Title: 'Shari'ah Corporation': the legal entity of corporation from the Malaysian law and Shari'ah perspective

Authors: Zuhairah Ariff Abd Ghadas; Nasarudin Abdul Rahman; Halyani Hassan

Addresses: Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: Under the Malaysian law which is based on the English law, companies are recognised as a legal person and the metaphor of corporate personality is used to justify the company's legal framework. As a creature of the statute, companies' totally depend on the Companies Act. On the other hand, under Shari'ah, the existence of business entity is based upon agreement between the parties and the legal basis of Shari'ah business structure is the contractual principles. With the recent rapid development in Shari'ah compliance businesses in Malaysia, such as Islamic finance and halal products, there is a question on whether Shari'ah businesses could be carried out in a civil law business structure. This paper analyse companies' legal framework under the Malaysian law and compare them with the principles of Shari'ah. The outcome of this paper is a proposal for a legal framework of an Islamic corporation.

Keywords: Shari'ah law; Islamic corporations; legal personality; legal framework; Malaysia; Companies Act; Shari'ah compliance; Islamic finance; halal products; civil law.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSE.2013.060845

International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 2013 Vol.6 No.4, pp.232 - 246

Published online: 02 Jul 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article