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Author's Preface

I was asked by ISNA to produce a short guide to Islamic Banking and Finance for the Muslims of North America. To keep this guide short, we had to define our target audience rather carefully.  This introductory guide is meant to address the Muslim who is familiar with the fundamental tenets and sources of legislation in Islam.  The reader is not assumed to have elaborate prior knowledge of Islamic financial contracts, but a certain degree of financial
sophistication will be required. This is not a full survey of the field, and it is not a religious guide. It is the work of a single individual, who does not claim any religious authority beyond that which is derived from quoted texts.  I tried my utmost to steer away from issues which are or may become controversial.  Therefore, I have been careful to limit the discussion of recent fatw¯as and decisions of jurists and juristic councils. In that sense, this guide falls short of providing the reader with full information about “state of the art” Islamic financial instruments...