Islamic Finance - ​Conformity to the Sharia
The observance of Sharia law lies at the heart of the Islamic financial system. IFIs, Islamic insurance companies, Islamic funds, and any other providers that offer Islamic financial products are required to establish a Shari'ah advisory or supervisory board in order to assure compliance with Islamic financial regulations. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Islamic finance. The establishment of an advisory board, the opinions of which are supposed to be followed by all IFIs, is necessary in order to direct the institutions toward conformity with Shariah law. It is impossible for a company or organization to legitimately assert that it engages in Islamic financial transactions until it establishes a Sharia board or committee that is comprised of qualified scholars who have a solid reputation and who are in possession of the essential skills.