Challenging the Claim of Ijma' on the Prohibition of Bank Interest: A Critical Review of Murabahah Practices in Islamic Banking
Abstract
The global Islamic finance industry is growing rapidly, with its primary legitimacy resting on the claim of ijmāʿ (scholarly consensus) regarding the prohibition of bank interest. However, murabahah contracts, which dominate 76.95% of Indonesian Islamic banking financing, have received structural criticism similar to that of the interest system. This study analyzes the validity of the ijmāʿ claim regarding the prohibition of bank interest, according to uṣūl al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), and examines whether murabahah practices contain elements that lead to the interest system. Qualitative research with descriptive-analytical and critical-evaluative library research approach using data from classical uṣūl al-fiqh texts (Khallaf, al-Shāfiʿī) and 33 journal articles (2000-2025). Analysis was conducted through data reduction, comparative analysis, critical-methodological evaluation, and source triangulation. The ijmāʿ claim regarding the prohibition of bank interest does not meet the requirement of an agreement among all mujtahids (qualified scholars capable of independent reasoning) without exception, due to ongoing disagreements and methodological debates; thus, it is more appropriately categorized as a jumhūr (majority) opinion. Murabahah practices contain three elements leading to the interest system: the bank's role as a disguised financier with risk transfer to customers, mark-up systems influenced by market interest rates and varying based on time period (implicit recognition of time value of money), and structural-functional similarity with interest-bearing financing confirmed by empirical studies (12.87% margin approaching conventional rates). The double inconsistency between methodologically invalid ijmāʿ claims and murabahah practices resembling interest creates risks of a credibility crisis. Reconstruction is necessary through genuine ownership, a real economy-based margin setting, transparency, reorientation towards PLS (Profit and Loss Sharing), and strengthened shari'ah supervision.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Aggarwal, R. K., & Yousef, T. (2000). Islamic banks and investment financing. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 32(1), 93 – 120. https://doi.org/10.2307/2601094
Ahmed, M. U., Sabirzyanov, R., & Rosman, R. (2016). A critique on accounting for murabaha contract. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 7(3), 190–201. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-04-2016-0041
Ahroum, R., Touri, O., & Achchab, B. (2020). Murabaha and Musharakah Moutanaquissah pricing: an interest-free approach. Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 11(1), 201–215. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-12-2016-0147
Al-Fijawi, M. F. A., & Yunus, S. M. (2019). Modern applications of profit-sale (Bayʿ murābaḥah) from a maqāṣid sharīʿah perspective. Al-Shajarah, 24(1), 49 – 66.
Archer, S., Abdel Karim, R. A., & Al-Deehani, T. (1998). Financial Contracting, Governance Structures and the Accounting Regulation of Islamic Banks: An Analysis in Terms of Agency Theory and Transaction Cost Economics. Journal of Management and Governance, 2(2), 149–170. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009985419353
Asriani, Kurniawan, A., & Setyanto, A. R. (2025). The Contribution of Indonesian Islamic Banks to Economic Growth Post-Merger: Opportunities and Challenges. Samarah, 9(2), 1068 – 1086. https://doi.org/10.22373/hpmddd13
Ayhan, A. (2022). An Analysis of Legal Realism From the Perspective of Islamic Law; [İslam Hukuku Perspektifiyle Hukukî Realizmin Analizi]. Cumhuriyet Ilahiyat Dergisi, 26(2), 717 – 741. https://doi.org/10.18505/cuid.1151808
Aziz, J. A., Maghfiroh, S., Kholifah, A., Voak, A., & Althof, C. C. (2025). Rethinking ‘Interest’ in Islamic Finance:A Critique of the Method of Fatwâ MUI and Its Legitimacy in Indonesia. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 15(1), 81 – 98. https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.151.05
Azoitei, D. C. (2020). Critical analysis of the contemporary application of riba in Islamic banking. Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law and Practice, 16(1), 76 – 94.
Beck, T., Demirgüç-Kunt, A., & Merrouche, O. (2013). Islamic vs. conventional banking: Business model, efficiency and stability. Journal of Banking & Finance, 37(2), 433–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2012.09.016
Bulutoding, L., Bidin, C. R. K., Syariati, A., & Qarina, Q. (2021). Antecedents and Consequence of Murabaha Funding in Islamic Banks of Indonesia. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(3), 487 – 495. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no3.0487
Chong, B. S., & Liu, M.-H. (2009). Islamic banking: Interest-free or interest-based? Pacific Basin Finance Journal, 17(1), 125 – 144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2007.12.003
Djumadi, Hamida, Kamiruddin, Syah, A., & Mujahidin. (2025). Critical Review of Murābaḥah Financing in Contemporary Islamic Banking: A Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah Perspective. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review, 4(2), 1152 – 1188. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v4i2.11087
Guney, N. (2015). Murabahah financing revisited: The contemporary debate on its use in Islamic banks. Intellectual Discourse, 23, 495 – 506.
