Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Hashim Kamali is professor of law
at the International Islamic University of Malaysia
. He has taught Islam
ic law and jurisprudence there since 1985.
He is the author of Islamic Commercial Law
2000, a study of the application of Shariah principles to some crucial financial instruments, options
and futures contract
s. He takes a much more permissive view of these instruments than do most Islamicists.
He wrote, for example, that many have "passed prohibitive judgments on futures and options" who have "not only failed to produce decisive evidence in support of their positions but have done so on the assumption that futures trading has no social utility and has no bearing on the welfare...of the people."
Among the scholars who pass the "prohibitive judgments" with which Kamali disagrees are Muhammad Akram Khan
and Umar Chapra
.
Born in Afghanistan in 1944, Mohammad Hashim Kamali served as Professor of Islamic law and jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Malaysia
, and also as Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilisation (ISTAC) from 1985-2007. He is currently the CEO & Chairman of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia. He studied law at Kabul University and then served as Assistant Professor, and subsequently as Public Prosecutor with the Ministry of Justice, Afghanistan, 1965-1968. He completed his LL.M. in comparative law, and a PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern law at the University of London
, 1969–1976.
He was then employed by the British Broadcasting Corporation as part of its broadcasting support staff in Reading, UK, 1976-1979. Dr. Kamali served as Assistant Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University in Montreal, and was subsequently a Research Associate with the Canada Council for Social Science and Humanities, 1979-1985. He was Visiting Professor at Capital University in Ohio in 1991, and later served as Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, Germany, 2000–200
He is currently a Fellow of that Institute and also a member of the Royal Academy of Jordan. He served as a member and sometime Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission of Afghanistan, May–September 2003. He is currently on the International Advisory Board of eleven academic journals published in Malaysia, USA, Canada, Kuwait, India, Australia and Pakistan. In May–June 2004, and subsequently in October 2007, he served as a UN consultant on constitutional reforms in the Maldives, and as a UN constitutional law expert on the constitution of Iraq, 2005-2006.
He is currently a Shariah Advisor with the Securities Commission of Malaysia, Chairman of the CIMB
Shariah Board, and Chairman of Shariah Board, Stanlib Corporation of South Africa. Professor Kamali has addressed over 120 national and international conferences, published 16 books and over 110 academic articles. He delivered the Prominent Scholars Lecture Series No. 20 at the Islamic Research and Training Institute of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1996, and the Multaqa Sultan Ahmad Shah Lecture in Kuantan 2002.
Freedom of Expression in Islam (Cambridge, 1997); Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam (Cambridge, 2002); and A Textbook of Hadith Studies (Leicester, UK. 2005) are used as reference works in leading English speaking universities worldwide.
Kamali received the Isma’il al-Faruqi Award for Academic Excellence twice, in 1995 and 1997, and he is listed in a number of leading Who’s Whos in the World.
Forther publications include:
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the International Islamic University of Malaysia
International Islamic University Malaysia
The International Islamic University Malaysia , also known as IIUM or UIAM, is a public publicly-funded university in Malaysia. Its main campus is located in Gombak, Selangor with its situated in Petaling Jaya / Nilai and its medical-centric branch in Kuantan, Pahang. The university is sponsored...
. He has taught Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic law and jurisprudence there since 1985.
He is the author of Islamic Commercial Law
Islamic Commercial Law
Islamic Commercial Law by Mohammad Hashim Kamali, professor of law at the International Islamic University, Malaysia, is an analysis of options and futures contracts as trading tools from the point of view of shariah....
2000, a study of the application of Shariah principles to some crucial financial instruments, options
Option (finance)
In finance, an option is a derivative financial instrument that specifies a contract between two parties for a future transaction on an asset at a reference price. The buyer of the option gains the right, but not the obligation, to engage in that transaction, while the seller incurs the...
and futures contract
Futures contract
In finance, a futures contract is a standardized contract between two parties to exchange a specified asset of standardized quantity and quality for a price agreed today with delivery occurring at a specified future date, the delivery date. The contracts are traded on a futures exchange...
s. He takes a much more permissive view of these instruments than do most Islamicists.
