Special Topics: Product Development, Islamic Branding, Micro & SME, Social Finance
This domain tests applied judgment: how new products are approved, how Islamic identity is marketed honestly, and how micro, SME and social finance are structured.
New product development
Stages: idea, business case, Sharia review and approval, legal documentation, systems and accounting, pilot, launch, post-launch review. Sharia gates prevent inah, tawarruq or hedging structures being slipped in at documentation stage.
Islamic branding
Trust and amanah underpin the brand; halal certification applies to products and consumables. Marketing must not imply a religious guarantee, and use of 'Islamic' requires SSB sign-off.
Micro and SME finance
Murabaha for working capital and equipment, salam for farmers, diminishing musharaka for premises, group-based joint liability models, value-chain finance. Constraints: cost to serve, documentation, collateral, financial literacy.
Islamic social financing
Zakat, waqf, qard hasan, microtakaful, SDG-linked sukuk and blended finance. Zakat funds must be segregated, with defined beneficiaries and no shareholder access.
Worked example
A farmer needs seed capital. The bank prepays $10,000 for 10 tonnes of wheat at $1,000/tonne, delivery in six months, with specified grade and date; a parallel salam sells to a miller at $1,050/tonne. Reasoning: the structure is valid because payment is full, the object is specified, and the bank bears delivery risk. If the harvest fails, the bank has no crop unless security or takaful is in place.
Traps
Rolling over a working-capital murabaha repeatedly so profit resembles interest; calling an overdraft a qard; treating zakat as bank income.