Islamic finance - Principles and practice

This course is part of a course series focusing on Islamic finance, specializing in certain topics of Islamic finance. The principles of Islamic finance will provide you with a thorough overview of the principles of finance in Islam, starting with the history of Islamic finance, in addition to the basics of an Islamic financial system and its main characteristic. Islam distinguishes itself from other economic systems in that religion provides a solid rule-based foundation for how economic transactions and interactions shall take place.

Hence, understanding the foundations of Islamic finance becomes vital to succeed in modern finance and the growing presence of this sector.

The course will start with an overview of the history of Islamic finance that provides you with an immersion into the fascinating history of Islam and Islamic finance. Comprehending the historical relationships and connection will allow you to understand the rules and their objectives as well as the will of god.

The next section will provide an overview of the Islamic financial system and its foundation. This covers the basics at the core of the Islamic economic system and principles based on which it is built, which includes property rights, trust and wealth in addition to collaboration and competition.

This is then subsequently followed by a more detailed study of the elements of Islamic finance, and a more particular focus on the variety of contracts that are encountered in Islamic finance. For newcomers this will amaze them learning how elaborated contract types have been dealt within in the Quran and are utilized in Islamic finance. Most modern contractual forms have their basis in these contracts that cover a wide variety of different contractual requirements.

The final section will then provide a solid summary and conclusions about Islamic finance. The course contains both exercises and handouts with various notes and information.