The Epistemology of Contemporary Ijtihad on Bank Interest: Shaykh Shawki Allam’s Reconstruction of Islamic Legal Reasoning
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Abstract
Modern financial institutions pose legal questions that challenge classical fiqh categories and require new forms of contemporary ijtih?d. This study aims to reconstruct the epistemological and methodological foundations of Shaykh Dr. Shawki Allam’s legal reasoning on bank interest and assess its contribution to contemporary Islamic legal thought. Using a qualitative library-research approach, the study applies thematic content analysis to three official fatwas issued by D?r al-Ift?? al-Mi?riyyah and attributed to Allam, supported by classical fiqh literature and contemporary scholarship. The findings show that Allam reclassifies bank–customer relations from qard (loan) to tamw?l (financing) and al-?uq?d al-musta?dathah (new contractual arrangements). This reclassification is assessed through contractual permissibility, ma?la?ah, gharar, ?arar, fatwa authority, state regulation, and the management of ikhtil?f (juristic disagreement). The study finds that Allam’s reasoning integrates textual authority, legal principles, contextual reclassification, contractual evaluation, and institutional considerations. It contributes by identifying this configuration as a contemporary transformation of Islamic legal reasoning in addressing modern financial institutions.
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