Performance of the Islamic Bank

A realistic evaluation

Islamic banking has become today an undeniable reality.  The number of Islamic banks and the financial institutions is ever increasing.  New Islamic Banks with huge amount of capital are being established.  Conventional banks are opening Islamic windows or Islamic subsidiaries for the operations of Islamic banking.  Even the non-Muslim financial institutions are entering the field and trying to compete each other to attract as many Muslim customers as they can. 

It seems that the size of Islamic banking will be at least multiplied during the next decade and the operation of Islamic banks are expected to cover a large area of financial transactions of the world.  But before the Islamic financial institutions expand their business they should evaluate their performance during the last two decades because every new system has to learn from the experience of the past, to revise its activities and to analyze its deficiencies in a realistic manner.  Unless we analyze our merits and demerits we cannot expect to advance towards our total success. 

It is in this perspective that we should seek to analyze the operation of Islamic banks and financial institutions in the light of Shariah and to highlight what they have achieved and what they have missed.
Once during a press conference in Malaysia, this author was asked the question about the contribution of the Islamic Banks in promoting the Islamic economy.  My reply to the question was apparently contradictory, I said it he has contributed a lot and they have contributed nothing.  In the present chapter an attempt has been made to elaborate upon this reply.

When it was said that they have contributed a lot, what was meant is that it was a remarkable achievement of the Islamic banks that they have made a great break-through in the present banking system by establishing Islamic financial institutions meant to follow Shariah.  It was a cherished dream of the Muslim Ummah to have an interest-free economy, but the concept of Islamic banking was merely a theory discussed in research papers, having no practical example. 

It was the Islamic banks and financial institutions which translated the theory into practice and presented a living and practical example for the theoretical concept in an environment where it was claimed that no financial institution can work without interest.  It was indeed a courageous step on the part of the Islamic banks to come forward with a firm resolution that all their transactions will conform to Shariah and all their activities will be free from all transactions involving interest.

Another major contribution of the Islamic banks is that, being under supervision of their respective Shariah Boards they presented a wide spectrum of questions relating to modern business, to the Shariah scholars, thus providing them with an opportunity not only to understand the contemporary practice of business and trade but also to evaluate it in the light of Shariah and to find out other alternatives which may be acceptable according to the Islamic principles.

It must be understood that when we claim that Islam has a satisfactory solution for every problem emerging in any situation in all times to come, we do not mean that the Holy Quran or the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SW) or the rulings of the Islamic scholars provide a specific answer to each and every minute detail of our socio-economic life. 

What we mean is that the Holy Quran and the Holy Sunnah of the Prophet (?) have laid down broad principles in the light of which the scholars of every time have deduced specific answers to the new situation arising in their age.  Therefore, in order to reach a definite answer about a new situation the scholars of Shariah have to play a very important role.  They have to analyze every new question in the light of the principles laid down by the Holy Quran and Sunnah as well as in the light of the standards set by the earlier jurists, enumerated in the books of Islamic jurisprudence. 

This exercise is called Istinbat or Ijtihad.  It is this exercise which has enriched the Islamic jurisprudence with a wealth of knowledge and wisdom for which no parallel is found in any other religion.  In a society where the Shariah is implemented in its full sway the ongoing process of Istinbat keeps injecting new ideas, concepts and rulings into the heritage of Islamic jurisprudence which makes it easier to find out specific answer to almost every situation in the books of Islamic jurisprudence.  But during the past few centuries the political decline of the Muslims stopped this process to a considerable extent. 

Most of the Islamic countries were captured by non-muslim rulers who by enforcing with power the secular system of government, deprived the socio-economic life from the guidance provided by the Shariah, and the Islamic teachings were restricted to a limited sphere of worship, religious education and in some countries to the matter of marriage, divorce and inheritance only.  So far as the political and economic activities are concerned the governance of Shariah was totally rejected.

Since the evolution of any legal system depends on its practical application, the evolution of Islamic law with regard to business and trade was hindered by this situation.  Almost all the transactions in the market being based on secular concepts were seldom brought to the Shariah scholars for their scrutiny in the light of Shariah.  It is true that even in these days some practicing Muslims brought some practical questions before the Shariah scholars for which the scholars have been giving their rulings in the forms of Fatawas of which a substantial collection is still available.  However, all these Fatawas related mostly to the individual problems of the relevant persons and addressed their individual needs.

