BAI‘ AL-‘INAH IN THE PERSPECTIVES OF IMAM MALIK AND IMAM AL-SHAFI‘I: ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ISLAMIC BANKING PRACTICES IN MALAYSIA AND THAILAND

Abstract

This study examines the juristic views of Imam Malik and Imam al-Shafi’i on the contract of bai’ inah and its implications for Islamic banking practice in Malaysia and Thailand. The problem arises from the sharp disagreement among Islamic jurists over the permissibility of bai’ inah, a sale-and-buy-back transaction frequently used as a financing instrument in Islamic financial institutions. This is a qualitative library research using a comparative method to analyze the legal reasoning (istinbat) of Imam Malik in Al-Muwatta’ and Imam al-Shafi’i in Al-Umm, combined with a case-study approach to examine its practical implications in Southeast Asian Islamic banking. The results show that Imam Malik prohibits bai’ inah because it leads to riba through the principle of sadd al-dhari’ah, while Imam al-Shafi’i permits it because the pillars and conditions of a valid sale are fulfilled, regardless of intention. In practice, the Securities Commission Malaysia’s Shariah Advisory Council adopts al-Shafi’i’s view, applying bai’ inah in working-capital financing, Islamic credit cards, and home financing, while the Islamic Bank of Thailand uses bai’ inah-based financing to support economic development programs for the Muslim community in Southern Thailand, contributing to branch growth and rising profitability between 2014 and 2015.