Tawarruq As A Useful Instrument To Finance Retail The Halal Way
Tawarruq As A Useful Instrument To Finance Retail The Halal Way
Tawarruq As A Useful Instrument To Finance Retail The Halal Way
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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 121 (2014) 281 290
Accounting Research Institute (ARI), Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Centre for Islamic Thought and Understanding (CITU), Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
The term halal or permissible carries a comprehensive meaning which constituted the whole process in
engaging any activity. A fried chicken for example is halal only when it is slaughtered islamically and
prepared using halal ingredients. The same goes to others particularly business activity. A business is
considered halal or Shariah-compliant when it used permissible financing method and involved in halal
business activity. The basic premise is the Quranic propagation to embrace Islam wholly not partially.
This paper will delve into one method of business financing namely Tawarruq. Particular emphasis is
given to the use of such method in finance the retail business. The study implied that the instrument is
useful for business community to get permissible financing amid the disputes by scholars on the
underlying contract. Perhaps, further research is needed in scrutinizing the practice in order to improve
the instrument.
2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
for Islamic
2011 and
Published
by Elsevier
Ltd. Selection
and
under
responsibility
of Centre
Selection
peer-review
under responsibility
of Centre
for peer-review
Islamic Thought
and Understanding
(CITU),
Universiti
Thought
and
Understanding
(CITU),
Universiti
Teknologi
MARA,
Malaysia
Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
Keywords: Tawarruq; Finance Retail; Halal; Shariah Law; Riba; Business Financing
1. Introduction
In Islam, there are guidelines stipulated by Allah through His Messenger in conducting day to day
activities. In addition, tradition of Prophet Muhammad is the secondary source of reference after Quran in
1877-0428 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Centre for Islamic Thought and Understanding (CITU), Universiti
Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1129
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Zainor Nasrah Abdul Rahman and Siti Khadijah Ab Manan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 121 (2014) 281 290
determining the permissibility of any actions. Allah has stipulated what is halal and what is Haram in
order to guide the Muslim towards the happiness in the world and the most important is in the hereafter.
Choosing the halal and leaving the haram is compulsory for Muslim.
Alserhan (2010) states that the closer a person is to halal the more pure their actions are and the
closer their actions to haram the more chance that they are sinning. Halal is an Arabic word which
means lawful or permissible in Shariah (Jonathan & Jonathan, 2010). In short, halal is related to the
Islamic teachings which means permitted, allowed, lawful or legal (Tieman, 2011, p. 187). While the
term haram is its opposite which carries the meaning forbidden, unlawful or illegal (Tieman, 2011, p.
187).
The term halal and haram is not limited to the food intake only but it carries comprehensive meaning
which include lifestyles and services ranging from finance, hospitality, and logistics (Alserhan, 2010).
Thus, this paper attempts to delve into the matter by focusing on the implementation of Islamic concept in
financing small businesses the halal way.
Generally, there are many Islamic financing concepts being implemented in the market. One of them
is Tawarruq. Tawarruq is considered makruh (reprehensible) by most jurists and harus (permissible)
according to the Maliki school of thought for one very specific reason namely to avoid riba (Ayub, 2009;
Zuhayli, El-Gamal, & Eissa, 2007). Traditionally, the concept is applied in a simple and natural manner.
In conformity with its meaning, the concept allows for an individual to get cash via purchase and resell of
a specific commodity.
Nevertheless, the contemporary scholars had raised doubt over the practice of Tawarruq particularly
by the Islamic banks. The OIC Islamic Fiqh Academy for example is concerned on the possibility of non
existence of physical commodities in Tawarruq structure as well as an existence of fraudulent trading
contracts which may lead to fictitious transaction. If one of these occur in practice, therefore it is
impermissible under Shariahs point of view and thus the contract is haramb (Islamic Finance News,
2010). It is essential to highlight that the concern raised over Tawarruq by the jurists is on the application
of the concept and not on the concept itself.
In addition, Islamic finance is an asset-based system which promotes real physical economy (Adel,
2010; Christos & Alexandros, 2009). Therefore, trading is permissible by Allah instead of loan with
increment. In terms of accounting treatment, such sales and trading should be included in the balance
sheet to show movement of an asset of the Islamic banks even though the asset is held for only a few
hours. Rosly (2010) further asserts that if any Islamic bank failed to produce evidence in terms of proper
accounting treatment, they are guilty of riba since there are no proof that a true sale exists.
Raja Teh have once mentioned in a report that the practices of the Tawarruq that ought to be tightened
and not the rule of the permissibility of the concept (Islamic Finance News, 2010). It is also immaterial to
prohibit the whole concept and its implementation while only a few Islamic banks who violate the
concept (Rahman, 2011). The concept itself is being recognized by Accounting and Auditing
Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) by issuing Shariah standard on that matter.
