But one can notice an evolution insofar as a number of academics 33 could argue that the admission of such instruments in Islamic finance depends mainly on the type of contract used, their content and their trading format. Contracts on currencies, interest rate and stock indexes are intrinsically barred.
Otherwise, forward and swaps contracts on commodities and shares could seamlessly be accommodated in Islamic finance. Even the trading of options is not found incompatible with Shariah principles. However, further work is still necessary to assess the implication for Islamic finance in terms of social welfare, speculation and risk-sharing, and more specifically risk management.