This paper develops a conceptual framework that explains how an Islamic banking product (can) evolves into various and heterogeneous service practices in different contexts of its application. In theory, there is an argument that a service should continuously evolve into various practice environments to fulfil the requirements of various contexts and thus sustain. In practice also, the regulators such as the State Bank of Pakistan adopted an evolutionary regulatory framework that calls for designing and development of Islamic banking products that evolve into the emergent market needs. The proposed framework in this paper, describes a five steps evolution in an Islamic banking product, namely i) Model Contracts ii) Bank-level specifications iii) Branch-level Specifications; iv) Customer-level specifications v) and Feedback Evolution. The framework advances our understanding of how an Islamic banking product does or should evolve into to the practice environments of banks to effectively enact the evolutionary regulatory frameworks in the Islamic banking industry.

Purpose Sharīʿah audit is an important area to examine because it is considered the backbone of the Islamic finance industry. The purpose of this study is to spot and highlight the determinants that have an effect on internal Sharīʿah audit effectiveness in the Islamic banking industry. It attempts to develop a conceptual framework for those factors. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the existing literature to figure out the factors that frame the effectiveness of internal Sharīʿah audit in Islamic banks (IBs) and to propose a conceptual framework containing these factors. Findings This research proposes a conceptual framework of factors that impact on Sharīʿah audit effectiveness in IBs based on a comprehensive literature review. The proposed framework includes external and internal factors, as well as internal Sharīʿah audit structure, process and requirements that can be used to figure out the most significant factors of Sharīʿah audit effectiveness. Practical implications First, the regulators need to provide a detailed framework for the Sharīʿah audit, which covers the main requirements for effective Sharīʿah governance. Second, Islamic financial institutions need to pay more attention to following the Sharīʿah audit process to achieve the objective of effective Sharīʿah governance. Finally, the dearth of empirical research on the role and effectiveness of Sharīʿah audit in Islamic banking highlights the need to develop an appropriate methodology to enhance the study of the effectiveness of Sharīʿah governance practices. Originality/value The Sharīʿah ensures compliance with its rules and regulations and enhances the soundness and credibility of the Islamic finance industry. This study identifies a number of issues that require further investigation to establish a better system of Sharīʿah audit and to identify the factors that affect Sharīʿah auditing practices. Therefore, this paper is unique in covering the main elements that have an influence on the effectiveness of the Sharīʿah audit and proposes them in one framework.

Purpose -This paper aims to explore the challenges facing the development of a takāful retirement annuity plan in Malaysia. It also aims at exploring a new platform to re-launch the same product after being withdrawn from the Malaysian annuity market a few years ago.Design/methodology/approach -The research adopts a qualitative approach to address the possible challenges hindering the development of a takāful retirement annuity plan in Malaysia. The research will not discuss the Sharīʿah issues deemed settled in previous researches but will only focus on technical challenges related to the instruments of investment and prudential measures.Findings -The research found that various challenges face the development of a takāful annuity plan in Malaysia. Some of those challenges are the downsizing of the Á sukūk market, the shortage of long-term Á sukūk, longevity risk and risk-based capitalization. The research found that there is a need for a diversified portfolio of securities instead of solely using Á sukūk as an investment instrument in this product.

This research examines the awareness of takaful among Kuwaitis. It endeavours to determine any significant differences and conformities between demographic variables and the four aspects of awareness concerning general information, the features of takaful, shari'ah compliances, and motives of takaful. The research adopted a quantitative research design. Descriptive, T-test, ANOVA, and Discriminant analyses were employed to analyse the data collected via questionnaires. The research sample consisted of a total of 640 Kuwaitis from which 52% of the participants have not heard of takaful despite the existence of 14 takaful operators in Kuwait. More than 60% of the participants were unsure as to how their contributions would be invested. They were particularly concerned whether it be shari'ah compliant or not. In addition, two-thirds of the respondents were unaware that they were eligible to receive part of the surplus, if any.

This article is an attempt to formulate a viable Sharīʿah framework for juristic differences in contemporary Islamic finance. While acknowledging the legitimacy of juristic differences as an inherent feature of Islamic law, such differences could jeopardize a nascent Islamic finance industry, leading to what has come to be arbitrarily termed ‘Sharīʿah risk’ in Islamic finance. Two blocks appear to represent the two disputing sides since the launch of this industry, i.e., the Middle Eastern and South East Asian markets. Thus, this article aims to bridge differences in Islamic finance by proposing a framework and set of parameters that can be applied to all Islamic banking, Islamic capital market and takāful products. Apart from the outlined framework that aims to circumvent juristic disputes, this article concludes that juristic dispute resolution in Islamic finance will not be attainable until one can appreciate the legal and regulatory differences in which Islamic finance operates worldwide.