AAOIFI Shari’ah Board’s Karachi Standards Subcommittee held an extensive meeting on Wednesday  24 February 2016 to discuss a detailed research study on “forward leasing (ijarah mawsufah) and its application by Islamic Financial Institutions”. The subcommittee approved the study, after due deliberations and discussions, and commenced its review of the exposure draft, which will be completed and finalized in its upcoming meeting (by end of April 2016).

This meeting is part of the due process followed by AAOIFI to develop and issue its Shari’ah Standards, which is conducted through a number of stages, commencing with a very important stage- i.e., the commissioning of consultants to conduct a thorough study on a specific topic or issue that greatly impact the Islamic finance industry. The study involves Shari’ah characterization of the topic in question and the compilation of Fiqh academy fatwas and collective fatwas pertaining to the topic, and it accounts for all relevant practical applications. The exposure draft is then submitted to the respective Shari’ah standards subcommittee to discuss it. If approved, the consultant will be commissioned to prepare an exposure draft on the same topic or issue. The first exposure draft will then be discussed with the subcommittee prior to submission to the Shari’ah Board for further discussion and elaboration.