He wrote, for example, that many have "passed prohibitive judgments on futures and options" who have "not only failed to produce decisive evidence in support of their positions but have done so on the assumption that futures trading has no social utility and has no bearing on the welfare...of the people."
Among the scholars who pass the "prohibitive judgments" with which Kamali disagrees are Muhammad Akram Khan
Muhammad Akram Khan
Nawab Sir Muhammad Akram Khan, during the tenure of Nawab Sir Akram Khan K.C.S.I. , son of Jehandad Khan, the fort at Shergarh was constructed, along with Dogah and Shahkot Forts. His rule was a peaceful time for Tanawal with no major conflicts...
and Umar Chapra
Umar Chapra
Muhammad Umer Chapra is a Senior Research Advisor at the Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah who has written extensively on the issues of Islamic economics and Islamic finance...
.
Born in Afghanistan in 1944, Mohammad Hashim Kamali served as Professor of Islamic law and jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Malaysia
International Islamic University Malaysia
The International Islamic University Malaysia , also known as IIUM or UIAM, is a public publicly-funded university in Malaysia. Its main campus is located in Gombak, Selangor with its situated in Petaling Jaya / Nilai and its medical-centric branch in Kuantan, Pahang. The university is sponsored...
, and also as Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilisation (ISTAC) from 1985-2007. He is currently the CEO & Chairman of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia. He studied law at Kabul University and then served as Assistant Professor, and subsequently as Public Prosecutor with the Ministry of Justice, Afghanistan, 1965-1968. He completed his LL.M. in comparative law, and a PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern law at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, 1969–1976.
He was then employed by the British Broadcasting Corporation as part of its broadcasting support staff in Reading, UK, 1976-1979. Dr. Kamali served as Assistant Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University in Montreal, and was subsequently a Research Associate with the Canada Council for Social Science and Humanities, 1979-1985. He was Visiting Professor at Capital University in Ohio in 1991, and later served as Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, Germany, 2000–200
He is currently a Fellow of that Institute and also a member of the Royal Academy of Jordan. He served as a member and sometime Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission of Afghanistan, May–September 2003. He is currently on the International Advisory Board of eleven academic journals published in Malaysia, USA, Canada, Kuwait, India, Australia and Pakistan. In May–June 2004, and subsequently in October 2007, he served as a UN consultant on constitutional reforms in the Maldives, and as a UN constitutional law expert on the constitution of Iraq, 2005-2006.
He is currently a Shariah Advisor with the Securities Commission of Malaysia, Chairman of the CIMB
CIMB
CIMB Group CIMB Group is a regional universal bank operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group has the widest retail branch network across the region and is an indigenous ASEAN investment bank....
Shariah Board, and Chairman of Shariah Board, Stanlib Corporation of South Africa. Professor Kamali has addressed over 120 national and international conferences, published 16 books and over 110 academic articles. He delivered the Prominent Scholars Lecture Series No. 20 at the Islamic Research and Training Institute of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1996, and the Multaqa Sultan Ahmad Shah Lecture in Kuantan 2002.
Freedom of Expression in Islam (Cambridge, 1997); Freedom, Equality and Justice in Islam (Cambridge, 2002); and A Textbook of Hadith Studies (Leicester, UK. 2005) are used as reference works in leading English speaking universities worldwide.
Kamali received the Isma’il al-Faruqi Award for Academic Excellence twice, in 1995 and 1997, and he is listed in a number of leading Who’s Whos in the World.
Forther publications include:
- Freedom of Expression in Islam (1994)
- Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence (Reprint, Petaling Jaya, 1999)
- Islamic Commercial Law (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society 2000)
- A Textbook of Hadith Studies (Islamic Foundation, UK, 2005)
- An Introduction to Shari’ah (Oneworld Publications, Oxford 2008)
- Shari'ah Law: An Introduction (Viva Books 2009)
- Constitutionalism in Islamic Countries: A Contemporary Perspective of Islamic Law, in: Constitutionalism in Islamic Countries: Between Upheaval and Continuity (eds. Rainer Grote and Tilmann Röder, Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York 2011).