Al-Ma'alat framework for Islamic banks in Qatar

Abstract

Al- Ma’alat which has a meaning similar to al-aqibah (mentioned in the Quran more than 30 times) is an authentic Islamic approach rediscovered by Al-Ghazali and Al-Shaṭibi. This does not deny the fact that the concept of al- Ma’alat was not present in the thought and practice of the Islamic jurisprudential discourse throughout Islamic civilisation. Al-Quradaghi in his book ‘Al- Ma’alat as a basis for economic analysis’ expands the concept to connect it within economic terms. The researcher used this book as a basic to expand the concept and connect it to Result Based Management (RBM) and Futurology (FS) to nurture an interdisciplinary approach that connects al- Ma’alat to all aspects of life such as political, economic, social, technological, legal, Shariah, and environmental. Using this methodology, the study presented the more encompassing theory of al- Ma’alat and suggested some actions to be taken to develop Qatar’s Islamic banking sector. The researcher also presents two scenarios for its suggested framework as a road map for IB until the establishing for al- Ma’alat centre. The researcher applied the exploratory qualitative method, and the information used for analytical purposes was derived from primary and secondary sources. The primary data consisted of interviews with stakeholders in Islamic finance such as Shari’ah Scholar, economists, clients, and senior management in Malaysia (due to it is expert country in the field of Islamic finance) and Qatar. The secondary data was sourced from resources in al- Ma’alat, RBM, future Studies, Qatar National Vision 2030, SDGs and ESG. This framework will help banks’ management, Shari’ah scholars and regulators to see the level of input, activities, output, outcomes, and long terms outcomes.