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Islamic Contract – Application of Tawarruq in Islamic Finance
1. What Is the Application of Tawarruq in Islamic Finance?
Answer
Tawarruq is:
one of the most widely used Sharī‘ah contracts in contemporary Islamic finance.
It is extensively utilised to structure:
✅ deposits;
✅ financing facilities;
✅ liquidity management;
✅ debt restructuring;
✅ ṣukūk;
✅ risk management;
✅ hedging products.


2. Why Is Tawarruq Popular in Islamic Finance?
Main Reason
Tawarruq is popular because:
  • it provides:
liquidity and cash financing
through:
  • sale-based structures.
It also offers:
✅ operational flexibility;
✅ scalability;
✅ standardisation for banking products.


3. Practical Applications of Tawarruq
A. Deposit Products
Islamic banks use tawarruq to structure:
  • fixed deposits;
  • term deposits;
  • investment accounts.


Case Scenario 1 – Tawarruq Deposit
A customer deposits:
  • RM100,000
    with Islamic bank.
The bank:
  • purchases commodity;
  • sells commodity to customer on deferred basis;
  • customer sells commodity for spot cash.
The deferred sale price includes:
  • bank’s profit.


Example
Spot Commodity Price
RM100,000
Deferred Sale Price
RM105,000


Profit
105{,}000 - 100{,}000 = 5{,}000
105{,}000 - 100{,}000 = 5{,}000


Result
The customer:
✅ receives investment return.
The bank:
✅ obtains funding liquidity.


B. Personal Financing
Tawarruq is widely used in:
  • Islamic personal financing;
  • home financing;
  • business financing.


Case Scenario 2 – Personal Financing
A customer needs:
  • RM50,000 cash financing.
The Islamic bank:
  1. purchases commodity;
  2. sells commodity to customer:
    • RM60,000 deferred;
  3. customer sells commodity in market:
    • RM50,000 spot cash.


Profit
60{,}000 - 50{,}000 = 10{,}000
60{,}000 - 50{,}000 = 10{,}000


Result
The customer:
✅ obtains liquidity.
The bank:
✅ earns financing profit.


C. Liquidity Management
Islamic banks use tawarruq for:
  • short-term liquidity placement;
  • interbank financing;
  • treasury management.


Example
An Islamic bank with excess liquidity:
  • enters tawarruq transaction with another bank
    to:
  • place short-term funds.


D. Debt Restructuring
Tawarruq may be used:
  • to restructure existing financing obligations.


Case Scenario 3 – Debt Restructuring
A customer struggles to repay:
  • existing financing of RM200,000.
The bank restructures debt through:
  • tawarruq arrangement
    with:
  • revised deferred payment schedule.


E. Ṣukūk Structuring
Tawarruq structures may support:
  • issuance of Islamic investment certificates (ṣukūk).


F. Risk Management and Hedging
Tawarruq may also facilitate:
  • Sharī‘ah-compliant hedging;
  • liquidity balancing;
  • treasury operations.


4. Why Has Tawarruq Become Dominant?
Operational Advantages
Tawarruq provides:
✅ liquidity generation;
✅ predictable cash flow;
✅ ease of implementation;
✅ compatibility with modern banking systems.
Thus:
  • Islamic financial institutions heavily rely on it.


5. BNM’s Concern Regarding Tawarruq Dominance
Regulatory Concern
Bank Negara Malaysia has expressed concern that:
tawarruq has become excessively dominant in Malaysian Islamic finance.


Financial Sector Blueprint 2022–2026
BNM highlighted:
Islamic financial institutions should diversify Sharī‘ah contracts.
The objective is:
✅ broader economic impact;
✅ value-based finance;
✅ wider social benefit.


Why Does BNM Want Diversification?
Overreliance on tawarruq may:
  • reduce product innovation;
  • narrow Sharī‘ah diversity;
  • create excessive dependence on:
debt-based financing structures.


Critical Analysis
Some critics argue:
  • excessive tawarruq usage may:
    • replicate conventional financing outcomes;
    • weaken trade-based economic substance.


Example of Criticism
In many tawarruq transactions:
  • commodities are merely traded briefly;
  • parties primarily seek:
cash financing.
Thus:
  • critics argue:
the commodity sometimes functions only as an intermediary mechanism.


6. Practical Shift Encouraged by BNM
BNM encourages Islamic banks to expand usage of:
✅ mushārakah;
✅ muḍārabah;
✅ ijārah;
✅ salam;
✅ istisnā‘;
✅ wakālah-based financing.


Objective of Diversification
The goal is:
to develop a more authentic and socially impactful Islamic finance ecosystem.


7. Critical Sharī‘ah Debate on Tawarruq
Supporters’ View
Supporters argue:
✅ tawarruq fulfils legal Sharī‘ah requirements;
✅ contracts remain valid individually;
✅ commercial necessity exists.


Critics’ View
Critics argue:
  • excessive organised tawarruq may:
replicate conventional lending in substance.


Main Sharī‘ah Concern
The debate centres on:
whether tawarruq represents:
  • genuine trade,
    or
  • synthetic liquidity generation.


Overall Conclusion
Tawarruq remains:
one of the most important and widely used contracts in Islamic finance.
It is heavily utilised for:
  • financing;
  • deposits;
  • liquidity management;
  • treasury operations.
However:
  • regulators such as BNM increasingly encourage:
    ✅ diversification of Sharī‘ah contracts;
    ✅ stronger value-based finance;
    ✅ reduced dependency on tawarruq-dominated structures.

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