Aznan once reported that if the contracts are properly executed and follows all the requirements and
rulings of the concept, it should not be prohibited because of the transactions in the contract is organized
(Islamic Finance News, 2010). However, OIC Fiqh Academy in Mecca ruled that organized Tawarruq
and reverse Tawarruq is impermissible in April 2009 since the arrangement is a trick to get cash now by
paying more cash at later date (S. H. Khan, 2009). On the contrary, Alrajhi approved the concept of
organized Tawarruq by undersigned an agreement with Suq Al-Silac under Bank Negara which claimed to
be the worlds first end-to-end Shariah compliant commodity trading platform (Rahman, 2011).
b
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Since Malaysia is still under transition period where dual banking is a common practice, Tawarruq is
regarded as a better mechanism in avoiding riba (Hasan, 2009). Due to the common practice of
conventional personal loan before the emergence of Islamic Banking, Tawarruq should be the nearest
alternative to the Muslim consumer in their liquidity management. This is a good approach since
engaging in riba is engaging with Gods anger d. Therefore it should be departed from Muslim tradition.
The organization of the paper is as follow. Next sections will deal with the definition of Tawarruq
concept, its types, ruling on the concept and element of a valid sale contract. After that, this paper will
discuss on its arrangement and its application and last but not least is the discussion on the arrangement to
finance small entrepreneur using the concept. Before going into further, it is best to understand the
concept first so that it is easy to illustrate the arrangement afterwards.
2. Definition of Tawarruq and its Types
In order to get a better picture on the concept, lets shed the light on its term first. Literally, Tawarruq
means darahim madrubah which referred from the Quran (Khayat, 2009). (Allah) (alone) knows best
how long ye have stayed now send ye then one of you with this money of yours to the towne. According
to Dabu (2007), the word Tawarruq is derived from the root word paper. Al-Wariq that is dirham
(minted coin from silver) (Ahmad, 2009; Dusuki, 2010).
Technically, Tawarruq means purchasing a commodity on a deferred price either in a form of
Musawamah or Murabahah (mark up sale), later selling it to a third party with the objective of obtaining
cash. The term Tawarruq is used in this type of transaction is influence by the intention of the buyer of
the asset who have no interest in utilizing the asset or gaining the benefit of the asset since the main
intention is obtain liquidity (Dusuki, 2010).
In practice, Tawarruq is also known as Commodity Murabahah (Dusuki, 2010; Islamic Finance
News, 2010). Though some do not recognized it as Commodity Murabahah due to the association of
Tawarruq with Tawarruq al-Munazzam (Tawarruq with pre arrangement) (Ghani & Hussain, 2007). Due
to this disagreement on the terminology used, Tawarruq has been divided into types which distinguished
its meaning and application. These types of Tawarruq will be discussed in the following chapter.
Generally, there are two types of Tawarruq namely individual Tawarruq (Tawarruq al-Fardi) and
organized Tawarruq (Tawarruq al-Munazzam) (Dabu, 2007; Ghani & Hussain, 2007). Individual
Tawarruq is a pure Tawarruq whereby a buyer buys a commodity from a seller on deferred term and later
sells it to other person for immediate cash. When the buyer sells it, the commodity is in his hand and he
has the choice in either to keep it or to sell it in the future.
If the buyer has the intention to sell it, the sale contract is considered valid by the majority of jurists
even the buyer sells the commodity to other person (independent from original seller) since the intention
of all parties is not to engage in riba (Haneef, 2009). Therefore, Tawarruq is allowed though some jurist
considered it is reprehensible provided that third party is present as an intermediary (El-Gamal, 2006;
Kuwait Finance House, 2011a).
d
e
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Tawarruq al-Munazzam is organized in a way that the buyer has the options in either keeps the
commodity or appoint the seller to be an agent to sell it or appoint a third party which is related to the
bank to sell the commodity. This type of Tawarruq is common in banking practice for the purpose of
consumer financing (Adel, 2010). The buyer practically has no options as the purchased commodity is not
intended to be purchased (Dabu, 2007). Rather, it is a facility to allow the buyer to get cash. Hence, he
appoints the bank as his agent to sell the purchased commodity to any third party and the proceed will
then be delivered to him.
3. Rulings on Tawarruq and the Essential Elements of a Valid Tawarruq Contract
The proponents of Tawarruq who approved the concept and considered it as permissible in Islam are
mainly based on the permissibility of trading as in the Quran Allah permits trade and prohibits ribaf.
