One of the best books for a beginner in Islamic economics/finance in the English language is the book ‘An Introduction to Islamic Finance’ by Sheikh Taqi Uthmani, which was first published in 1998. This was one of the first books on the subject that I read when I was a still a teenager in Africa before going abroad to seek knowledge. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning some of the basic concepts in Islamic finance as practiced in the contemporary Islamic finance industry. The book is written in simple English and the examples are simple enough for a beginner to understand without confusing them as it does not delve into deep Islamic jurisprudence discussions which maybe beyond the grasp of a beginner.
The book consists of just over 150 pages and therefore shouldn’t take the reader too long to finish it. The author begins with a discussion of some basic differences between Islamic & conventional economic theory, and then goes on to discuss various key commercial contracts in Islamic law and their applications in the contemporary Islamic finance industry. If you understand these contracts well, it is much easier for you to understand the products being offered by various Islamic financial institutions around the globe, as you will not be confused by the various terminology.
As mentioned previously, the book was written by Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Uthmani. The author is currently the Chairman of the AAOIFI Shariah Board which issues guiding Shariah standards for the Islamic finance industry. We discussed AAOIFI Shariah Standards and the role they play in the Islamic finance industry in the previous post.
The book is available in English and you can purchase it from Amazon. You can also possibly find PDF versions of it in English, Urdu & Arabic online.
To read the previous post (#1) of this series, please click the link below:
Islamic Economics/Finance Reading List (#1) – AAOIFI Shariah Standards | RIZQONOMICS
To read the next post (#3) in this series, please click the link below:
Islamic Economics/Finance Reading List (#3) – A Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence | RIZQONOMICS
