Islamic Banking and Finance Definition: History and Example

What Is Islamic Banking?

Islamic banking, also referred to as Islamic finance or Shariah-compliant finance, refers to financial activities that adhere to Shariah (Islamic law). Two fundamental principles of Islamic banking are the sharing of profit and loss and the prohibition of the collection and payment of interest by lenders and investors.

How Islamic Banking Practices Work

There are more than 560 banks and over 1,900 mutual funds around the world that comply with Islamic principles. Between 2015 and 2021, Islamic financial assets grew to about $4 trillion from $2.17 trillion and are projected to rise to roughly $5.9 trillion by 2026, according to a 2022 report by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD) and Refinitiv.

This growth is largely due to the rising economies of Muslim countries (especially those that have benefited from oil price increases).

Islamic banking is grounded in the tenets of the Islamic faith as they relate to commercial transactions. The principles of Islamic banking are derived from the Quran, which is the central religious text of Islam. In Islamic banking, all transactions must comply with Shariah, the legal code of Islam (based on the teachings of the Quran). The rules that govern commercial transactions in Islamic banking are referred to as fiqh al-muamalat.

Employees of institutions that abide by Islamic banking are trusted to not deviate from the fundamental principles of the Quran while they are conducting business. When more information or guidance is necessary, Islamic bankers turn to learned scholars or use independent reasoning based on scholarship and customary practices.

One of the primary differences between conventional banking systems and Islamic banking is that Islamic banking prohibits usury and speculation. Shariah strictly prohibits any form of speculation or gambling, which is referred to as maisir.

Shariah also prohibits taking interest on loans. In addition, any investments involving items or substances that are prohibited in the Quran—including alcohol, gambling, and pork—are also prohibited. In this way, Islamic banking can be considered a culturally distinct form of ethical investing. 

To earn money without the typical practice of charging interest, Islamic banks use equity participation systems. Equity participation means if a bank lends money to a business, the business will pay back the loan without interest and instead give the bank a share in its profits.

If the business defaults or doesn't earn a profit, then the bank also doesn't benefit. In general, Islamic banking institutions tend to be more risk-averse in their investment practices. As a result, they typically avoid business that could be associated with economic bubbles.

History of Islamic Banking

The practices of Islamic banking are usually traced back to businesspeople in the Middle East who started engaging in financial transactions with their European counterparts during the Medieval era.

At first, they used the same financial principles as the Europeans. However, over time, as trading systems developed and European countries started establishing local branches of their banks in the Middle East, some of these banks adopted the local customs of the region where they were newly established, primarily no-interest financial systems that worked on a profit-and-loss sharing method.

By adopting these practices, these European banks could also serve the needs of local businesspeople who were Muslim.

Though the majority of these Islamic banking institutions were founded in Muslim countries, Islamic banks also opened in Western Europe during the early 1980s. In addition, national interest-free banking systems have been developed by the governments of Iran, Sudan, and (to a lesser extent) Pakistan.

Example of Islamic Banking

The Mit-Ghamr Savings Bank, established in 1963 in Egypt, is commonly referred to as the first example of Islamic banking in the modern world. When Mit-Ghamr lent money to businesses, it did so based on a profit-sharing model.

The Mit-Ghamr project was closed in 1967 due to political factors, but during its year of operations, the bank exercised a great deal of caution, only approving about 40% of its business loan applications. However, in economically good times, the bank's default ratio was said to be zero.

The Bottom Line

Islamic banking is also referred to as Islamic finance or Shariah-compliant finance. It refers to finance or banking activities that comply with Islamic law.

There are many differences between Islamic and mainstream finance, but two of the most important are the methods of sharing profit and loss, and the prohibition of the collection and payment of interest by lenders and investors. Shariah also prohibits taking interest on loans. Islamic banks make a profit through equity participation, which requires a borrower to give the bank a share in their profits, rather than paying interest.