They assert that the usage of word al-bay (trade) in the Quran give the meaning of generality due to the
definite article al- in the beginning of the word bay. Thus, the word trade is generalized to all types of
sale transactions including Tawarruq (Dusuki, 2010). The proponents of Tawarruq also quoted a hadith
which they claimed that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is prefer transaction that involved two separate
contracts that independent from each other.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) appointed a man as governor of Khaybar, who later presented him
with an excellent type of dates (janib). The Prophet asked, Are all the dates of Khaybar like this? He
replied, No, but we barter one sag of this (excellent type) for two sa of ours, or two sa of it for three of
ours. Allahs Apostle said, Do not do that (as it is a kind of usury); rather, sell the mixed dates (of
inferior quality) for money, and then buy the excellent dates with that money. h The proponents of the
concept also supported their interpretation with the legal maxim, the starting assumption for all
statements, actions, contracts and conditions is permissibility.
Every sale contract must have elements that will ensure the validity of each transaction. The elements
that needed to be observed are offeror and offeree, offer and acceptance; and subject matter of trade and
consideration.
3.1. Offeror and Offeree
Offeror and offeree are the parties who wish to enter into a transaction. The contracting parties to the
contract must have legal capacity to enter into a contract (Bakar, 2008; Billah, 2006). A person is
considered as having legal capacity if he is intelligent enough (aqil) to understand the contract and he has
attained the age of majority (baligh).
3.2. Offer and Acceptance
Offer can be made orally, by writing or by conduct (Bakar, 2008). However, acceptance can be
implied even though the party is silence. The offer and acceptance must be concluded in the same session
(majlis) without a gap or interruptions. The sale must be done with free willing without any coercion
(ikrah) to enter the contract (Billah, 2006).
Zainor Nasrah Abdul Rahman and Siti Khadijah Ab Manan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 121 (2014) 281 290
285
286
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Broker A
2
C Price
E.g.: RM10,500
Customer
Islamic Banks
3
C Price plus Profit in
Deferred
E.g.: RM15,000 for 48
months by instalment
4
Lower Price for
Immediate Cash
E.g.: RM10,000
Broker B
Fig. 1. Technical process of Tawarruq concept
Zainor Nasrah Abdul Rahman and Siti Khadijah Ab Manan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 121 (2014) 281 290
Customer
7
Islamic Banks
2
3
4
$$ =RM15,000
$$ = RM20,000
End
Customer
Supplier
287
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Zainor Nasrah Abdul Rahman and Siti Khadijah Ab Manan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 121 (2014) 281 290
in accordance of the customer ability to repay the debt (F. Khan, 2010). This method of arrangement may
resulted to material finality which means directly linked to the real economic development of the
individuals whom conducting small business in retailing (F. Khan, 2010).
The banks also need to ensure that the financing is allowed under Islamic Law and no financing of
sinful activities or goods should be compromised (F. Khan, 2010). Hopefully this Tawarruq model will
be regarded as real Tawarruq since the facility is not pre arranged and the customer is able to buy goods
that they desired with and sell it back with profit by the sale. Agency contract is not included in the
arrangement which serve the objective to mitigate the debate among jurists on agency contract as well as
the customers has the option to sell it to the third party as they wish.
6. Conclusion
Discussion and arguments on the concept of Tawarruq and its application had begun as early as the
beginning of Islamic civilization. The concept is applied to facilitate an individual to get cash from the
reselling of commodity that he/she purchased from the seller. Traditionally, the practice is genuine in the
sense that the purchaser has the privilege to sell the commodity to any third party of his choice. With the
advancement of banking and financial system, the concept has been renovated to make it more suitable as
a financing instrument.
Known as organized Tawarruq (Tawarruq al-Munazzam), the concept allows the bank to be an agent
for repurchasing the sold commodity and eventually delivering the cash as required by the customer.
Though this concept of Tawarruq is disputed by some scholars, its usefulness as an instrument of
financing (for now) is unarguable owing to the fact that it is necessary as a way to avoid the prohibited
riba.
The need is even significant to the small business establishments as this particular sector has limited
access to the external funds. Having Tawarruq as a mean to finance retail, it is useful to the entrepreneurs
by providing an alternative for these people to buy other goods which will become their stock in retailing.
By offering these people the choice of asset to be sold, it can claim that this concept is a real Tawarruq
concept where the customer may choose the asset and find the buyer by themselves. This instrument also
will be useful for entrepreneurs whom deal with bulk purchasing.
Zainor Nasrah Abdul Rahman and Siti Khadijah Ab Manan / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 121 (2014) 281 290
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