 at 11:27 pm |
As Salamu Alaykum Sidi,
I hope all is well, Insh Allah.
I just wanted to make a suggestion of adding Sheikh Faraz Rabbani and Mufti Muhammad Ibn Adam Al Khawthari as scholars related to Islamic Finance. Both have written about Islamic Finance and Sheikh Faraz also teaches a course on money matters through seekersguidance.com. However, you are obviously welcome to add whomever you wish.
other than that hope all is well, Insh Allah.
jawad
Haris Zuberi // June 7, 2009 at 6:55 am |
Walaikum assalam Jawad,
Good to see you here
This page actually lists all those scholars who are “on Shari’ah boards” of Islamic banks, i.e. actively working in the industry. This is why I did not include Sheikh Faraz and Mufti Muhammad.
Hope all’s well at your end too, Insha Allah.
Haris.
sajjad Ahmed // July 20, 2009 at 1:23 pm |
JazakumuAllah!
very informative list !!
there should be a contact information at least email..
thanks
Osama Elamin // July 21, 2009 at 1:22 am |
Hello 2009,
Islamic Finanace is a new site for sharing and hosting personal videos. I have been using Islamic Finanace to share videos with my friends and family. I would like to add you to the list of people I may share videos with.
thanks for Corporation
Osama Elamin
osamak79@gmail.com
136. Prof. Dr. Iman Attia « Sägefisch // August 9, 2009 at 1:16 am |
[...] http://islamicfinancenews.wordpress.com/shariah-specialists-in-islamic-finance/ [...]
Iman Attia « Schariagegner // August 9, 2009 at 2:37 am |
[...] http://islamicfinancenews.wordpress.com/shariah-specialists-in-islamic-finance/ [...]
Iman Attia: Sweet little lies « Schariagegner // August 9, 2009 at 3:55 am |
[...] http://islamicfinancenews.wordpress.com/shariah-specialists-in-islamic-finance/ [...]
S . N. Rahaman // August 24, 2009 at 8:45 am |
List is very informative. If it was mentioned with m ail ids it will be useful.
rahaman
Lorax // August 26, 2009 at 4:01 pm |
It is sad to see how Islamic banks and financial institutions are trying to protect themselves from world financial crunch by devising products that are truly deniable or at the best controversial according to the Maqasid as -Shari’ah. In fact, the whole idea of shari’ah-compliance descends into disrepute in contrast to the universal principle of the Maqasid as-Shari’ah and its evaluative criterion of the Maslaha (Wellbeing). ‘Shari’ah-compliance’ is a product-development idea. It has nothing to do with the greater vision of the ummah and human wellbeing, a universal theory of wellbeing and a solid epistemology of economic, financial and scientific theory. These latter attributes are subsumed in the Maqasid.
I come now to the idea of tawarruq, which is one of many elements that are being embraced within the controversial or outright incorrect concept of the shari’ah as a shari’ah-compliant instrument of financing. In fact, tawarruq is not only unacceptable under the shari’ah, rather it is inefficient and outright self-defeating in the future global financial markets. Let me explain.
Please note first that I specialize on the Qur’anic and sunnah (epistemological) foundations of Islamic economics, finance and socio-scientific studies in global comparative and analytical perspectives. I am not a fiqi person.
Here are my objections against tawarruq:
Consider the following example:
For example, F (financial institution) buys 10 tons of irons for $20,000,000 from the international market, so 1 ton is for $2,000,000. Then, F offers to C (clients) a ton of irons for $3,000,000 to be paid by instalments within 10 years. When C bought the irons, F offers to C to sell, by itself or another agent, his irons in behalf of him in the international market for $2,000,000, as F have bought it for. At the end F credit $2,000,000 in the account of C.
Questions for denial of tawarruq:
1. What is the basis of the profit or risk-evaluation of the 1million that F takes from C? profit, hence profit-sharing, is caused by the productive use of assets, finance, money and real economy. There is no legitimacy of profits simply by holding assets like iron by C.
The same argument applies on risk-measure, which cannot be surmised before the productive use of assets, finance, and things.
2. Why would F impose on C to sell at $2million per ton of iron? If there is good reason C can gain profit at will by selling at a higher rate.
3. What is the element of Maqasid for wellbeing (Maslaha) with a social value in the kind of financing? The financed assets are mega-types, not pervading to the grassroots. Hence there is no social linkage as in the case of the Maqasid. Islamic banks have forgotten the importance of this and have no organized Zakat, Sadaqah, Infaq fund.
4. If ijara-sukuk is used to capitalize periodical payments for 10 years say for paying off the $2million by C, such bonds cannot in fact be capitalized on asumed cash-flows or rates of returns. Both of these are facts of periodic occurrences of transactions subject to contingencies. Thus a valuation (formula) is needed of the type of forward overlapping generation model. Islamic banks and Islamic economic and finance intellection have not thought about such significant methods.
See Choudhury, M.A. The Islamic World-System, Chapter 8 on overlapping generation model, Routledge & Curzon, 2004.
Also see, Choudhury, M.A. “A generalized Islamic development financing instruments”, Indonesian Management and Accounting Research, 7:1,2008.
Professor Dr. Masudul Alam Choudhury
Department of Economics and Finance
Sultan Qaboos University
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Mohammed // September 29, 2009 at 5:23 pm |
did you forget Dr. Mahmoud El Gamal ? http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~elgamal/
Abdul Majid // October 8, 2009 at 6:59 am |
Dear Schoolars
Assalam o Alaikum
May Allah be pleased with you and reward you with his best reward for your work for Muslims.
Nowadays many banks claim that they are dealing Islamic Financing. Please advise me on tow banks (Dubai Islamic Bank and Al-Baraka Islamic Bank), should we open account with them as they claim Islamic Financing (Riba Free). The mentioned banks are operating in Pakistan while their bases are in Dubai and Bahrain consequently.
Your early advice is highly appreciated.