AhlulBayt News Agency: Hojatoleslam Seyed Mazhar Abbas Zaidi, a Shariah adviser to Pakistan’s stock exchange and Sindh Bank, has criticised the absence of scholars from the Shia Ja'fari school of jurisprudence in the country’s Islamic banking supervisory structures, calling for their greater participation in financial institutions at both national and international levels.
Zaidi made the remarks at a specialised academic meeting titled “Islamic Banking: Opportunities and Strategies for Empowering Followers of the Ahl al-Bayt,” held at the conference hall of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly. The gathering brought together experts and scholars specialising in Islamic economic jurisprudence.
During his address, Zaidi discussed the international potential of Ja'fari jurisprudence, criticised existing banking structures and outlined practical measures to increase the participation of Shia jurists in global financial institutions.
Islamic banking: A global reality and the pioneering role of Shia scholars
Zaidi said Islamic banking had become an established reality in both Muslim-majority and non-Muslim countries, regardless of whether individuals agreed with its principles. He argued that engagement with the industry should be proactive rather than passive, noting that people increasingly depend on banking services and accounts in their daily lives.
He added that prominent Islamic jurists had never closed the door to people using such financial services.
The Pakistani financial adviser highlighted the pioneering intellectual contributions of leading Shia scholars, particularly Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, whose foundational works *Al-Bank al-La Ribawi fi al-Islam* and *Iqtisaduna* helped shape discussions on interest-free banking and Islamic economics.
He stressed the importance of distinguishing between genuinely Islamic economic models and superficial adaptations that merely change the names of conventional financial products without addressing their underlying structures.
Call for Ja'fari representation in Shariah supervisory boards
Zaidi noted that more than 30 banks in Pakistan have independent Shariah committees, compliance departments and Shariah audit systems.
Despite the extensive institutional framework, he said, scholars and representatives of the Ahl al-Bayt school have no meaningful presence in these banking Shariah bodies, leaving Ja'fari jurisprudence without a voice in the sector.
Referring to a tradition attributed to Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq about reviving the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt, Zaidi said he considered the representation of Ja'fari jurisprudence in international financial institutions and Shariah supervisory councils a practical example of fulfilling that responsibility.
He called on researchers and seminary scholars to help present the intellectual and legal capacities of Ja'fari jurisprudence to the international community.
Ja'fari jurisprudence and contemporary financial challenges
Zaidi described Ja'fari jurisprudence as a continuation of the authentic Islamic legal tradition, capable of addressing emerging financial questions through established principles.
He criticised approaches in some other schools of jurisprudence that, in his view, can produce inconsistencies when dealing with modern financial instruments, including initially prohibiting certain practices and subsequently permitting them through legal reasoning based on analogy and juristic preference.
He also said growing global concern over inequality, injustice and the concentration of wealth in capitalist systems had created an opportunity for Shia scholars to present Islamic economic perspectives internationally.
According to Zaidi, their participation in global financial discussions could demonstrate how Ja'fari jurisprudence approaches questions of financial justice and economic governance.
Call for independent Islamic financial institutions
Zaidi further argued that the dominance of Western financial frameworks and institutions restricted the full implementation of Islamic economic principles.
He said that formally structuring financial contracts in accordance with religious rulings did not necessarily guarantee the achievement of the ethical objectives of Islamic economics.
Referring to scholarly discussions on the need to move beyond dependence on external systems, he argued that ensuring the formal permissibility of financial contracts was only a first step.
He called for the establishment and expansion of independent Islamic financial institutions that could empower followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, promote social justice and ensure that economic benefits reached wider communities rather than remaining concentrated in the hands of a limited group.
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