Islamic Finance has always been well known for its unique characteristics to deal with finance. However, few countries pay heed on Islamic rules and regulations and fewer actually prefer to run based on it, the reason is obvious the oppositional standpoint with capitalism. Nevertheless, as the world is facing serious public health crisis like COVID-19, and all normal economic activities cease to function properly, conventional finance is facing serious challenges handling this situation. Though COVID-19 has already been called as great equalizer, not discriminating based on any social, economic, or political strata, Under-developing countries are having quite a hard time surviving this crisis, and Bangladesh is not an exception, especially the vulnerable community of Bangladesh. The objective of this study is to find out the practical implication of Zakat as short-term emergency support system for vulnerable community of Dhaka north City Corporation. To conduct the study, primary source of data was used, following a semi-structure questionnaire using quantitative method of data collection, and convenience sampling style was used for limited mobility induced by COVID-19 lockdown. The study finds out that the practical implications of Zakat are quite useful especially as a short term emergency support system during the COVID-19 crisis, this study also finds out that Zakat can be used as a tool for building resilience also only if smaller number of Zakat recipients are selected.

Islamic microfinance institutions (IMFIs) play a very important role in contributing towards higher financial inclusion among the poor, especially in the Muslim countries. Despite their importance, the IMFIs face wide ranging issues especially in the operational and regulatory aspects, and these issues hinder the effective development of the IMFIs. By examining the experience of two major IMFIs in Indonesia and Malaysia, namely Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil (BMT) and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), this study offers a new perspective by making a comparative study between the two IMFIs with the aim of understanding the peculiarities facing each institution, unlike the earlier studies which commonly focusing on a particular institution only. The study finds that sustainability and human resource are the main issues facing both IMFIs. While structural issue such as reliance on subsidies could jeopardise the sustainability in the long run, human resource is highly critical in ensuring smooth functioning of the IMFIs as well as their sustainability even in the short run. Findings of this study contribute to highlight the critical factors to be emphasized in ensuring sustainability of IMFIs.

Social Exchange Theory highlights the possible mediating role perceived benefit in social and economic relationships, however, extent literature falls short is validating such theoretical insights in the context of Islamic microfinance. Following this theoretical insights the mediating role of perceived benefit on the relationship between perceived government support, religiosity, awareness and intention to accept Islamic micro-financing was examined. Quantitative research design through data collected from smallholder farmers in Jigawa state was employed; the data was analyzed using PLS-SEM. The finding revealed that perceived benefit mediates the relationship between perceived government support, religiosity, awareness and intention to accept Islamic micro-financing. It implied that perceiving the benefit is one of the mechanisms through which government support, religiosity and awareness influence intention to accept Islamic micro-financing. The study expands the understanding of TPB through the support of SET to explain the mediating effects of perceived benefits in the context of Islamic micro-financing. Thus, it will benefit policymakers in understanding that perceived benefit of Islamic micro-financing is a key to its acceptance, hence, the need for awareness campaigns, support services and religious preaching to that end. Implementing the finding will not only solve problem of access to finance among the smallholder farmers but also ease life through employment generation and poverty eradication. To the researchers’ knowledge, this work could be first to examine the mediating role of perceived benefit in the context of Islamic microfinance among the smallholder farmers with inferences from Social Exchange Theory

With poverty and unemployment is still the paramount concern across the globe, a study on Waqf and capital market integrations is certainly a timely call for sustainable socio-economic development. The aim of this paper is to revisit the literature on the issue of illiquidity of Waqf assets and eradicate the dependency on government provision. To ensure the sustainability of Waqf institutions, financing apparatus primarily designed for Waqf assets are explored. The study proposes a viable integration of Waqf and capital market apparatus of Unit Trust investments based on the Shariah-compliant standards ratified by the Security Commission of Malaysia (SCM) guidelines. The study opts for thematic analysis method of the existing literature on Waqf financing. The finding indicates that there is a need for a novel apparatus such Waqf unit trust instrument through cash Waqf and share Waqf to realizes greater Waqf funds accumulation, investment, and distribution. It is highly advocated that the income of investment be optimally utilized for socio-economic projects. This study realizes as one of the pioneer endeavours to pool Waqf fund via unit trust model as its sources and exhibit management undertakings of the model.