Abstract

The objective of this paper is to make an assessment of the competence of the members of Shariah Boards of the Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) in terms of enabling and ensuring Shariah compliance of banks’ business. The competency of Sharī‘ah board members is considered as a critical issue in the State Bank’s Sharī‘ah Governance framework (SGF), which considers degree from any Wafaqal Madaris as the basic qualification for their appointment. The paper investigates into the curricula of madaris (religious schools) in Pakistan and orientation of the madaris graduates for understanding increasingly innovative banking and finance operations. It also analyzes the syllabubs of the specialization / Takhassus fil Fiqh/Takhasus fil Ifta in the madaris. Some pragmatic recommendations have been made to enhance the expertise of the Sharī‘ah board members in the light of SBP’s Fit & Proper criteria. This is a pioneer study discussing the scheme of studies in Pakistani madaris and provides a basis for further research on this area.

Keywords

Islamic banks, Sharī‘ah Governance, Sharī‘ah Board, Competency; Deeni Madaris, Pakistan. .