Critical thinking and independent reasoning – or ijtihad – was geared towards fostering harmony and was celebrated as it enriched the body of knowledge. Today, the SAC continues this tradition, applying its collective wisdom, diligence and inquisitive minds in the contemporary setting of Islamic finance. Many practical and contemporary issues confronting the Islamic finance industry were resolved through more than 500 rulings. We have grown stronger, wiser and more inclusive over the years. Looking back at history, the Golden Age of Islam was replete with polymaths who helped build Islamic civilisation, turning it into one of the world’s greatest. Scholars such as Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Al Haytham have left behind a legacy not only in the area of theology, but also in other modern disciplines, including medicine, astronomy and mathematics. Drawing from these inspiring examples, we can play an even bigger role in ensuring Islamic finance is able to deliver a lasting and metamorphic impact to the world we live in. This calls for the reinvention and reimagination of the Shariah profession in a number of ways. First, enlarging our worldview. No doubt, theology is core to ascertaining the integrity of Islamic finance transactions, rooted in the principles of the Quran and Sunnah. However, Islam offers so much freedom for intellectual and cultural explorations. Such explorations – to experiment with new ideas and critically assess existing norms – are in fact, highly encouraged.
We can learn valuable lessons from the practices of great Muslim thinkers of the past such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina who drew strong influences from the writings of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, but revolutionised and updated the knowledge into the context of Islam and their contemporary times. The benefits are immense. It allows knowledge to thrive and develop further as it becomes more applicable and easier to grasp. It is therefore wise for us to widen our "peripheral vision" to encompass business considerations in interpreting and applying the principles of Shariah. This is essential, if we aspire to break away from a compliance-based mentality into an outcome-based worldview. The mental shift would position Shariah scholars as not merely the leaders in Shariah knowledge, but also as the catalyst for business innovations. It is in this spirit that Bank Negara Malaysia is enhancing the Shariah Governance Framework for Islamic financial institutions. The new framework calls upon the Shariah Committees to integrate relevant business and risk considerations in Shariah decisions. Our aim is to position these committees as an enabler and catalyst in supporting the board and senior management. One that drives innovation by providing practical, actionable and impactful Shariah advice. By capturing multifaceted challenges faced by the industry, this framework ensures an ongoing support to Shariah advice amid the fast-changing business environment. Second is the pursuit of lifelong learning. It is through the relentless quest for knowledge that the great scholars of the past have left a lasting impact on our world.