Hasan, F., & Habu, M. J. S. (2019). Implementation of the National Islamic Council Fatwa Number 47/DSN-MUI/II/2005 in Banks Syariah Mandiri Branch Manado. Jurnal Ilmiah Al-Syir’ah, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.30984/jis.v17i1.870
Hassan, S. (2018). Murābahah versus bank loan: Concept of interest and profit. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 21(4).
Islahi, A. A. (2024). Islamic Thought on Interest and Usury. In The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Money: Ancient and Medieval Thought: Volume 1 (Vol. 1). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54136-0_28
Jan, R. H., Yusuf, Y. M., & Hasan, F. (2020). Upaya Penyelesaian Kredit Macet Pembiayaan Murabahah Dengan Metode Resheduling di Bank Syariah Mandiri Kantor Cabang Pasar 45 Manado. JESI (Jurnal Ekonomi Syariah Indonesia), 9(2), 118–126.
Karimuddin, Haeqal, M., Efendi, R., Marhadi, & Meidina, A. R. (2024). Bank Interest in the Contemporary Era: Problem of Ad’Afan Muda’Afah Interpretation in Determining Law of Usury. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review, 3(1), 43–65. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v3i1.8948
Khalidin, B., Musa, A., & Kiawan, A. (2023). Murabaha Financing of the Indonesian Islamic Banks Under an Islamic Economic Law and the Fatwa Dsn Mui. Petita: Jurnal Kajian Ilmu Hukum Dan Syariah, 8(2), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.22373/petita.v8i2.238
Khan, F. (2010). How ‘Islamic’ is Islamic Banking? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 76(3), 805–820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2010.09.015
Lathif, A. A. (2012). The Concept and Application of Murâbahah Contracts in Syariah Banking in Indonesia. Ahkam: Jurnal Ilmu Syariah, 12(2), 69–78. https://doi.org/10.15408/ajis.v12i2.967
Miah, M. D., & Suzuki, Y. (2020). Murabaha syndrome of Islamic banks: a paradox or product of the system? Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research, 11(7), 1363–1378. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-05-2018-0067
Quadir, A. (2020). Consumers’ choice of the services of Islamic banks in dual banking system. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 13(5), 935–947. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMEFM-12-2019-0496
Saeed, A. (2004). Menyoal Bank Syariah: Kritik atas Interpretasi Bunga Bank Kaum Neo-Revivalis. Paramadina.
Setiawan, R. A. (2021). Why an Interest-Free Economy Was Instituted From Early Religious Zeal. Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 6(2), 31–48. https://doi.org/10.55831/ajis.v6i2.347
Siddique, Z., & Siddique, M. A. (2025). Riba and interest in Islamic jurisprudence: seeking the path to consensus. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 41(2), 543 – 561. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-04-2023-0091
Siddiqui, S. A. (2014). Riba, time value of money and discounting. In Handbook on Islam and Economic Life. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783479825.00012
Sumadi, B. M., & Rahajeng, D. K. (2025). Pricing faith: how inflation, interest rates and religiosity shape Islamic banking product preferences. Journal of Islamic Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-02-2024-0076
Suparman, S., Suwardi, S., & Saini, S. (2024). Menggugat Konsensus (Ijma’) Keharaman Bunga Bank. Al Itmamiy Jurnal Hukum Ekonomi Syariah (Muamalah), 6(1), 1–14.
Suzuki, Y., & Miah, M. D. (Eds.). (2018). Dilemmas and Challenges in Islamic Finance. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315105673
Ünver, A. N. (2021). The Role of The Practice of The Companions in Establishing The Ḥanafī Uṣūl Thought: Al-Sarakhsī as a Case Study; [Hanefî Usul Düşüncesinin Temellendirilmesinde Sahâbe Uygulamasının Rolü: Serahsî Örneği]. Cumhuriyet Ilahiyat Dergisi, 25(3), 1359 – 1379. https://doi.org/10.18505/cuid.880702
Widodo, S., & Basyariah, N. (2020). Telaah Kritis Implementasi Pembiayaan Murabahah pada Lembaga Keuangan Syariah Berdasarkan KDPPLKS. At-Tauzi: Jurnal Ekonomi Islam, 20(1), 13–22.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30984/ajiel.v5i1.3345
Article Metrics
Abstract view : 136 timesPDF - 19 times
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Rumah Jurnal IAIN Manado
Jl. Dr. S.H. Sarundajang, Kawasan Ringroad I, Malendeng Manado Kode Pos 95128, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia.
All publication by Al-'Aqdu: Journal of Islamic Economics Law is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Al-'Aqdu: Journal of Islamic Economics Law, ISSN 2807-7830 (Cetak), ISSN 2807-7342 (Online)