It is a major contribution of the Islamic banks that, because of their entry into the field of large scale business, the wheel of evolution of Islamic legal system has re-started.  Most of the Islamic banks are working under the supervision of their Shariah Boards. They bring their day to day problems before the Shariah scholars who examine them in the light of Islamic rules and principles and give specific rulings about them.  This procedure not only makes Shariah scholars more familiar with the new market situation but also through their exercise of Istinbat contributes to the evolution of Islamic jurisprudence. Thus, if a practice is held to be un-islamic by the Shariah scholars a suitable alternative is also sought by the joint efforts of the Shariah scholars and the management of the Islamic banks.  The resolutions of the Shariah Boards have by now produced dozens of volumes - a contribution which can never be under-rated.

Another major contribution of the Islamic banks is that they have now asserted themselves in the international market, and Islamic banking as distinguished from conventional banking is being gradually recognized throughout the world.  This is how I explain my comment that they have contributed a lot.
On the other hand there are a number of deficiencies in the working of the present Islamic banks which should be analyzed with all seriousness.

First of all, the concept of Islamic banking was based on an economic philosophy underlying the rules and principles of Shariah.  In the context of interest-free banking this philosophy aimed at establishing distributive justice free from all sorts of exploitation.  As I have explained in a number of articles, the instrument of interest has a constant tendency in favor of the rich and against the interests of the common people. 

The rich industrialists by borrowing huge amounts from the bank utilize the money of the depositors in their huge profitable projects. After they earn profits, they do not let the depositors share these profits except to the extent of a meager rate of interest and this is also taken by them by adding it to the cost of their products.  Therefore, looked at from macro level, they pay nothing to the depositors.  While in the extreme cases of losses which lead to their bankruptcy and the consequent bankruptcy of the bank itself, the whole loss is suffered by the depositors.  This is how interest creates inequity and imbalance in the distribution of wealth.

Contrary to this is the case of Islamic financing.  The ideal instrument of financing according to Shariah is Musharakah where the profits and losses both are shared by both the parties according to equitable proportion.  Musharakah provides better opportunities for the depositors to share actual profits earned by the business which in normal cases may be much higher than the rate of interest.  Since the profits cannot be determined unless the relevant commodities are completely sold, the profits paid to the depositors cannot be added to the cost of production, therefore, unlike the interest-based system the amount paid to the depositors cannot be claimed back through increase in the prices.

This philosophy cannot be translated into reality unless the use of the Musharakah is expanded by the Islamic banks.  It is true that there are practical problems in using the Musharakah as a mode of financing especially in the present atmosphere where the Islamic banks are working in isolation and, mostly without the support of their respective governments. The fact, however, remains that the Islamic banks should have gressed towards Musharakah in gradual phases and should have increased the size of Musharakah financing.  Unfortunately, the Islamic banks have overlooked this basic requirement of Islamic banking and there are no visible efforts to progress towards this transaction even in a gradual manner even on  a selective basis.  This situation has resulted in a number of adverse factors :

Firstly, the basic philosophy of Islamic banking seems to be totally neglected.

Secondly, by ignoring the instrument of Musharakah the Islamic banks are forced to use the instrument of Murabahah and Ijarah and these too, within the framework of the conventional benchmarks like Libber etc. where the net result is not materially different from the interest based transactions. I do not subscribe to the view of those people who do not find any difference between the transactions of conventional banks and Murabahah and Ijarah and who blame the instruments of Murabahah and Ijarah for prepetuating the same business with a different name, because if Murabahah and Ijarah are implemented with their necessary conditions, they have many points of difference which distinguish them from interest-based transactions.  However, one cannot deny that these two transactions are not originally modes of financing in Shariah.  The Shariah scholars have allowed their use for financing purposes only in those spheres where Musharakah cannot work and that too with certain conditions.  This allowance should not be taken as a permanent rule for all sorts of transactions and the entire operations of Islamic Banks should not revolve around it.

Thirdly, when people realize that income from in the transactions undertaken by Islamic banks is dubious akin to the transactions of conventional banks, they become skeptical towards the functioning of Islamic banks.

Fourthly, if all the transactions of Islamic banks are based on the above devices it becomes very difficult to argue for the case of Islamic banking before the masses especially, before the non-muslims who feel that it is nothing but a matter of twisting of documents only.

It is observed in a number of Islamic banks that even Murabahah and Ijarah are not effected according to the procedure required by the Shariah.  The basic concept of Murabahah was that the bank should purchase the commodity and then sell it to the customer on deferred payment basis at a margin of profit.  From the Shariah point of view it is necessary that the commodity should come into the ownership and at least in the constructive possession of the bank before it is sold to the customer.  The bank should bear the risk of the commodity during the period it is owned and possessed by the bank.  It is observed that many Islamic banks and financial institutions commit a number of mistakes with regard to this transaction:
Some financial institutions have presumed that Murabahah is the substitute for interest, for all practical purposes. Therefore, they contract a Murabahah even when the client wants funds for his overhead expenses like paying salaries or   bills for the goods and services already consumed.  Obviously Murabahah cannot be effected in this case because no commodity is being purchased by the bank.

