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Purpose – The objective of this study is to assess the level of understanding of family takaful among the Muslim community of southern Thailand.

Methodology/approach – This study used a questionnaire as the data collection tool. It sampled 400 respondents who were selected in a simple way, regardless of whether they owned protection policies or not. The methods used to analyse the data are descriptive statistics and means, and independent samples T-testing.

Findings – The study found that the Muslim community in southern Thailand had a generally low level of understanding of family takaful. However, the differences in the level of understanding between those who participated in family takaful and those who did not were examined. The research findings were then found to indicate that there was a distinction between the two groups: those who participated in family takaful had a clear and positive understanding of it, while those who did not had no clear understanding of it. These are significant differences which signify that participation in family takaful by Muslims in southern Thailand was influenced by their understanding of it.

Research limitations/implications – This study was conducted in the Muslim community in and around Muang District, Narathiwat Province, in southern Thailand.

Practical implications – This study clearly indicates, especially to those involved directly or indirectly in the takaful industry, that there are still many in the community who do not participate in family takaful because they lack understanding and have negative perceptions of it. Those who are involved must make the effort to communicate more in-depth insights to target communities, which could effectively enhance the uptake of family takaful.

Originality/value – This is the first empirical study of takaful in Thailand. It was conducted to determine the level of understanding of family takaful in the Muslim communities of southern Thailand and to compare the levels of understanding of family takaful between those who have participated in it and those who have not.

Purpose – A study of Islamic banking products, especially bay’ al-tawarruq transactions, demonstrates that the purpose of these transactions is to provide liquidity to the customer, such as personal financing, working capital expenditure, cash lines and credit cards. However, as the industry expands, the industry is innovating to extend products to include an investment and deposit instrument that provides a fixed return to the customer. As the second fully-fledged Islamic bank in Malaysia, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) offers products based on the bay’ al-tawarruq concept.

Methodology/approach – This study investigates the original principles of the bay’ al-tawarruq contract and its current applications in BMMB.

Findings – The study found that the bay’ al-tawarruq contract is being adopted as an alternative to the bay’ al-‘inah contract, especially for financing-based products offered by BMMB.

Originality/value – This is an attempt to study the application of Tawarruq contract in Bank Muamalat’s product offerings based on the process and mechanism of Bursa Suq al-Sila’ (BSAS).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of religiosity, gender and Islamic educational background of Muslims on zakat compliance. It also aims to identify which dimensions of religiosity are significantly related to zakat compliance.

The study uses a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to working Muslims individuals in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Analysis of the data was based on 690 usable questionnaires.

The findings show that religiosity had a significant influence on zakat compliance and three dimensions of religiosity, namely obligation, virtues and vices, and optional ritual, were significantly related to zakat compliance. Gender was also significantly related to zakat compliance, but in a negative direction, suggesting that Muslim working females are less compliant to zakat obligations compared to their male counterparts. It is found that formal Islamic educational background had no significant influence on zakat compliance.

Given the importance of zakat collection to the growth of the economy and society, the findings of this paper might provide some insights to Muslim-majority countries and zakat institutions which areas require more attention to encourage zakat payment among Muslims.

Compared to prior zakat studies, the findings of this study were derived from a larger sample size of Muslim working respondents. Furthermore, this study also identifies which dimensions of religiosity are significantly related to zakat compliance. Hence this study enriches the scarce literature on zakat and religiosity.

This paper aims to highlight the importance of waqf in financing higher educational institutions (HEIs) and its potential as an alternative source of generating additional funds for the HEIs, and discourses on waqf practice, fundraising, waqf management and utilisation of waqf income for the development of higher education in Malaysia.

This paper is based on the information gathered through interviews with 12 participants who are actively engaged in waqf in different capacities. The participants can easily be classified into three expert groups; personnel of waqf-based universities, personnel of the respective State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) and waqf practitioners. In addition, archival records, relevant documents and library sources have been used in the research.

The study learnt that waqf in Malaysia is centralised and exclusively controlled by the SIRCs, which are, as a rule, sole trustees of all categories of awqaf in the respective states; hence, any form of private trusteeship is considered illegal. It is a prerequisite for the establishment of a waqf fund to obtain permission from the respective SIRCs, and bring it under the purview of the council prior to setting up a waqf. The ministry of higher education has taken some initiatives to encourage HEIs to use waqf as an alternative source of generating funds. Subsequently, numerous public universities have set up waqf funds and developed a comprehensive mechanism for raising the fund through traditional and modern methods and technologies. A major chunk of the waqf funds is collected in the form of cash, but the amount falls short of reaching critical mass to enable the waqf to become self-sustaining. The study found that the universities also involved themselves in various social welfare programmes, especially in health care, and some income-generating projects besides seeking support from the waqf fund for their academic and educational activities.

The paper brings out the fact that waqf offers the best features as an alternative fiscal instrument to finance projects of public good, including higher education at three selected waqf-based universities in Malaysia.

The study’s findings will be helpful to the ummah in general and Malaysia in particular. It can help policymakers, legislators and academicians in formulating new strategies for the common good and sensitize the countries facing a huge fiscal deficit and lack of development to the viability and potential of waqf as a catalyst for progress and economic activity.

The paper shares the experience of Malaysia’s waqf-based universities, waqf fundraising, management and income utilisation. It accentuates the fact that waqf can help finance academic activities at universities and sheds light on some useful examples of waqf-based universities founded in earlier periods of Islamic civilisation.

Takaful is a social security approach that guarantees business risks in light of shari’ah, thus playing a crucial role in human life and the economy. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the behavioural intention of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) entrepreneurs to participate in takaful in Sri Lanka.

This study is designed quantitatively with deductive approach using the theory of planned behaviour. A total of 432 MSMEs in Sri Lanka were surveyed using convenience sampling to measure the intention to participate in takaful as a risk mitigation. The collected data were analysed through partial least square-structural equational modelling.

Attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control variables positively influenced the intention, with t-values of 3.216, 3.813 and 3.859, respectively. The influence of these variables exhibits not much difference.

This study only focuses on MSMEs and a general takaful scheme. Future researchers may consider family takaful involvement among Sri Lankan business entrepreneurs.

Takaful practitioners should gain from the entrepreneurs’ intention to participate in takaful. Findings from this study could help marketing managers to revamp their strategies to further attract the entrepreneurs and make them to understand risk they are facing and, subsequently, participate in the takaful scheme.

This paper focuses on the context of Muslim minority among pluralism, where there is no regulation for Islamic financial products and services, and under the Islamic financial market crisis. This unleashes how business owners feel about takaful system on different dimensions.