Purpose Malaysia is one of the fastest-growing Asian economies with a properly designed and developed Islamic financial system. This unique feature of the Malaysian economy made it an important case study, and the purpose of this study is to assess for the dynamic contribution of Islamic finance to the growth of the real economy. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a quarterly data set of 20 years analysed via the autoregressive distributive lag bounds test approach to cointegration. Findings The results in the short-run show a non-significant relationship between Islamic banking indices and the real economy. However, in the long-run, financing and deposits of Islamic banks are favourable and contribute significantly to the growth of the Malaysian economy. There was an accumulation of meaningful and wide-ranging investment over the period of the study and productivity of capital was also extra-efficient. The direction of causality is found to be bidirectional between Islamic banking deposits and Malaysian gross domestic product (GDP), but there is a weak causal effect from Islamic banking financing to GDP. Research limitations/implications Malaysia has a dual financial system (conventional and Islamic) and both can affect its real economy. This research is limited to Islamic banking’s effects on Malaysian economic growth. The research also limits the scope and coverage for 20 years, from 1998 to 2017 to cover the years for which data is available for all the variables used in the study. Practical implications The results confirm that the Islamic banking sector in Malaysia is performing well in carrying out its major function of financial intermediation, which is the pooling and channelling of funds to productive investment activities. Consequently, the fact that Malaysia excels in Islamic finance is not a fluke. It is because of the effective performance of Islamic financial institutions in the country. Furthermore, Malaysian authorities are doing their level best in promoting Islamic financial activities. Originality/value The study fulfills the need to uncover the relationship between the Islamic financial system and the real economy in Malaysia. It differs from other studies as it uses the most recent available data, introduces new variables and identifies the channel by which Islamic banking development transmits growth.

This paper studies the hedge and safe haven characteristics of Sharia compliant gold in Malaysia. Specifically, we would like to know whether the official gold and gold account traded, which complies with Islamic principles, can be used as a hedge or a safe haven for the Malaysian market. To answer this question, we examine both constant and timevarying relations between domestic stock and gold returns. The notable finding is that the official gold standard of Malaysia can act as a strong hedge relative to the use of the Islamic gold account. On the other hand, the domestic gold, in particular the Islamic gold account, does not perform attractively as a safe haven during the episodes of extreme drops in stock market. These findings show that gold does not play a major role during the stock market declines in Malaysia. Nevertheless, we note that the official gold standard performs better than the gold account.

The number of women who engage in small entrepreneurs (SMEs) in Malaysia, Kelantan has a high number of Muslim businesswomen whose efforts have been in place for over ten years and their businesses are able to increase family income on sustainable. This paper aims to identify the types of sustainability activities undertaken by Muslim small business women in Kelantan and to analyse the factors that influence the viability of Muslim women entrepreneurs doing business there. A case study was conducted to answer the question of how Muslim women entrepreneurs can be sustainable in business. Interview respondents were selected from a random sampling conducted on 15 Muslim women entrepreneurs in Kelantan. These findings indicate the dry food product business is more sustainable than wet goods because the sale of dry goods is always in demand and does not require much initial capital. This study shows that the factors that influence the survival of Muslim women small entrepreneurs in Kelantan are divided into three categories i.e., First financial capital, the human capital of an inherited business and the family experience gained in the field plays a role. Last, the patient's spiritual element, which is deliberate and honest.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to reconcile the diverging opinions among Islamic economists toward the concept of scarcity and to present a holistic model of scarcity and abundance from a Qur’anic perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Analyses of both interviews and texts were performed. The method in studying scarcity from Islamic perspective consisted of semi-structured interview with five experts in the field of Islamic economics and development. Findings – One major implication of this study is that the concept of scarcity as it is postulated by mainstream economics tends to clash with the Islamic worldview, as it does not have any reference in Islam. Scarcity can act as a phenomenon in economic activities but not as the defining concept in Islamic economics. Practical implications – Practically, this paper will contribute to the making of the first lecture of the course of Islamic economics. Social implications – Socially, this paper will contribute to the process of transforming the science of economics and Islamic economics for a sustainable tomorrow. Originality/value – This paper is a fundamental paper that addresses some aspects from critical realism and transcendental idealism into the making of Islamic economics. Not only that the discussion on the concept of scarcity in Islamic economics is limited and seems to be lacking; in addition, this paper offers a critical discussion on the validity of the concept of scarcity in economics from a critical perspective.

The objectives of the study establish a conceptual framework to strengthen institutions that support the mobilisation of paying zakat and to identify the concept of the cultural factor of mutual assistance in paying zakat. This is Important because the institution of zakat has implemented the collection of zakat. Meanwhile, the culture of mutual assistance in Indonesia can be a power of zakat payment mobilisation to gain the blessings of Allah SWT. This paper presents the factors of determining mobilisation of zakat payments, e.g., are awareness, willingness to donate, confidence in collection and distribution with the latest development of technology. The implication of this study will help mobilise the payment of income zakat in Zakat Institutions. This study uses the documentation analysis method. Factors affecting mobilisation are awareness, willingness to donate, confidence in collection and distribution with the latest development of technology to help mobilise the payment of income zakat in Zakat Institutions.