Debate on Tawarruq: Historical Discourse and Current Rulings

Abstract

One of the controversial products used by the Islamic financial sector is organized tawarruq. As the substance of this product resembles that of an interest-based loan, there is a debate on its permissibility from a Shari’ah perspective. While discussions on tawarruq have arisen due to the emergence of the practice in Islamic finance, there have been deliberations on this transaction in the past starting immediately after the emergence of Islam. The aim of the article is to provide an overview of the historical discourse on tawarruq and examine the rulings on it by two contemporary jurisprudential bodies to assess the practice of the transaction in Islamic finance. The discussions show that the current rulings concur with the majority view of the past scholars. The practice of organized tawarruq by the Islamic financial industry, however, appears to be inconsistent with both the contemporary and historical rulings.