In some cases the client purchases the commodity on his own prior to any agreement with the Islamic Bank and a Murabahah is effected on a buy-back basis.  This is again contrary to the Islamic principles because the buy-back arrangement is unanimously held as prohibited in Shariah.

In some cases the client himself is made an agent for the bank to purchase a commodity and to sell it to himself immediately after acquiring the commodity.  This is not in accordance with the basic conditions of the permissibility of Murabahah.  If the client himself is made an agent to purchase the commodity, his capacity as an agent must be distinguished from his capacity as a buyer which means that after purchasing commodity on behalf of the bank he must inform the bank that he has effected the purchase on its behalf and then the commodity should be sold to him by the bank through a proper offer and acceptance which may be effected through the exchange of telexes or faxes.

As explained earlier Murabahah is a kind of sale and it is an established principle of Shariah that the price must be determined at the time of sale.  This price can neither be increased nor reduced unilaterally once it is fixed by the parties.  It is observed that some financial institutions increase the price of Murabahah in the case of late payment which is not allowed in Shariah.  Some financial institutions roll-over the Murabahah in the case of default by the client.  Obviously, this practice is not warranted by Shariah because once the commodity is sold to the customer it cannot be the subject matter of another sale to the same customer.

In transactions of Ijarah also some requirements of Shariah are often overlooked.  It is a prerequisite for a valid Ijarah that the lessor bears the risks related to the ownership of the leased asset and that the usufruct of the leased asset must be made available to the lessee for which he pays rent.  It is observed in a number of Ijarah agreements that these rules are violated.  Even in the case of destruction of the asset due to force majeure, the lessee is required to keep paying the rent which means that the lessor neither assumes the liability for his ownership nor offers any usufruct to the lessee.  This type of Ijarah is against the basic principles of Shariah.

The Islamic banking is based on principles different from those followed in conventional banking system.  It is therefore logical that the results of their operations are not necessarily the same in terms of profitability.  An Islamic bank may earn more in some cases and may earn less in some others.  If our target is always to match the conventional banks in terms of profits, we can hardly develop our own products based on pure Islamic principles.  Unless the sponsors of the bank as well as its management and its clientele realize this fact and are ready to accept different - but not necessarily adverse - results, the Islamic banks will keep using artificial devices and a true Islamic system will not come into being.

According to the Islamic principles, business transactions can never be separated from the moral objectives of the society. Therefore, Islamic banks were supposed to adopt new financing policies and to explore new channels of investments which may encourage development and support the small scale traders to lift up their economic level.  A very few Islamic banks and financial institutions have paid attention to this aspect.  Unlike the conventional financial institutions who strive for nothing but making enormous profits, the Islamic banks should have taken the fulfillment of the needs of the society as one of their major objectives and should have given preference to the products which may help the common people to raise their standard of living.  They should have invented new schemes for house-financing, vehicle-financing and rehabilitation-financing for the small traders.  This area still awaits attention of the Islamic banks.

The case of Islamic banking cannot be advanced unless a strong system of inter-bank transactions based on Islamic principles is developed.  The lack of such a system forces the Islamic banks to turn to the conventional banks for their short term needs of liquidity which the conventional banks do not provide without either an open or camouflaged interest.  The creation of an inter-bank relationship based on Islamic principles should no longer be deemed difficult.  The number of Islamic financial institutions today has reached around two hundred.  They can create a fund with a mixture of Murabahah and Ijarah instruments the units of which can be used even for overnight transactions.  If they develop such a fund it may solve a number of problems.

Lastly, the Islamic banks should develop their own culture.  Obviously, Islam is not restricted to the banking transactions.  It is a set of rules and principles governing the whole human life.  Therefore, for being 'Islamic' it is not sufficient to design the transactions on Islamic principles.

It is also necessary that the outlook of the institution and its staff reflects the Islamic identity quite distinguished from the conventional institution.  This requires a major change in the general attitude of the institution and its management.  Islamic obligations of worship as well as the ethical norms must be prominent in the whole atmosphere of an institution which claims to be Islamic. 

This is an area in which some Islamic institutions in the Middle East have made progress. However, it should be a distinguishing feature of all the Islamic banks and financial institutions throughout the world.  The guidance of Shariah Boards should be sought in this area also.

The purpose of this discussion, as clarified at the outset, is by no means to discourage the Islamic Banks or to find faults with them.  The only purpose is to persuade them to evaluate their own performance from the Shariah point of view and to adopt a realistic approach while designing their procedure and determining their policies.