Education has been part of the human society from the very beginning. Human societies throughout the ages have had vested interests in education. While most societies will agree or acknowledge the importance of education, a large number of them fail to channel sufficient resources that can be used to promote and support educational institutions and activities. Meanwhile, as an institution, waqf has a direct effect to enhance the capabilities of the poor to take care of themselves by providing access to education, health and physical facilities. Hence, the institution of waqf can be effectively accommodates to the issue of financing for education in its new and comprehensive approach. Thus, the main objective of this article is to assess the willingness of public in contributing for social Islamic waqf bank for financing the education. The methodology of this research is a quantitative research towards 231 respondents among Muslim public in Malaysia. The general finding of this article shows that there is a strong willingness among public to contribute for this institution for the financing of education.

Futures contracts are one of the major financial derivatives instruments traded in the financial markets, providing important benefits especially in hedging, however, these contracts are forbidden in Shari’ah as they involve many legitimacy prohibitions such as riba, gharar, gambling and speculation. However, these contracts can be Shari’ah-compliant if they are free of those forbidden elements and consort with the Shari’ah requirement. As a result, there will be differences between current conventional futures contracts and purposed Shari’ah-compliant futures contracts particularly, with regard to the futures contractparties’ payoffs.The objective of this paper is to propose a model for implementation of future contract that is comply with Shari’ah requirement. This will become an alternative towards current conduct of future contract, as well as identify the differences between parties’ payoffs in current conventional futures contracts and the proposed Shari’ah-compliant futures contracts either if price fluctuations increased or decreased. The methodology of this paper is descriptive in nature by exploring the previous literature that discuss on the issue of future contract and its characteristics and the development of Shari’ah approved future contract based on the requirement of Islamic principles. As well as comparative analysis presents the differences between payoff in current futures and proposed Shari’ah-compliant futures. Based on the study, we can offer a Shari’ah approved futures contract by distinguishing the feature of the contracts where the conventional futures contracts are win-loss or loss-win contracts, while the Shari’ah-compliant futures contracts can be win-win, or win-loss, or loss-win or loss-loss contracts.

During the global financial crisis and its aftermath, Islamic financial institutions were less affected, protected by their fundamental operating principles of risk sharing and the avoidance of leverage and speculative financial products. This has led to a greater appreciation of the role of Islamic finance in supporting economic growth across the globe. The contribution of Islamic finance and Islamic social finance especially through waqf sector promotes real economic development and could help to foster real economy and social sustainability. The impact and contribution of waqf for economic development in fostering real economy and social sustainability can be obverved in many areas such as enhancing economic progress, eradicating proverty, restoring distribution of income, reducing government expenditure, preventing deficit financing and stimulate growth and job creation. Therefore, a new mechanism is needed to support non-bankable and poor customers for financing facilities via Shariah compliant Islamic financial products and services.The purpose of this paper is to examine the most feasible mechanism for deposit and financing instruments based on waqf through Waqf Bank that able to foster and stimulate economic and social sustainability in the real economy sector especially for Muslim countries. The methodology of research in this study is through qualitative research based on interviews with Muslim scholars as well as Islamic banking and waqf practitioners. The finding of this study shows that there is feasible mechanism and modus operandi for the development of deposit and financing instruments in the Waqf Bank that able to be applied in many Muslim countries worldwide.

Zakat is one of the financial resources for an Islamic country to improve their society economy, especially those who in the bottom line. An effective zakat management in terms of collection and distribution will create a prosperous life for the Asnaf (zakat recipient). However, the current method of zakat distribution in Malaysia which focusing on the visible assistance form on periodic basis has some drawbacks in evaluating the poverty between gender in the Muslim community. Despite the increasing amount of zakat collection and distribution, the amount of poor and hard core poor are also continue to increase from year to year. This is because of some weaknesses in this distribution method. The current zakat distribution did not addressed the different needs among household head gender in calculating the Zakat Poverty Line (Had Kifayah). Methodology of this paper is based solely on a review of literature on the topic of poverty among gender and female headships. Therefore, this paper aims to review previous studies based on difference of poverty between different gender households head. It is found out that a new method of setting Had Kifayah should be designed based on current requirement and needs. Women often have to live with greater social constraints than men do. Legal and cultural restrictions, for example, mean that women have fewer possibilities than men of improving their lives economically by their own efforts. To make zakat distribution provides significant impact on the quality of life among the poor and needy, immediate actions need to be done to ensure that at least their needs are satisfied and adequate. The amount of zakat distribution should be re-evaluate due to the current amount is not suitable because of their different needs and consumption pattern between the household head gender.

The objective of this article is to analyze and examine the related literatures on Islamic finance between 2006 until 2016. The methodology of this article is through descriptive research based on document analysis on previous studies and literatures on Islamic finance from free-of-charge and free-of-registration online journals. Data from 142 articles related in this field were collected and statistically analyzed using the Statistical Product & Services Solution (SPSS) software. This study looked at several variables which include authorship patterns, number of articles published, research approach, geographical affiliation, subject and gender of the author. The general finding of this study shows that most of the previous study discussed on economic aspects of Islamic finance.

One of the key elements for the success and performance of Islamic banking institutions is the structuring of good and sound cooperate governance. Forming and planning good corporate governance for Islamic banking institutions is an important attempt to make sure the institutions are well protected. There are various management and planning elements in corporate governance geared toward good corporate governance purely for Islamic banking institutions. Thus, the objective of this article is to examine the related literatures on governance for Islamic banking institutions between 2005 and 2015. The methodology of this article is through qualitative research based on document analysis on the previous articles and literatures on governance of Islamic banking. Data from each article related in this field were collected and statistically analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solution software. This study looked at variables which include authorship patterns, number of articles published, and author productivity. The general finding in this article shows that there are still a limited number of articles and papers published by the researchers related to this field. Henceforth, this article provides significant suggestions and strategies for the future exploration on governing and planning for good corporate governance for the Islamic banking institutions.

Buying behavior of consumers and decision-making process and criteria of Muslim and non-Muslim consumers are fundamental in spreading the brand of Islamic ethical marketing. Many factors including environment, globalization, purchasing power, consumer population, religious and ethical considerations are essential in increasing the worldwide acceptance of Islamic marketing to all races regardless of religious belief. Hence, the paper attempts to identify the appropriate strategies for presenting these Islamic brands and logos to non-Muslim consumers across the global- space. The paper shall provide insight into how Islamic distribution strategies are displayed to every consumer regardless of their faith or cultural practices. The paper likewise builds upon previous scholarly efforts and research outcomes focusing on management approaches and business strategies suitable for increasing the chances of accepting Islamic brands and logos in Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Previous studies helped in understanding the concepts, current business practices, managerial and theoretical perspectives of Islamic branding. The findings indicate that the usage of Islamic brands played a mediating role in strengthening Islamic branded products across non-Muslim countries. Islamic brand was found to create positive impressions about Islam for non-Muslim consumers. It was also discovered that Islamic brands uniquely secured consumers and customers for Islamic products more than non-Islamic products. The study recommends that Islamic marketing designers should build a monitoring logistic to track the level of Islamic product acceptance across the Muslim and non-Muslim world.